Game Review (Need For Speed Underground 2 - DS)

I love the NFS series, and I wished I had a portable version that was pretty good.. well I got what i wanted and more- a game VERY good. The racing is realistic, there is a HUGE amount of customization, ( there are only 18 cars, but it doesnt stop the game from being amazing ) Here's a little breakdown:

GRAPHICS: 4/5 - For the DS in these early few months and in it's first year since release, this is the best it's gonna get until the creators put more time into the graphics. They are not as good as the PSP, but I don't think graphics matter THAT much - do they?

SOUND: 3/5 - The sound is one of the lower points of the game. The revving of the cars and the engine sounds are pretty good, but basically the sound is just dull. There is nothing going o in races except for the engines sounds, and the cheap music playing in the background. ( there is no liscensed music ). You might just want to listen to your own music and mute this.

CONTROL: 4/5 - For a handheld game without an analog stick, driving games may be a little tough for some; but not me. I played this game and thought it was a little strange at first, but after just about half a race I got into how you have to stear and let up the gas. It's overall pretty good for control.

USE OF THE TOUCH SCREEN: 2/5 - There is virtually no use of the touchscreen unless you want to use it to scan through the menu, which you are better off doing with the D-pad and the rest of the buttons. There are some mini games in here to try and make it be of more use, but they are extremely boring, repetetive, and have no sound or ANYTHING.

FUN FACTOR: 4/5 - Simple as this: If you like racing games, buy it. But even if you don't, you should at least rent it once or twice.

FLAWS: The major flaw in this game is definitely the lame crashes, and followed closely by the difficulty. Though it's rather easy to get parts for your car, there is a time that will come when it is extremely hard to win. About those crashes: Horrible. All the none racing A.I. cars are ALL semi's ( that i've seen ) and when you hit them, you're bumper goes into it a bit, and you just bounce back and just stop. If you crash once, you are more than likely going to lose the race if you were in first and he was on your tail, or if you were already in last.

Aside from the problems, this is one of the better games on the DS. I may have just rented this one, but I'm most likely going to purchase it some time very soon.

8.5/10