NFS: underground review

Hasse

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Dec 31, 2007
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Ouch.

Well after reading that article about a cheesy game such as nfs: underground I'm beginning to doubt THG even further. It's a hardware review site, please do not delve into games too. Ahh well , back to my real rant: The other games in the NFS series has alot better handling, realism and physics engine than NFS:U has. All other cars (the "traffic") are only simple polygons with no texture and little shading. Either my GPU (Ti4600) does not cope with this game (also tried on a 9700PRO with same result) or the game really sucks when it comes to quality graphics as a whole. Don't get me wrong, the cars and the scenery is wonderful, it's just the traffic that sucks. Second, the game is extremely monotonous, there is very little except the 3 different types of play (sprint is street racing same as laps, same [-peep-] new wrapping): Drag racing (totally unrealistical the way the car handles regarding steering), Drift (which sole intent is to take "wide" turns and burn alot of rubber, which is also the easiest race type to win) and Last the standard way with either laps or just from a-b. Ofcourse they have the knockout variety as allways. The real problem with NFS:U is not the gameplay, that's just plain annoying at times, but one will accept it just because it's kinda fun to drive as long as you don't crash into anything. EA games have removed the damage to cars when crashing instead your car does impossible movements in the air, like forward flips, screws, tripple loops. These incidents occurs if you crash a car in the rear, in the front there are other varieties, those incidents REALLY pisses you off after a time, because they're hard to avoid if you want to win. Also to drive on gravel is like driving on ice, but that's really not that irritating. And every time your car goes arial you'll wait an eternity because NFS:U slows down to show off it's EXTREMELY poor physics engine, which means to show the crash in slow motion, ofcourse you cannot skip this. Bahh this game had promises, but nah, it's a lowdown. My favourite in the NFS series is still porche unlimited (or what ever it's called)... The cool part about NFS:U is still the upgrade part, but alas, whenever you get a really cool upgrade, so does your opponents too...

Happy motoring
Hasse
 

KIANOOSH

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Feb 23, 2004
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I have to say I really like NFS:U and it's entertaining but it's far from being anything close to what I would call the best racing game ever. as Hasse mentions the traffic is a set of poorly detailed polygons, the accidents are unrealistic, and everything else that you can mention. Another problem I find with this game is the lack of Wuropean cars(or maybe I haven't unlocked them yet) but there are so far only two brnads of European cars. As a car fanatic I'm very disappointed with the choices. Where are those bautiful and fast Alfas, Opel, or Audis? At least Audi is an "import car" in North America. The choices of races are highly limited (unlike great games such as GT series). As much as it's nice to have the same performance with the upgrades independant of the cars but it also takes the fun out of being a certain brnad fan, or being smart with certain brands. The tracks are good I have to say ONLY if you're an RnB fan. There is a huge lack of Alternative, Techno songs and also you can't import your own music. There is an option that allows to disable the unwanted the tracks but it won't load until you actually log in the profile. Also the Transmission option is badly located. you have to exit the Underground and then go to the option, car and then select your tranmission. As much as Manual transmission is the obvious choice but sometimes there is a need to change the transmission for a certain race(drift races) and it becomes frustraing to do this tedious work. Overall I find this game a "good start" for street racing but it's far away from being anything close to what GT is in its class.
 

goloap

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Sep 9, 2001
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I played through the game and found it better than the previous NFS (Hot pursuit 2), but still really bad compared to NFS Porche Unleashed.

First the good points: graphics (exculding the traffic) and the sound, both really well done.

The OK things: The new driving mode: drifting. It is amusing, and different from what we have seen. The physics are arcade physics (sure the car seems to fly better than it drives, but I have seen worst)

The bad things: Here is the biggest part. 1) The tracks. They are all the same, they are not challenging (you rarely need to put the brakes) and they are always wet. By the way, why is the street always wet?

2) The lack of damage model. Unacceptable. There is no real challenge in driving if you know that even if you slam into something you will be just like new.

3) The crappy system of buying parts. It is just stupid that you have to unlock parts before you can buy them. I always had tons of cash that I could spend, but the parts were not available. If you need to unlock the parts don't give me useless cash. EA tried to put two systems in the same game and it does not work.

4) The cars have pretty much the same handling. Also suprisingly a Mazda S2000 only costs a couple thousands more than the Civic.

5) Why am I forced to put neon lights under my car? I don't want to make light under my car, but I had to or else I could not advance to the next level.

6) Bad AI. the game is way to easy. I passed all the races at the hardest settings without too much trouble. Sure there is the really unrealistic "catch up mode" where the AI cars just float over the track and go twice as fast as you go so they catch up with you. But they are still really bad.

In conclusion, NFS:U is an ok game because of the graphics. The gameplay side is terrible.

In ancient times they had no statistics so they had to fall back on lies
 

icy_oblivion

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Aug 30, 2002
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If you want a great racing game that has cars flying in the air all the time, you should try the old DOS game, Stunts!!

<b>Just because I like AMD or Intel more at a time because of one product compared to another, does not make me a fan boy, it makes me a person who is able to make a decision for myself.</b>
 

rubikian

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May 20, 2002
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Or maybe the arcade style type, Midnight Club 2...

Actually I didn't try out NFSU but I downloaded the trial. I don't like it. The best is still porsche unleashed.

P4 1.7Ghz @ 2GHz, 512MB PC800 RDRAM, 64MB Abit Ti4200, 60GB Maxtor, 120GB Western Digital, 48x24x42 TDK CDRW, 16X ASUS DVDROM, SB! live 5.1DE, Lifeview 3000 TV card
 

goloap

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Stunt was a good game, but I got used to better graphics. It now seems too rudimentry for me. By the way have you ever been able to drive on the ice in stunt. It was sooo slipery, there was no way to control the car.

For me, Porsche Unleashed is the best racing game for PC.

In ancient times they had no statistics so they had to fall back on lies
 

Kronos

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Mar 18, 2001
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Nope...best racing game is NASCAR RACING 2003.

I want to die like my Grandfather...in my sleep...not screaming in terror like his passengers.
 

goloap

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Sorry, I'm not a Nascar fan so I never tried a nascar game and don't plan to try one. It's just that the tracks are all the same: oval.

In ancient times they had no statistics so they had to fall back on lies
 

Kronos

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Mar 18, 2001
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No...they are not "all the same". There are roadcourses and other configurations. You have prejudged a game without trying it, so any further discussion about the Papyrus superior online play is redundant.

I want to die like my Grandfather...in my sleep...not screaming in terror like his passengers.
 

morganwill

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Sep 30, 2002
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How old is NFS Underground???
Tom's glowing review acts like it recently came out????
WTF??
I saw this game at Best Buy and almost pulled the trigger on purchasing over 12 months ago..
I think I will wait for the next rally type driver is out.
Any advice on what is coming down the pipe??
The best drives I've had, have been Colin McRae2 and Nascar Thunder 2004. Both of these are way boring now and I am curious why no one seems to make any fun driving sims???
 

goloap

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Sep 9, 2001
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I'm not saying that the game is not good, I'm saying that I am not a big fan of the subject of the game. Thus, I won't play the game. It's like playing a baseball game if you can't stand baseball: it doesn't make sense.

In ancient times they had no statistics so they had to fall back on lies
 

goloap

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Sep 9, 2001
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You can already try out the demo of Collin McRae Rally 4. I did not try it yet, so tell me if it's any good if you try it.

There is also TOCA 2, that is suppose to come out sometime this year. I don't know a lot about it.

In ancient times they had no statistics so they had to fall back on lies