A big emphasis is placed on the bevy of customization options available in Need for Speed™ Underground 2, but at some point, you do need to get out there and actually race. After all, how else will you earn the paper to upgrade your car from stock to monster?
Unlike most racing games, there isn't just one basic type of race available in Underground 2. You'll be mastering the skills for five different styles of races, not to mention the special event invitations. While each race requires a different strategy and technique to win, there are a few little tips that will be helpful in all races, so before we get down to the specifics, lodge these in your noggin …
Tune Tune Tune! You might be able to get away with hopping from race to race in the beginning without worrying about calibrating your car, but a quick spike in difficulty will soon necessitate tuning your car. Remember, you can jump back to your garage at any time (as opposed to having to drive back) to delve into the performance tuning options, so you have no excuses. You can either have the game tune your car for a specific race, or if you think you've got the know-how, you can manually calibrate the settings yourself.
Also, you can swap out cars in the garage. I highly recommend trying to buy enough cars, so you can have one for each type of race. It's a heavy investment, but it's well worth it. Being able to knock back to the garage real quick-like and pick up your drag car is a big time saver.
It's a busy city.
Taking Advantage of the Other Cars Perhaps Electronic Arts buying of Criterion and subsequently publishing of Burnout® 3: Takedown™ has had some influence on the mechanics of Underground 2. In any race where traffic is at hand, you can now refill your nitrous boost meter by avoiding near accidents (read: get real close to the car without hitting it). You can also fill it up by performing power slides (otherwise known as drifting), and you can draft behind your opposition is well.
All about Manual Manual transmission is the way to go in nearly any racing game, and Underground 2 is no exception. There's a reason people in real life prefer manual to automatic. You have more control, and the last thing you want in a racing game is to give up control. Plus, it's oh-so-much-more satisfying to win a race when using manual. It's got so much more to do with your skill than the ability of the car.
Now, let's get down to each different race type.
A photo finish.
Circuit Circuit races take place out in the streets of the city, so all the city traffic will be at hand. However, these races do follow a predetermined path, asking you to perform a set amount of laps. They're usually pretty technical, so be ready to handle plenty of curves along the road as well as dodging the traffic. You'll have plenty of opportunity to refill your nitrous meter in these races, but make sure you only use it on long straight-aways or gentle turns.
Drag Ah, the drag race. This is the most disparate race available in the game. It doesn't feel or even control like any of the other races. Like any drag race, it's a short burst along a straight-away that wins the day. You'll need to make sure you've got all the horse power and low-end torque you can handle. It's not about top speed, it's about instant speed. You'll be forced to drive manual (after all, half the skill is knowing when to shift), so if you haven't been driving manual in other races, you may want to start now, so you'll be ready.
Looking sleek.
Drift Drift races focus only on one thing: drifting. It's not about finishing first; it's about getting the most power sliding points you can possibly muster. On the harder drift races, you'll need to start a power slide and almost never leave it. You'll want your car to handle very loose, so you can adjust your power slide as you go. Also, go easy on the left thumbstick. Too much pressure, and you'll force your car into the wall and loose all the points you just accumulated in that slide.
Sprint While it sounds similar to Drag, it's almost the opposite. These are long races that focus mostly on very long straight-aways and gentle turns. It's not about instant speed—it's about top speed. This is also a great race for drafting. Don't worry about getting out in front quickly. Just pace the fastest car if you need to and draft off their tale. When the last portion of the race arrives, swing around them, pull in front, hit the nitrous, and don't look back.
Street X Street X races are probably the most technically challenging of all the races. They take place on designed tracks, meaning they're not out on the city streets. You'll find a lot of hairpin turns, narrow areas, and bottle necks (where all the cars seem to bunch up, letting the leader get farther ahead). You'll need a car with excellent handling on these tracks, as they are very technically challenging races. Also, using nitrous in a Street X race will usually put you into the wall, so use with caution.
There's a lot to learn and perfect in all the different races that Underground 2 offers. From learning to tune your car to a specific race type to having the ability to immediately switch mindsets from one race to another, it's very challenging. It's this diversity that adds to the fun … and a whole lot to replay value to boot!
