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How Metascores Are Calculated
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 GAMES: 
Need for Speed Underground 2 challenges gamers to immerse themselves in the tuner culture, exploring an expansive, free-roaming city divided into five distinct neighborhoods. Gamers encounter rival racers who initiate events, tip players off to the hottest racing spots, and show them where to buy the most sought-after licensed aftermarket upgrades. The game features new game modes, deep new performance customization and tuning, and more than 30 licensed cars. The game also delivers twice the visual customization upgrades as the original game, providing a staggering 70 billion possible car combinations for total automotive self-expression. [Electronic Arts]
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more... 100
GamePro
An outstanding sequel in all aspects. It offers a lot of new and fun features, yet the game doesn't move away from the core gameplay that made the first Underground so popular, which is pure adrenaline street racing.
 95
Australian GamePro
Everything "NFSU" was and more. Racing is now more realistic and the freedom to cruise the city and choose your events is an awesome improvement.
94
Game Chronicles
NFSU2 is fun, challenging, diverse, and long, and while it might get a bit repetitive if you try to conquer it all in a week of solid gaming, if you take your time with it you’ll find a solid month of intense racing action here, probably more.
92
Xbox Solution
If you like arcade style racing and customizing the hell out of cars, you'll really enjoy this racer, it's among my top 3 racers of all time!
92
Xbox Evolved
The backgrounds and the environment are amazing.
92
GameZone
Wonderfully stylish, satisfyingly addictive and completely different, this sequel to the stellar original makes Need for Speed Underground 2 a new fan favorite.
91
IGN
An impressive, and more importantly, fun game that overcomes its faults with depth, breadth, and variety.
91
GameBiz
A massive improvement over its predecessor of last year. The sheer excitement and rush of adrenaline that the game constantly delivers without fail pushes the game’s few faults into the back of your mind.
91
Gaming Age
NFS Underground 2 does one more thing exceptionally well; give the gamer plenty of bang for their buck. If 8 different game play modes wasn’t enough; Circuit, Drag, Drift, Sprint, Street X, Downhill Drift, Outrun, and Underground Racing League, you have a story mode that will give gamers over 40 hours of racing joy.
91
Next Level Gaming
Electronic Arts really has turned the Need For Speed series into something very special. The series was starting to get old with rehash after rehash, now each Underground title seems to get better and better with every release.
91
Warcry
The additions to the series and the wide-open city contribute immensely to the game's immersion factor. I’m eagerly awaiting the next game in this series.
90
DarkStation
The one thing that impresses me most about NFSU2 is how addictive it is.
90
GamerArchive
If Need for Speed Underground 2 fits your style, the quality visuals and downright fun game play makes the game well worth the purchase.
90
GameCritics
The game achieves a harmony of its parts rarely matched with its peers. In a sea of also-rans, Underground 2 takes top honors and is probably one of the most creatively consistent and fully realized games we'll see in quite some time.
90
GMR Magazine
Compared to its predecessor, NFSU2 is more. More city, more courses, more cars, more parts, more style...just more of everything in general. The game is huge. [Dec 2004, p.99]
90
Cheat Code Central
A sequel to one of the most popular games of last year, this one doesn't just pick up where the last one left off, it passes it on the freeway like a rocket sled on rails.
90
Total Video Games
Its immense thrills and spills through the open-ended city of Bayview is exhilarating, and the culture that is emerging is created in the game to great effect.
90
Yahoo! Games
The world is elaborate, the sense of speed is dizzying, and the customization could cost you a job or a girlfriend. But you'll still have Brooke to keep you company.
90
Stuff
By far the biggest innovation is the massive, explorable cityscape, complete with secret garages and locals hankering for a drag race. The only truly unforgivable flaw is the cornball dialogue.
90
GameSpy
The additional game modes, upgraded customization, and most-importantly the game's open world environment make it stand a clear step above its predecessor which was already a fantastic racer to begin with.
89
3DAvenue
The online play and continuous customization of the cars will have players coming back for more time and time again.
89
Official Xbox Magazine
For all you "E! Wild On" fans who are just dying to know, Brooke Burke appears as mostly a static character in comic-book-style panels. [Holiday 2004, p.76]
89
IC-Games
One of the things that really strikes me about the game is how well the feeling of speed is portrayed to the gamer. These cars can travel well over 180 mph towards the end of the game - a speed that most of us will never experience on the road - but you certainly feel like you are going fast.
86
My Gamer
The car customization alone creates a huge amount of replay value. The graphics look fantastic.
86
Xbox World Australia
The single player game is much beefier and offers great variety in tracks, race modes, cars and modifications available. It perhaps tries to be a bit too slick at times.
85
MS Xbox World
The fact that there are countless billboards for Burger King and Best Buy (not to mention the actual stores), the fact that you use a Cingular phone, and the fact that every car, car part, and song is licensed all combines to make Need for Speed feel more like a playable advertisement than a game sometimes.
85
1UP
Once you've unlocked the entire area and learned how to get around on the surface streets and freeways, it creates a remarkable sense of immersion in the environment.
85
PALGN
Some gamers may be frustrated by the familiarity this game shares with the original Underground but, just like its predecessor Underground 2 is a great game that is filled with plenty of content and will make fans of "Fast and the Furious" and "2 Fast 2 Furious" extremely happy.
84
Team Xbox
If you like an arcade/sim mix, and dig the nouveaux style of free-roaming and emergent gameplay, then this game is all you. If you tend to like very arcadey racers (like the first "NFSU"), or more sim-type racers, then NFSU2 is probably not going to be your thing.
84
BonusStage
NFSU2 feels like a much fuller game than its predecessor most of the time, but there is still that feeling in the back of my head saying that the free-roaming world is nothing more than an interactive menu interface.
