Need for Speed Underground

Need for Speed Underground is an arcade racing video game developed by EA Black Box and published by Electronic Arts in late 2003. While paying respect to the success that the previous games managed to achieve on PC and home consoles, this seventh release in the Need for Speed franchise managed to completely reboot the gameplay and the style of the franchise.

Instead of focusing only on dry racing challenges with a large variety of sport and exotic cars, it introduced a fully custom-made career mode that featured a lavishly produced story campaign and a widely successful garage mode that allowed all gamers to collect the large car roster and dramatically customize them with the wide variety of performance and visual upgrades. To better facilitate the newly introduced story mode, the entire game was moved to Olympic City, a fictional night metropolis modeled on the features of Los Angeles, New York City, and San Francisco where underground racing clubs and fast police chases have become commonplace occurrences.

During the long and eventful singleplayer campaign, the players are tasked to complete several gameplay modes, which include Circuit racing around loop tracks, Knockout mode where the last players are regularly removed from the circuit race, Sprint point-to-point racing, drifting challenges, and Drag racing. The customization options present inside Need for Speed: Underground are extensive, and they cover both performance (engine, suspension, drivetrain, tires, ECU, car weight reduction, Nitrous oxide boosters, and more) and visual aspects (color paint,   neon lights, custom bumpers, side skirts, spoilers, wide-body kits, and much more).

After its release to the market in late 2003, Need for Speed: Underground became one of the most critically praised and financially successful games in the entire franchise, spawning a direct sequel and many other sequels that tried to emulate the winning formula that Electronic Arts managed to find inside this game. Today, NFS Underground is regarded as one of the most important releases in the entire franchise and a title that many arcade racing fans are regularly coming back to.

As is expected from any NFS game on PC, the users have full freedom to customize rendering quality, and resolution, enjoy the high framerate gameplay, and customize their controls. Due to its age, Need for Speed: Underground can today be experienced in its full glory even on modest gaming PCs and laptops.

System Requirements - Can I Run Need For Speed Underground 

• CPU: Intel Pentium III (or compatible) CPU running at 700Mhz or higher
• RAM: 256MB of RAM
• GPU: 32MB DirectX 9 compatible video card (Geforce2 or higher) using a supported chipset
• DX: DirectX 9
• Storage: 450 MB free Hard Disk space, plus space for Direct X9 installation
• Sound: DirectX compatible Sound Card

PROS

Car Customization: Need for Speed: Underground is known for its extensive car customization options. Players can modify and upgrade their vehicles in various ways, including visual upgrades like body kits, spoilers, and decals, as well as performance upgrades like engine enhancements, suspension tuning, and nitrous oxide systems.

Street Racing Culture: The game captures the underground street racing culture of the early 2000s, complete with a thumping soundtrack, urban environments, and a storyline that immerses players in the world of illegal racing.

Diverse Car Selection: The game features a wide variety of cars from different manufacturers, allowing players to choose their favorite vehicles and customize them to their liking.

Exciting Races: The game offers a thrilling racing experience with a mix of circuit races, drag races, drift events, and more. The races are fast-paced and often require skillful driving to win.

Multiplayer Mode: It includes a multiplayer mode that allows players to compete against friends or other players online, adding to the replayability of the game.

Graphics and Visuals: At the time of its release, the game had impressive graphics and detailed environments, which contributed to its immersive experience.

CONS

Limited Storyline: While the game does have a story, it is relatively basic and serves primarily as a means to progress through the game's races and events. It may not be as engaging as some other racing games with more developed narratives.

Lack of Open World: Unlike some later entries in the "Need for Speed" series, "Underground" does not have an open-world environment. Instead, races are divided into separate tracks and events.

Outdated Graphics: While the graphics were impressive in 2003, they may appear dated by today's standards, especially if you're used to modern racing games with high-definition graphics and realistic physics.

Limited Track Variety: Some players may find that the track variety in the game is somewhat limited, as there are a finite number of locations where races take place.

Limited Damage Model: It does not feature a detailed damage model for cars, which means that vehicles don't realistically show damage during races.