''Need for Speed: Underground'' is a 2003
racing video game
Racing games are a video game genre in which the player participates in a racing competition. They may be based on anything from real-world racing leagues to fantastical settings. They are distributed along a spectrum between more realistic rac ...
and the seventh installment in the ''
Need for Speed
''Need for Speed'' (''NFS'') is a racing game franchise published by Electronic Arts and currently developed by Criterion Games, the developers of ''Burnout''. The series generally centers around illicit street racing and tasks players to co ...
'' series. It was developed by
EA Black Box and published by
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry and promoted the ...
. Three different games were produced, one for consoles and
Windows
Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for ser ...
, and the other for the
Game Boy Advance
The (GBA) is a 32-bit handheld game console developed, manufactured and marketed by Nintendo as the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001, in North America on June 11, 2001, in the PAL region on June 22, ...
along with a version developed by
Global VR
Global VR is company based in San Jose, California, that makes arcade games. The company once manufactured virtual reality stands as well. It has also developed electronic kiosks and offers development services for mobile platforms.
History
...
for Arcades that was published by Konami.
''Underground'' rebooted the franchise, ignoring the previous ''Need for Speed'' games which featured sports cars and exotics. It was the first game in the series to offer a career mode featuring a storyline, and a garage mode that allowed players to fully customize their cars with a large variety of brand-name performance and visual upgrades. All races take place in the fictional Olympic City. Rather than exotic cars, ''Underground'' featured vehicles associated with the
import scene
The import scene, also known as the import racing scene or tuner scene, is a subculture of modifying mostly Japanese-import cars, particularly in the United States and Europe.
History
Car modifying has been popular among youths in the US, espec ...
. ''Underground'' was critically and commercially successful, and was followed by ''
Need for Speed: Underground 2'' in 2004.
Plot
The player races in Olympic City in a modified Honda/Acura Integra Type R sporting wide body kits and easily winning over his opponents; only to be woken up by Samantha from his sleep.
Samantha is the player's friend in Olympic City and she tours him across the import culture scene and illegal street racing therein. She helps the player buy his first car, although she mocks the player's choice of the car by calling it "weak". The player also encounters several street racing crews, some of them being Samantha's acquaintances who befriend the player after he proves his racing skills to them. She introduces him to T.J, one of her acquaintances, who promises him with numerous upgrades and parts, provided he wins races. The player races other racers and wins them over, eventually drawing the attention of Eddie, the leader of the Eastsiders gang and Melissa, his beautiful girlfriend. Eddie is the current best underground racer in Olympic City and berates and bullies the player for his racing skills, going as far as mocking him to "take a taxi home so that he can get home faster", but the player proves otherwise. Enraged, Eddie challenges the player to race Samantha, who gets infuriated upon the player's acceptance. She loses after she wrecks her
Honda Civic Si during the race, and her car is taken by T.J for himself thereafter and vandalizes it. Deeply saddened by the loss of her car to T.J, Samantha distances herself from the player.
The player eventually keeps winning races offered by Samantha's acquaintances in her absence and later on faces T.J in Samantha's vandalized Civic. T.J loses the race and returns the car to the player, who returns it back to Samantha. They rekindle their friendship and Samantha motivates the player to race Eddie and defeat him once and for all. Eddie challenges the player to a sprint race and loses; while the player's crew are about to celebrate, a mysterious grey
Nissan 350Z
:
The Nissan 350Z (known as Nissan Fairlady Z (Z33) in Japan) is a two-door, two-seater sports car that was manufactured by Nissan Motor Corporation from 2002 until 2009 and marks the fifth generation of Nissan's Z-car line. The 350Z entered pro ...
challenges the player to a final race. The player races the 350Z and wins; while the others celebrate his victory, the driver of the 350Z is revealed to be Melissa.
That event solidifies the player's status as the best underground racer in Olympic City.
Gameplay
Circuit is a standard race that involves racing with up to three opponents'
cars
A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, people in ...
around a loop track for two or more laps. It is the main mode of the game.
Knockout Mode is similar to previous ''Need for Speed'' titles. It is played on the circuit tracks, and involves "knocking out" the last racer who passes the finish line in each lap until the final leader of the race remains, and wins the race. In ''Underground'', Knockout sessions have a maximum of three laps for four racers.
