Need For Speed series was one of the dominate series on the PSone.  Its stellar use of speed, its maximization of the technology available, and its innovative (and much envied) Hot Pursuit mode made it the #1 racing game to get.

The first Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit game was so successful that EA developed a direct sequel.  It didn't quite live up to expectations, but was a good enough game to please most fans of the series.

For some reason or other the series has been changed again, this time evolving into Need for Speed Underground.  EA is still the king of simulation sports, and their awesome arcade-style titles (SSX, NBA Street, etc.) are must-have games.  But for the first time ever the Need for Speed series needs more speed.

From the inside out, Need for Speed Underground wants to be The Fast and the Furious.  It's loaded with computer generated movies that looked like they were taken directly from the film.  You could argue that the film does not have any intellectual property on the cheering crowds, tricked out cars, or the general street racing storyline.  But it did introduce some unique ways of showing the cars (the camera would zoom in, showing how the engine moves), and this game replicates that.

Being a huge fan of The Fast and the Furious, I've got no problem with this game's desire to be a great film.  Just as Kill Bill had to imitate games and anime to be good, Need for Speed Underground had to imitate movies.

The new drag racing levels are very tight.  I can't think of a single game that made this sort of thing fun, but EA has pulled it off.  Being on the street and all, players will have to contend with oncoming traffic.  You go very, very fast in this mode, so you can't expect to swerve to miss a car at the last minute – it won't work.  You'll crash, the car will be totaled, and the race will be lost.  If this were The Fast and the Furious you'd be handing Vin Diesel your keys.  Of course, he wouldn't want them now...

To keep things intense and true to the real sport, you can't drag race with automatic transmission.  This may sound harsh to gamers used to just riding gas pedal all the way to the finish line, but it's not that hard to shift gears.  The game indicates when you should shift with a green light flashing overhead.  When the light is blue, you know the gears are not ready to be shifted.  If you shift now you'll lose power, giving your opponents the advantage.  Once the light turns green you should shift immediately.  Otherwise the light will turn red, and if you shift then you'll risk overheating your engine.  That too will put an end to the race.

The graphics will knock your socks off.  I literally saw eyes bulging at a local game shop when an employee loaded the game in one of the PS2 kiosks.  There's no body damage on the cars (blame the vehicle license for that), but the rest of the game looks better than you could have ever imagined.  The screenshots look nice, but haven't we all seen nice-looking shots before?  In motion the game will make your jaw drop so fast that you'll think it's an Xbox exclusive.  It'd be impossible to say that the game looks more realistic than Gran Turismo 3, but Need for Speed Underground shows off some graphic effects that no other game has.  If they have, they certainly haven't done them as well as this title.

Given the popularity of Project Gotham and its stylistic racing, Need for Speed Underground capitalizes on that with its drift races.  The drift races give players the chance to slip and slide their way to victory by earning points, not by crossing the finish line first.  The controls are changed a bit during these races, so it's not hard to start drifting right off the bat.  The tricky part is holding a long drift (a slide) at a steady speed without hitting a wall.  Hitting a wall will remove any points gained from that particular drift.  While not the most fun mode in the game, this is a decent addition.  It's something EA could work on and really add to in the future.

No Need for Speed game would be complete without traditional finish line races, so the game has plenty of those as well.  You'll encounter more of those than any other type of race in the game.  As fun as they are, this is where the game is disappointing.  Need For Speed Underground wants to be The Fast and the Furious.  This game has "speed" in the title.  But where is it?  I don't care what the speedometer says, this game doesn't feel fast enough.  It's cool and it's moderately exciting, but with a repetitive course layout and a slower nitrous boost than its close competitor, I'm left wondering why the game looks better than it plays.

This goes for the drag races as well.  They're great, but where's the intense speed?  They're only intense because of the variables – oncoming traffic, your opponents, etc.

Overall this is a really good game, but it'll be disappointing to anyone who expected this to be the fastest game around.  EA went in the right direction when it comes to gameplay variety, but for the future I hope they focus their attention on creating a huge list of unique courses.  I also hope the next game is truer to its name.

Gameplay: 8.5
This game shines brightest during the awesome drag races.  They're not as fast as I would have liked (call me picky), but the graphics are incredible and gameplay is pretty intense.  The controls are good throughout the game.  The cash system (earn cash for each successfully completed race; cash it in for car upgrades or an entirely new ride) extends the life of the game tremendously.  A weekend rental, this is not.

Need for Speed Underground promises "unlimited customization."  That's not quite the case.  The car upgrade options aren't unlimited.  You can customize your car in a number of ways, but the biggest way is in how it looks.  You can change your vehicle's color; its headlights; tint the windshield; add designs to its sides, etc.  It's cool, but it's not something I look forward to spending a lot of time doing.  If this kind of thing is your bag, you'll love it.

Graphics: 9.5
Hungry for a game that makes the PS2 look brand-new again?  Need for Speed Underground is the dessert you've been waiting for.  It's baked fresh by the talented artists at EA and is packed with a delicious creamy filling, including some of the most realistically detailed city streets ever seen in a game.  The icing on top – unbelievable motion blur (nitrous boost) effects – are to die for.  Don't be worried about the dreaded holiday weight gain; this game is 100% fat-free.

Sound: 6
There are some really good rock songs in here, but for some odd reason they never play during the frequent menu screens.  Only the bad songs play here, and you can't turn off the menu screen music!  Grrr.

Difficulty: Easy/Medium
Three difficulties are available before each race (easy, medium and hard).  That doesn't greatly decrease the difficulty of some of the harder races, nor does it greatly increase the difficulty of the easier races.  But it does affect the game enough to make it worth thinking about before diving into your next race.  Your cash earnings vary depending on how difficult the race is, so keep that in mind as well.

Concept: 8
I love the new additions and all of the variety that EA has created for the game.  If only the game were faster…

Multiplayer: 8
If you've got broadband, you'll definitely want to take Need for Speed Underground online.  Up to four gamers can race simultaneously!  If you're without broadband access, the two-player mode is your only multiplayer option.

Overall: 8.5
The little engine that could...have been the best racer of the year.  Need for Speed Underground looks like the best racer of the year, there's no doubt there.  Its gameplay is great and is sure to please racing fans.  But it's also likely to disappoint anyone who expected this to be the fastest racer around.  The Need For Speed series was the start of something great on the PSone.  Without it, many of today's top games would never have been made.  But there are just too many "other" features in this game that it made it hard for the developers to create the thing that mattered most: a truly exhilarating sense of speed.  Graphically the game does that.  But physically it does not.  There's something missing, something that could have been achieved.

Knowing this, you may be thrilled with this racing package.  You'll get your money's worth – there's a lot of game here.  The varying game modes make Need for Speed Underground more than just your average cross-the-finish-line-first racer.