Metacritic Games

Fast and the Furious, The (Playstation 2)

Inspired by the events of Universal Pictures' upcoming film, "The Fast & The Furious: Tokyo Drift," this game immerses players in the underground world of drift racing. Set in a world related to, yet separate from, the movie, the game features a drift mechanic that makes drifting accessible to both beginning and veteran racing game drivers. Gameplay features revolutionary new systems like the Drift Indicator. Turn on the assists and feel like a pro, or turn them off and hone your drift skills. Focusing on the "next big thing" in underground street racing this video game utilizes Universal’s extensive sound library, an incredible context based camera code, a revolutionary context based rumble system that gives players the feeling of driving city streets at break neck speeds like no other. Immerse yourself in the world of the game. 10,000+ polygon model cars, cinematic camera angles straight from the movie, unique boss challenges, stunning visuals and an Advanced Rubber Band AI system. Tune your ride with a hundred licensed wheels, and over 500 body kits from real JDM companies. Tune your ride like never before from performance to appearance, and for the first time ever swap out your engine to truly push the limits of your vehicle. [Namco Bandai]

Namco Bandai Games
Racing, Driving
Players: 4
T (Teen)
Developer: Eutechnyx
Released September 26, 2006

Overall Metascore

This is a weighted, normalized average of all individual scores given by critics, on a scale of 0 (worst) to 100 (best).

59 / 100

Critic Reviews

75 Detroit Free Press
The sense of power and weight, combined with awesome drift controls and the aforementioned speed, mean you won't have to wait until you can buy faster cars to enjoy the game as it's meant to be enjoyed.
74 GameZone
While this is no "NFS: Underground," followers of both drift racing and the scandalous underworld of street racing will find a good deal to admire.
74 Game Chronicles
The Fast and The Furious is by no means a bad game, but in a genre already flooded with countless racing titles it doesn’t really stand out or do anything new.
70 Cheat Code Central
F&F is fun, popcorn entertainment, exactly what it intended to be.
70 TotalPlayStation
A fairly basic and accessible racing game is unfortunately marred by upgrades that aren't sufficiently explained. The setting is ripe for a sequel, however, and I'm hoping that it gets just a little more newbie-friendly. For my sake.
66 IGN
The driving physics are tuned too much for drifting, making the street racing sections play a little awkwardly, while the drift races are too easy because you aren't penalized for driving like an idiot. However, the cars carry a great sense of weight and presence on the street and the customization options are excellent.
66 GameSpot
It feels like one of those uninspired also-rans cribbed from "The Fast and the Furious" in the first place. It's not an entirely bad street racer, but it does nothing new, and it makes pretty lousy use of the license.
66 Jolt Online Gaming UK
This type of game has been done better, and on top of that, the genre has moved on to the next generation where murky and jaggy graphics are a thing of the past.
65 PSM Magazine
Unfortunately, the ovverall pace of the game is bogged down by the numerous loading screens. [Dec. 2006, p.84]
60 AceGamez
The Fast and the Furious will probably come off as unimpressive and forgettable - but if you've played Carbon as much as possible and you're still in need of your street racing fix then this will do you nicely for awhile.
60 Games Radar (in-house)
The strongest features it offers are the robust customization and nice car models. There are better "underground" racers out there with comparable features (many of which can now be had for half this game's $40 price tag), and if you're a fan of the movies, the movies are what you should watch.
60 Game Informer
With the enhanced version of "Midnight Club 3" retailing for $20, I see little need for this title. [Nov. 2006, p.134]
60 Boomtown
Without any identifiable storyline or single-player incentives, the various challenges on offer simply fail to motivate, and can become tiresome as a result.
55 Play.tm
The PS2 is still clearly still capable of impressing in the graphics department as games like Okami and God of War 2 have proved, TFatF by comparison looks like it's from a different generation entirely, one where blurry low detail was the norm.
51 PSM3 Magazine UK
Deeply uninspiring. [Apr 2007, p.86]
51 Games Master UK
An utterly forgettable racer devoid of charm or pizzazz. [May 2007, p.66]
50 Official Playstation 2 Magazine UK
A competent but characterless racer that rolls, rather than roars over the finish line. Not so much a Maserati as a Mondeo. [Apr 2007, p.85]
50 Eurogamer
Die-hard followers of drift racing and modification will applaud the unforgiving accuracy of the game engine but, given the importance they tend to place on shiny shiny good looks, they're also the people most likely to be turned off by the scrappy presentation.
50 Official U.S. Playstation Magazine
I want to like The Fast and The Furious, because somewhere under all the excruciating load times and arcade setting menus(I have to load a menu to change my camera angle? Ugh!)lies a solid game. It's a real shame. [Nov. 2006, p.119]
45 Electronic Gaming Monthly
"Need for Speed Underground 2" did two years ago everything this game does, but with much more style and variety. [Nov. 2006, p.124]
40 GameSpy
Only for the truly hardcore street racing fans. It's not a good enough racer to attract the wide base of casual videogame race fans, and we can't recommend more than a rental even for the die-hard gearheads.
40 Playstation Official Magazine UK
Given that fans of the movie have surely long-since moved on, there is simply no reason for this game to exist. [May 2007, p.120]

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