Sprint mode is a variation on the Circuit mode, where the contestants race in a point-to-point track instead of loop tracks. These races are typically shorter than "circuits" (with a maximum of 8 km in length), so players are required to be more cautious of any mistakes during racing, such as crashing into barriers or vehicles.
Drifting is the most challenging and
technical
Technical may refer to:
* Technical (vehicle), an improvised fighting vehicle
* Technical analysis, a discipline for forecasting the future direction of prices through the study of past market data
* Technical drawing, showing how something is co ...
aspect of the game. Drift mode consists of one player in a short loop track, where the objective is to collect as many points as possible by drifting along the track. The player competes with three other contestants, who appear to accumulate scores along with the player during the drift session. The player would be required to beat these scores in order to obtain top positions.
Bonuses are awarded for players who drift in the outer borders of the track, drift vertically, or perform chained-drifting (continuous drifting by constantly steering the vehicle during drifts to maintain speed); if the player succeeds in ending a drift without collisions onto the sides of the track, the collected points are added into the score, otherwise, the collected points are cancelled.
Drift mode is the only type of racing where
time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...
taken to complete the track does not matter, since players are given the freedom to complete the allocated number of laps at their own pace, hence here is no
nitrous oxide
Nitrous oxide (dinitrogen oxide or dinitrogen monoxide), commonly known as laughing gas, nitrous, or nos, is a chemical compound, an oxide of nitrogen with the formula . At room temperature, it is a colourless non-flammable gas, and has ...
in this mode.
Drag racing is the second most technical form of race in the game. It involves racing against one or three cars on typically straight tracks and attempting to obtain top positions to win. In order to master Drag mode, players must employ good timing and reflexes for gear shifting,
redlining, overtaking, and the use of
nitrous oxide
Nitrous oxide (dinitrogen oxide or dinitrogen monoxide), commonly known as laughing gas, nitrous, or nos, is a chemical compound, an oxide of nitrogen with the formula . At room temperature, it is a colourless non-flammable gas, and has ...
boosts. Since players must use manual transmission, drag races place particular emphasis in monitoring the
tachometer
A tachometer (revolution-counter, tach, rev-counter, RPM gauge) is an instrument measuring the rotation speed of a shaft or disk, as in a motor or other machine. The device usually displays the revolutions per minute (RPM) on a calibrated analo ...
and the engine temperature during races, which is enlarged and displayed on the left side of the screen. Steering in this mode is simplified to simply allow for lane changes, while the computer handles the steering along the lanes, and the player focuses more on maintaining an optimum speed for the car.
Two conditions will result in players being forfeited during a drag race: head-on collisions with an opponent, barriers, traffic cars or dividers (being 'totaled'); or blown engines as a result from
prolonged redlining and the subsequent overheating of the engine.
Car customization
In the car customization menu, cars can be altered with performance upgrades and visual upgrades, such as paint colours, vinyls, neon, custom front and rear bumpers, custom side skirts, spoilers, custom hoods, exhaust tips, roof scoops, custom tires and
stickers
A sticker is a type of label: a piece of printed paper, plastic, vinyl, or other material with temporary or permanent pressure sensitive adhesive on one side. It can be used for decoration or for functional purposes, depending on the situation. ...
, and wide body kits.
Players can apply performance upgrades to their vehicles. The player can upgrade their car's engine, drivetrain, suspension, tires, engine control unit (ECU) as well as add nitrous oxide, turbochargers and reduce the car's weight (in the form of "weight reduction packages"). Performance upgrades are earned by completing certain races in the story mode.
Vehicles
''Underground'' features a total of 20 fully licensed cars. In contrast to previous installments that featured predominantly exotic cars, the cars in ''Underground'' are exclusively tuner-type cars. ''Underground'' is also notable for being the first game in the ''Need for Speed'' series to offer a
Korean
Korean may refer to:
People and culture
* Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula
* Korean cuisine
* Korean culture
* Korean language
**Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl
**Korean dialects and the Jeju language
** ...
-made car as a playable car. The car in question is the
Hyundai Tiburon
The Hyundai Tiburon ( ko, 현대 티뷰론) known in Europe as the Hyundai Coupé (현대 쿠페) is a sports coupe that was produced by the South Korean manufacturer Hyundai from 1996 to 2008.
The name "Tiburon", a slight variation of "tiburón ...
.
