Electronics Arts has with Need for Speed Underground 2 created the game that you actually already have been expected from its predecessor. The weaknesses of its predecessor, having been slaughtered consistently, however NFSU2 is also not perfect. More on that later. What's new in the road racing scene? Firstly NFSU2 offers a very large, bold design city, called Bay View. This consists of 5 successively free-play ends, districts. The motorable road network extends to over 200 km route length. The neighborhoods offer a lot of variety and are graphically not as cluttered as yet at NFSU1. The cityscape looks very impressive. Above all, the vision is almost phenomenal. So you have made the Nobel residential area in the Heighs, a fantastic view of the brightly lit skyscrapers in Downtown. This vision can be at rest, in so-called Explore Mode, still enjoy. And since we are already talking about the then main part and a further new feature of the game. The Explore Mode is the new "story mode". Here you go in peace from race to race, visited div. Car dealers and tuning shops and looking up, in the sprawling city, opponents of Outrun races without the main menu need to. The garage that can visit at any time, this also serves as a storage point, whereby the ability to store receives after each completed event change. Early in the game you can see the first race in the eye tricked Nizzan Z 350 of Rachel, make the contact person in Bay View. Then you have to, at the car dealer, a small car for the race later specify. In the course of the game you have the opportunity more than 30 cars to unlock. From the Peugeot 106 on the Audi A3, Audi TT, to the Nissan Skyline R34, Ford Mustang or Hummer H2 no wishes remain unfulfilled. From, the in the race, earned money, to leave the car, as the game progresses, more and more auftunen. And here no wishes remain unfulfilled. What Electronic Arts is donated to Tuningparts already all top notch. In addition to spoilers, sills, aprons, hoods, rims, neon can be newly installed and scissor doors, divided hoods, Spinners, new fixtures, even fat stereos. Even motor excessively can be the cars to high-end with Turbo's, chips, new landing gear or gear and N2O pimp. The player also has the opportunity to make their own adjustments to the car, then for the different races to save the set ups, and to use it later, for the corresponding racing events, again. At racing events the word variety is very, very important here. In the course of the game it is believed more than 200 races in part. Starting with circuit races (2 or more rounds of a given street circuit), drag-competitions (acceleration race), Drift Trial (on simliar courses as possible in style around the curves drift), Street Cross competitions (here you have to deal with all resources, on narrow and winding roads, against stubborn opponents, to prove) to the Underground Racing League (race against the best of the best on different. Grand Prix distances). In addition to these events, which are all listed on the city map, it is also the Outrun races. Here you lie down, cruising through the city, with other tuners on. The first player out drives a 300-lead, wins. The better you cut into the race, the more reputation points you get. The better the reputation, the more Wettberwerbe and tuning parts are unlocked. The latter bought one from won prize. Technically Sound plays NFSU2 also in the premier league. Be it the penetrating tubes of tuned engines or more than 30 licensed songs from the fields of hip hop, house and rock. Everything sounds as a unified whole. In addition to light there are also shadows. It is annoying if you want to buy a car dealer a new car that you have his old car, with all its tuning parts trade, and must be free to play for the new car all tuning parts again and buy. Sadly you can not, as in the predecessor, installing the already freely played parts in the new car. Here the player unfortunate way must dig deep into their pockets. However, it must be said that the car that you get initially, with the right tuning set up a long time remain competitive, so that it is not mandatory to have to constantly buy a car. Personally, I still sit on my Peugeot 106th In the main menu you have the possibility to use the free car and played guitar parts. Here you can, at your leisure, tune all previously freely played with this car and then, in various game modes to freely played tracks, make off the story, uncertain. The bottom line remains, despite all an excellent, arcade-heavy racing game that runs very smoothly and quickly, with gigantic scale, massive tuning parts and an extremely motivating story mode. The game is worth every penny and pierces the direct competition in terms of scope and of gameplay clearly. Positive - Gigantic, freely passable city, with over 200 km of road network - Uncommonly motivating story mode - Meaningful innovations - Bulky tuning parts and many cars - PS2 version runs very smoothly and quickly Negative - The purchase of a new car, the old has to be exchanged - Acquired tuning parts can not be installed in the new cars but must be unlocked and bought again. Graphics: 9/10 Sound: 10/10 Gameplay: 9/10 Control: 10/10 Extent 9/10 Fun: 90%