83
Electronic Gaming Monthly
The game's overall length and number of hidden surprises is downright daunting, yet the story is so paper-thin, the series still lacks the impetus necessary to motivate casual racers through nearly 50 hours of gameplay. [Holiday 2004, p.96]
82
Worth Playing
While "Burnout 3" may claim the crown in the realm of arcade racers, NFSU2 has the licensed vehicles and endless customization options that set it apart from other racing games.
80
Extreme Gamer
The car mods reek of awesomeness and feature some really cool features like spinners and scissor doors! It's feels great to trick out cars you normally wouldn't see done up to the games extreme.
80
Game Informer
Just about everything in this game is better, except for the cumbersome overworld. If you can overlook this one shortcoming, there is a lot to like in Underground 2, I just had a hard time getting over this one, rather large, hurdle. [Dec 2004, p.162]
80
AceGamez
A lightweight storyline is balanced out by a hardcore car creation mode (at least on the visuals front) and all this is backed up by the delectable Brooke Burke. It's fair to say that it beats neither Midnight Club or Burnout, but it comes a pretty close second.
80
Game Over Online
Broadening the racing arenas to include a complete city, the number of race types and vehicles significantly increases the number of things to do in the game. However, the quirks of the world map, lack of visual speed and other gameplay issues keep it from surpassing the original title.
80
Sydney Morning Herald
While the driving action isn't quite as satisfying as the superb "Burnout 3," it's still strong enough to keep you playing through the 150 or so races.
80
Xbox Nation Magazine
The random encounters throughout the city of Bayview are fun, yet disappointingly shallow and unrewarding (in terms of dough). [Dec 2004, p.91]
80
Gamers' Temple
So while the living city aspect of the game is all look and no substance, the racing itself is definitely recommendable.
80
Times Online
The courses in this game are just as much the stars as the cars. The dazzling downtown locations are massive, dominated by skyscrapers whose light bathes the streets in a radiant glow.
80
Game Power Australia
Clearly great value, but it's hard to shake the feeling EA's chart-topping sequel could have been better.
80
Operation Sports
If you can get past the mediocre dialogue and presentation, you'll find "NFSU2" as one of the better arcade racers available.
80
Ferrago
Naturally the pimping side of things have been expanded to a maddeningly complete degree.
80
Gamestyle
And while it's as fast and fun as you please, the game won't nearly hit its mark with the mainstream because it's far too 'chavish' (although we do we know of non-chavs who enjoy it).
75
Game Revolution
Does a pretty good job capturing the tuner scene with fast races and flashy cars. However, some lingering A.I. issues and the excessive time it takes just to get where you need to go keeps this ride from shifting to fifth.
74
Gamezilla!
If you’re an absolute gear-head, there is no question you are going to love this game. You can purchase and upgrade parts for everything from your engine to your exhaust system.
74
GameSpot
Almost everything that has been added to this year's game detracts from the overall experience. Once you're in and racing and customizing your cars, it's a lot of fun, but there are too many obstacles standing between you and the best parts of the game.
73
TotalGames.net
The handling has been improved since the first game but it still feels a little bit dodgy. It's fine for basic cornering but any time you try to make a slight movement the car doesn't feel connected to the road. The end result is swinging back and forth trying to correct.
70
eToychest
But strip away the culture it’s trying so very hard to win over and there’s a game that’s been hastily, and sparsely, updated, and was beaten to death in the womb by "Burnout 3" months ago. Just like 20” rims and a spoiler on a 1984 Volvo, this game may turn heads, but where it counts most it’s a phoney.
70
Computer and Video Games
A very good, engrossing racer. But, like last year's effort, it just doesn't offer enough to rise it above the brilliant competition. It looks very snazzy, but the lighting effects are no way as sophisticated as "Midnight Club 3's." Nor are its environments particularly interactive. [Official UK Xbox Magazine]
70
Xequted
Not a realistic racer, the details of physics aren’t there, and some of the reactions the car makes are not accurate to say the least. But we don’t think that matters, NFSU2 is a great, loveable game which, taken at face value – a fun-filled racing game – is great fun and enjoyable to play and progress through, if you’re in Career Mode.
70
Boomtown
The problem with NFS: U2 is the terrible cheating and inept AI and the lack of variety.
60
G4 TV
There’s something almost absurd about paying for a game that inundates you with a constant stream of ads.
60
Eurogamer
Like terrifyingly addictive bad things like cigarettes, fast food and trash TV, you can't help but get sucked in by it all. Weird creatures, human beings. Always enjoying the wrong things, despite themselves.
60
NTSC-uk
Whilst NFSU is enjoyable to some extent, it is inevitably held back by it simplicity, both in design and execution.
60
games(TM)
Unfortunately, the extras and vehicle customisation can’t change the fact that the actual racing feels very average. The tracks seem to be more winding than the last game, which detracts from the feeling of speed, and the handling feels very sloppy when compared to other recent games in the genre. [Christmas 2004, p.117]
60
Gamer.tv
Not as much much fun as EA's other recent speed merchant "Burnout 3," but if getting under the hood to tinker with motors is your thing, this could be the one for you.
60
Edge Magazine
The handling hasn’t evolved and a year on, with the masking novelty of the game’s tuning aspects worn off, it’s disappointingly limited and remote. And despite the increased choice and plot introduction the whole exercise can often feel soulless. [Christmas 2004, p.60]
Armando D. gave it a5: Jimmi A. gave it a7: Paul3554 dominator gave it a10: Chris B. gave it a6: Chris S. gave it a9: Josh B. gave it a10: J. R. gave it a8: |
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