Style Points
First introduced in ''Underground'' was the ''Style Points'' system, strongly influenced from "The Kudos" system in ''
Metropolis Street Racer
''Metropolis Street Racer'' (''MSR'') is a racing video game developed by Bizarre Creations and published by Sega exclusively for Dreamcast. The game was intended to be a Dreamcast launch title, however, due to numerous delays it was not release ...
'' and ''
Project Gotham Racing
''Project Gotham Racing'' (''PGR'') is a series of racing video games developed by Bizarre Creations and published by Microsoft Studios (Xbox and Xbox 360) and Sega (Dreamcast). The series appeared on the Dreamcast, Xbox and Xbox 360 consoles, ...
''. Style Points are rewarded to the player for performing stunts and being competitive in race events. ''Style Points'' can be multiplied by the ''Style Modifier'', which can be increased by visually modifying the player's car. The more "tricked out" the design of the player's car, the higher their score gets multiplied. Style Points are earned by drafting, powersliding, taking shortcuts, closely avoiding traffic, and avoiding walls. Style Points gradually unlock visual upgrades for the player's car, as well as custom cars they can drive.
Soundtrack
The game's soundtrack contains 26 licensed songs, ranging from
rap
Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...
,
hip hop,
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
,
EDM
EDM or E-DM may refer to:
Music
* Electronic dance music
* Early Day Miners, American band
Science and technology
* Electric dipole moment
* Electrical discharge machining
* Electronic distance measurement
*Entry, Descent, and landing demonstrat ...
, and
Drum and bass, sung by artists like
Nate Dogg,
T.I., as well as
Lil Jon & The Eastside Boyz (who are best known for singing the game's theme song,
Get Low),
Petey Pablo
Moses Barrett III (born July 22, 1973), known by the stage name Petey Pablo, is an American rapper from Greenville, North Carolina. He is best known for his 2003 Crunk hit single "Freek-a-Leek".
Biography
Born in Greenville, North Carolina, Bar ...
,
Static-X,
Rob Zombie,
Lostprophets
Lostprophets (stylised as lostprophets) were a Welsh Rock music, rock band from Pontypridd, formed in 1997 by singer and lyricist Ian Watkins (Lostprophets singer), Ian Watkins and guitarist Lee Gaze. The band was founded after their former band ...
,
The Crystal Method
The Crystal Method is an American electronic music act formed in Las Vegas, Nevada, by Ken Jordan and Scott Kirkland in the early 1990s. They were pioneers of the big beat genre and their music has appeared in numerous TV shows, films, video gam ...
,
Junkie XL
Tom Holkenborg (born 8 December 1967), also known by his stage name Junkie XL or occasionally JXL, is a Dutch composer, multi-instrumentalist, DJ, producer, and engineer.
Originally known for his trance productions, he has moved to producing ...
,
Andy Hunter,
Asian Dub Foundation
Asian Dub Foundation (ADF) is an English electronic music band that combines musical styles including rap rock, dub, dancehall, ragga, and South Asian music. The group also includes traditional rock instruments such as electric bass and guit ...
and
BT (who is best known for producing the game's opening song, "Kimosabe"). The main menu mostly plays hip hop music, while the race sequences mostly play the electronica, metal, and techno music, though it is also optional for the player to integrate the main menu music into the race sequences or the race music into the main menu.
Development
''Need for Speed: Underground'' was first announced in April 2003. ''Underground'' features 20 fully customizable licensed Vehicles from thirteen manufacturers, and hundreds of aftermarket parts from no fewer than 52 aftermarket parts manufacturers, including
Bilstein,
Holley Performance Products
Holley Performance Products is an automotive performance company based in Bowling Green, Kentucky. It was founded in 1896 in Bradford, Pennsylvania by George Holley and Earl Holley. When the company was based in Michigan it was a major producer o ...
,
GReddy
is a Japanese automotive aftermarket company specialising in performance tuning parts for cars. The company is widely known for its sub-brand of tuning parts GReddy and the turbochargers under this brand.
GReddy/The Trust Company LTD
The Trus ...
,
Sparco
Sparco S.p.A. is an Italian auto part and accessory company headquartered in Volpiano near Turin that specializes in producing items such as seats, steering wheels, harnesses, racewear and helmets. Sparco branded alloy wheels are produced under li ...
,
HKS Power,
PIAA Corporation
PIAA Corporation is an automobile parts and supplies manufacturer headquartered in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. It is a consolidated subsidiary of Ichikoh, which in turn is a subsidiary of Valeo.
