Need for Speed: Underground 2
Need for Speed: Underground 2
Sorti le 10 mai 2005 sur Nintendo DS, Need for Speed: Underground 2 est un jeu de course développé par Pocketeers et édité par Electronic Arts. Cette version portable exploite les capacités à double écran de la console : l'action de course s'affiche sur l'écran supérieur tandis que l'inférieur propose une carte du circuit. L'interface tactile permet de déclencher le nitro ou de personnaliser son véhicule, notamment via un programme de peinture au stylet pour créer ses propres designs. Le titre propose quinze voitures sous licence, une bande-son hip-hop et un mode multijoueur sans fil autorisant jusqu'à quatre participants.
Côté contenu, le joueur intègre la scène clandestine de l'Underground pour affronter les meilleurs pilotes dans des épreuves de circuit, de dragster ou de conquête de zone. La progression repose sur l'accumulation de points lors des victoires, points qui servent ensuite à acquérir des centaines de pièces de rechange pour modifier les performances et l'esthétique des bolides.
Techniquement, le jeu tourne sur le moteur EAGL et intègre une protection SafeDisc 4.60. Compter environ vingt heures et demie pour boucler l'histoire principale, et près de trente heures pour en voir le bout en complétionniste.
L'accueil critique a été favorable, le jeu obtenant une note moyenne de 82 sur Metacritic et un score agrégé de 81. La presse a salué la qualité sonore, l'Official U.S. Playstation Magazine qualifiant les effets de moteur d'« incroyablement crédibles », tandis que GamePro y voyait « une suite exceptionnelle à tous points de vue » qui conserve le cœur de gameplay du premier opus. Du côté des joueurs, certains estiment que cet épisode représente « l'apogée des jeux de course de son époque », d'autres affirmant qu'il « reste un chef-d'œuvre du genre » même après plus de vingt ans.
Médias
Avis des critiques et joueurs
Critiques de la Presse (Metacritic)
« The sound effects are without any shadow of a doubt the most amazing I've ever heard in a videogame. The rasp of the engine is so unbelievably believable that you can actually feel the reverberation of the exhaust as the ower surges through it. It will change your expectations of what a game can sound like. [Dec 2004, p.120] »
« 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. »
« 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. »
« To top it all off, the online portion of the game has been vastly improved, and EA has addressed almost all of the complaints that were raised about the original NFSU, from the ability to reset the race, create private or password-protected rooms, to several different modes for online play. »
« 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. »
« Everything from the first game has been done better, cleaner and with more emphasis, but the free-roaming city is a double-edged sword, offering a sprawling metropolis to navigate, but a bit too much travelling in some spots. »
« An impressive, and more importantly, fun game that overcomes its faults with depth, breadth, and variety. »
« 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] »
Avis des Joueurs (Metacritic)
« Need for Speed: Underground 2 was the pinnacle of racing games in its time, perfectly capturing the spirit of urban competition and delivering one of the best customization systems in the genre. However, the experience is severely hampered by an AI "slingshot" effect that borders on abusive, as well as bizarre bugs that stall the player's progress. To make matters worse, the end of the game becomes extremely massive and repetitive. It's a rival game like Burnout 3 where we notice a difference: although Underground 2 didn't fall short of the first, it suffers from pacing issues and fails to hold the player's attention for very long. »
« Even after over 20 years, Need for Speed: Underground 2 remains a masterpiece of the racing genre. Released during the golden era of gaming, it perfectly captures the early-2000s tuner scene with its neon-lit streets and iconic soundtracks. What sets it apart is the diverse car selection, it’s not just filled with supercars, but with everyday rides that you can transform through deep tuning and customization. For its age, the handling is incredibly smooth, making it more playable today than many of its modern successors. »
« Dont get me wrong, this is one of my favorite games from my **** the insane amount of races and the bad sense of progress in this game is savage. The grinding feels terrible. And gets you bored after few races, specially U.R.L ones. 5/10 »
« Salah satu series need for speed terbaik juga, dimana modifikasi mobil yang lebih seru dan beragam, terus dengan dunia malam nya, menjadikan nya salah satu yang terbaik »
« Didn't like it even back then. Both UG games are tedious and just boring. Back then as well, we thought the super riced out stuff was extremely cringe and ugly. Which if you do a little digging, you will find out the body kits / aftermarket body parts were made by a team from the Philippines who had zero knowledge of Car Culture. »
« iconic open world racing game first of its kind that i have played atleast only thing missing was cops »
« A childhood favorite; I spent hours crushing the campaign in probably two sittings. I was absolutely addicted to the fun and customization of this game. Upgrading the car in the garage for hours, tweaking all the minute details was pure joy. Who can forget using NOS? A forever classic »
« Mais visiante do que maconhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa »
