My first PS2 game ...

What can you say about this game yet ... who takes a look at the date of this review, notes that it was a full decade after release. And guess what? In my eyes Underground 2 is the best part of the series to date (currently the latest offshoot: "Rivals").
Sure, the setting in the illegal racing scene and the obsessively cool lines of counterparties à la Fast and Furious are not to everyone's taste. But in terms of gameplay, gameplay, scale and tuning makes Underground 2, no person of something. The soundtrack and the engine sounds are amazing, the city is quite large, varied and invites you to explore. A real OpenWorld precisely. Not as a cluster of villages with access to the motorway as Undercover and consorts.
On race types, there are the usual point A to point B (Sprint), circular trips Drag (perfect shifting), Drift, Downhill Drift (funny), Street-x (gravel road) and Freerun (opponents in the city depend on). Also Underground 2 is next to the Most Wanted "Remake" for the PS3 the only NFS SUV / Trucks.
The tuning is in addition to the Midnight Club is perhaps the most extensive that I have ever seen in a racing game. Optics, power, manual fine tuning, and special effects (!) - Everything the heart speeders. Engine tuning also has implications for the terrific unconverted sound the car. In terms of music is represented by House on metal and rock to hip-hop all. And the songs that go one on your nerves, you can throw out or set so that they play only in the Menu or in the race.
The control is indeed by far no simulation, but not quite as heavy as the arcade of Midnight Club or burnout. The driving aids can'll selbstverständelich disabled, are beautiful elongated Dirfts around curves possible.
Underground 2 is still worth a look. The graphics are not the best, but the city and the venues have been carefully designed and the distances are quite varied. The nostalgia bonus has NFS: U2 Although not necessary, but get it anyway from me.