Despite the All caps, capitalization of its name impl ...
and
Enkei. The game's visual effects was designed under the supervision of
Habib Zargarpour
Habib Zargarpour (born 9 March 1964) is an Iranian visual effects supervisor, computer graphics supervisor, art director and creative director.
Zargarpour worked on the films ''Twister (1996 film), Twister'' (1996) and ''The Perfect Storm (fil ...
, who previously worked on the pod-racing sequence in ''
Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace''. ''Need for Speed: Underground''
went gold (became ready for release) and was released worldwide in November for PC, PlayStation 2, Xbox and Nintendo GameCube (with the exception of Japan for PS2 and Gamecube on December 25).
[
]
Reception
''Need for Speed: Underground'' received positive reviews according to review aggregators GameRankings and Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
. Both gave it a score of 84.29% and 85 out of 100 for the PlayStation 2 version,[ 83.73% and 83 out of 100 for the GameCube version,][ 82.29% and 82 out of 100 for the PC version,][ 81.76% and 83 out of 100 for the Xbox version][ and 77.33% and 77 out of 100 for the Game Boy Advance version.][ The only complaints critics had were the repetitive tracks, unbalanced rubberband AI, especially in the game's Easy mode, and the lack of free roam and damage in the game, with the latter only confining to detachment of licence plates and side mirrors from cars during collisions, especially during Drag races.
In the UK, '' Official UK PlayStation 2 Magazine'' gave the PS2 version a score of nine out of ten and made much of the illegal nature of the gameplay. They praised the speed, but called the title as another driving game with Hollywood sparkle. In Japan, '']Famitsu
formerly ''Famicom Tsūshin'', is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Kadokawa Game Linkage (previously known as Gzbrain), a subsidiary of Kadokawa. ''Famitsu'' is published in both weekly and monthly formats as well as in the f ...
'' gave the GameCube and PS2 versions a score of two eights and two nines, bringing it to a score of 34 out of 40.
Sales
According to Electronic Arts, ''Need for Speed: Underground'' was a commercial hit, with sales above 7 million units worldwide by mid-2004. ''Underground'' ultimately sold 15 million copies worldwide.
By July 2006, the PlayStation 2 version of ''Underground'' had sold 2.6 million copies and earned $115 million in the United States alone. '' Next Generation'' ranked it as the sixth highest-selling game launched for the PlayStation 2, Xbox
Xbox is a video gaming brand created and owned by Microsoft. The brand consists of five video game consoles, as well as applications (games), streaming services, an online service by the name of Xbox network, and the development arm by the ...
or GameCube between January 2000 and July 2006 in that country. It was the highest-selling ''Need for Speed'' game released between those dates in the United States. The PlayStation 2 version also received a "Double Platinum" sales award from the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association
The Association for UK Interactive Entertainment (Ukie) is a non-profit trade association for the video game industry in the United Kingdom (UK). Ukie was originally founded as the European Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA), and the ...
(ELSPA), indicating sales of at least 600,000 copies in the United Kingdom, where it had sold 700,000 copies by January 2004.
Awards
The editors of '' Computer Gaming World'' presented ''Underground'' with their 2003 "Racing Game of the Year" award.
''Need for Speed: Underground'' also won ''The Electric Playground
''EP Daily'' (formerly ''The Electric Playground'') is a daily news television show that covers video games, movies, TV shows, comic books, collectibles and gadgets. Created and executive produced by host Victor Lucas, and his Vancouver, British ...
''s 2003 "Best Driving Game for PC" award, the 7th Annual Interactive Achievements Awards for "Console Racing Game of the Year", and The CESA Game Awards for "Global Awards (overseas works)" from CESA and Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry
The or METI, is a ministry of the Government of Japan. It was created by the 2001 Central Government Reform when the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) merged with agencies from other ministries related to economic activities ...
.
References
External links
*
*
{{Authority control
2003 video games
Game Boy Advance games
Game Boy Advance-only games
GameCube games
Interactive Achievement Award winners
* 07
PlayStation 2 games
Street racing video games
Video games scored by Allister Brimble
Video games developed in Canada
Video games developed in the United Kingdom
Video game reboots
Video games scored by BT (musician)
Video games set in the United States
Video games with cross-platform play
Windows games
Xbox games
D.I.C.E. Award for Racing Game of the Year winners