PS2, Publisher EA Games, Developer Black Box
After many releases for “Need for Speed” titles, can EA Games keep a good job developing more and more NFS games? With NFSU the answer is “It depends on your taste.” Because gamers can be mainly classified into two categories:
1. Ultra realism (Grand Turismo)
2. Fun racing (Midnight Club)
Some gamers will love this game and others will hate it. But EA Games has blurred the line, for the first time you can now buy upgrades for your car under two new categories, Performance and Display.
Graphics
The new game uses a new blurring technique; the game blurs the surrounding road making it look faster than it really appears. All the roads feel wet, giving you a nice reflective shine. When playing the game you will notice it is based on nighttime New York, the downside is when playing the game most of the tracks feel too repetitive. Most of the parts of the tracks are used again in different racing tracks making you feel like you are always on the same level. They should have added more diverse tracks and more cities.
Sounds
The game gives you a wide selection of what to listen to, from all kinds of rock for the races to Rap for the menus. The tires screeching and the engine’s noise are excellent, they are well done and will have you listening to them carefully to improve your gaming performance. The acting in the cut scenes is so cheesy it can make you feel like “2 Fast 2 Furious” deserved an Oscar — it is that bad.
The Score 7.8 (out of 10)
Great for racing nuts and casual gamers, but not for every one.
