Fun, but a bit too easy.

Looking at Need For Speed Underground 2, it would be easy to accuse Electronic Arts of ripping off every major driving title that's been developed for the Playstation 2. There are tastes of Burnout, Gran Turismo, Grand Theft Auto, Midnight Club, and many others littered throughout the game. At the same time, none of the classic Need For Speed style is present here. I'm not entirely sure why they even gave this game the Need For Speed title, because it's completely different.

It sounds like I'm ranting, but I'm not. I didn't expect this game to be anything but an urban "tuner scene" rice-fest, but I was pleasantly surprised. Even though much of it has been taken from other games, EA has done a good job of creating a unique atmosphere. Everything fits well, and the game is actually quite fun.

I'm going to review the career mode, since that is the heart of the game. However, there are also multiplayer modes (which I haven't played yet since I still don't have a network adapter) and single races.

The career mode starts you off in Bayview with nothing to your name except a borrowed (and utterly tacky, I might add) car. You get to choose a car of your own right off, and things get moving pretty quickly. Rather than choosing locations and races through menus, you drive around the city to different locations. This is kind of fun, although it does get old after awhile - especially since there is very little to be gained from driving around. You progress through the game by winning races, tuning your car, and winning sponsorships from companies. You can also be featured on various DVD and magazine covers. Every once in awhile (mostly through sponsorships), you can pick out a new car. At any time, you can trade your current car for something else. You can have up to five cars in your garage.

Bayview is a fairly large city with some suburban areas around it. You can use the interstate and freeways to travel between the different areas, and more of them open up as you progress through the game. There are races, performance shops, car lots, body shops, and more scattered throughout the city. Some of them show up on your map, and others are hidden until you find them. The city is very nicely detailed, and it's all open as soon as you start the game, so you can drive through it freely without waiting for different areas to load.

The graphics in the game are impressive. This is one of the first games I've ever seen with realistic headlight effects, and the rain effects are quite nice as well. Your headlights shine out in front of you like they really should, and they even bounce off of things like reflectors on the roads. I-27 is scattered with water barrels, which are a blast to drive into (luckily, there isn't any car damage). The game's realistic atmosphere is enhanced even more by the appearance of a few businesses like Burger King and Best Buy. It would be nice to see more places like these, but this is a first as far as I know, and it's pretty neat to see companies recognizing games as a good way to get publicity. The only disappointing part of the game's appearance is the traffic. Although the headlights look impressive as they approach you, you're quickly greeted by the same yellow cab or blue minivan or one of the other low-detail cars. I haven't counted, but there can't be more than five or six types of vehicles running around.

You communicate with your friends and opponents through a short message system (powered by Cingular, as you're constantly reminded by the logo that stays on your HUD). You can challenge other racers as you drive through the city, and you're also informed of new shops and parts as they are unlocked. You also get messages about hidden races, which are worth a lot of money if you can find them and win them.

There are six types of races in the career mode:

Circuit: This is your cut-and-dry circuit race around a predetermined track in the city. There's enough traffic to keep you occupied, but not so much that it becomes a problem. There are a wide variety of circuits to choose from, and the racing changes quite a bit depending on what area of the city you're in.

Sprint: This is the same as a circuit race, except you're taking a single path through the city instead of doing laps. You also have to deal with traffic here, although again, it's not much.

Drag: These races are drags run against other cars on a straight course. There are alternate paths to choose, and there is also some traffic to deal with, so it can be quite a challenge. This is one mode I wish had been different, because as surprising as this may seem, the game drives your car for you. All you have to do is mash the X button and give the analog stick a quick flick whenever you want to change lanes. The game steers your car along the course by itself, and even though you're forced to have a manual transmission, the game tells you when to shift. You can blow your engine if you over-rev it, which is actually pretty silly, since cars have limiters that stop that from happening. This is a mode that could use a lot of improvement.

Drift: During these races, you don't try to place first - you try to get as many points as possible. These wet courses have tight corners, and your objective is to rack up points by sliding through them. It's actually too easy. All you have to do is stay on the white stripes and do some sliding on the straight parts, and you'll win every time. Once the computer cars finish, you have 30 seconds to get to the line. These are fun, but I wish they were more challenging.

Street X: Maybe it's just me, but I think these races are insanely hard. They're like a normal race, except you're on a tight and tiny course with no traffic and a load of 90-degree corners. I've been avoiding these as much as possible, because no matter how hard I try, I can never seem to win them. They seem many times harder than any other race type in the game. Maybe I just need more practice.

URL (Underground Racing League): These are Gran Turismo-style races that put you on an empty track with no traffic or buildings to get in your way. The game's physics make this a disappointingly easy mode, because you can take corners at insanely high speeds and easily get a large lead. You get a lot of money for winning these, though, and they're required for sponsorships.

Overall, the game is a lot of fun, but maybe not challenging enough. In any case, it definitely has its own unique atmosphere. The soundtrack is great. You might expect nothing but rap, but there's actually a pretty good variety of music on there, and all of it fits. It's fun to mod up your cars, and although the performance aspect of the tuning is pretty basic, there's a lot to do with your car's appearance.

This game doesn't match Gran Turismo's sophisticated realism or Burnout's insane crashes, but it does have a lot of replay value. If you like racing games at all, you should give it a try. Even if you don't want to pay $50 for it, I'm sure it will make it in the Greatest Hits collection.