@@BladedAngel If you can, do a review of Need For Speed 3: Hot Pursuit for the PlayStation. Not PC. Even though it was made in 1998, it's still better than the "Need For Speed Hot Pursuit" that came out in 2010. Trust me.
One underappreciated feature in UG2 is the colored atmosphere. Different places have different lighting so that you can immediately know where you are when you come back to the game after a while.
@@d1ogonp The "Color" is designed for CRT TV's. But you can adjust your monitor to prevent it from looking weird on Emulator. You need to up the Monitor Brightness (As the game itself has no brightness slider) then boost saturation, so the added brightness doesn't "Wash out" the colors.
One thing that I personally really miss in NFS games are shortcuts, they used to be in older games but EA decided to not make them anymore, and they are one of the things that made the races so great.
1000000000000000000000000000000%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% The feeling of hitting the apex and early turn-in sliding into a shortcut was the sauciest feeling in the world.
@@BladedAngel Yessss, it gave you the sensation that you were actually getting ahead of your oponents every time you were using them. It kept you "awake" every second you were playing because you were focused on finding them on the minimap and trying to take them. You were not just casually driving, you were actually trying to be as fast as possible.
Not just short cuts, but small tiny ones. Ones where you go cut like 4ft off a single turn, but it gives you the perfect angle for the next turn giving you the edge
The fact that after you've finished the campaign, you were rewarded with ONE bodykit for ONE car only, made that bodykit feel so special. Same thing goes for 5 car slots. I'm pretty sure though, if we had these things in today's NFS games, people would probably hate it
@@bigsmoke5814 what he means is that you can only have a body kit on one of your cars from the story mode, as it's one of the "unique" parts. So choose your favorite car.
2000s kids will never know the feeling of your cousin or friend challenging you to a race in NFSU2 and showing up to your house with a memory card. I remember the race being so even and intense, i choked and hit incoming traffic meters away from the finish line. I can never forget this moment because even though i lost, it will probably be the closest thing to living that experience again in any Racing game.
@@frizzyrascal1493 No you/they don’t. According to your math, you were 4 years old when the game came out 😂😂😂 You were in preschool 😂😂😂. If you played it when you were 6-7, that’s kindergarten and first grade, STILL too young, AND 3 more NFS games have come out in that time; Most Wanted, Carbon, and Prostreet. It was old news by then. You can play any older game at ANY time, nostalgia won’t be the same unless you were there and in it when it came out. Nice 🧢
@@GenerationDown Reading comprehension doesn’t seem to be your best friend, does it? Where did my comment say that I played this game at its release? I was in first grade when I first played Underground 1 and 2 against my cousin on his Playstation 2 in 2005. ProStreet and Carbon weren’t even released then. I also grew up with a GameBoy Color and Pokémon Crystal, but apparently, I can’t have nostalgia for that because I only played it after its initial release day. Nostalgia is not defined by whether someone’s witnessed something at the time of its release, but by the time they personally experienced it. Are you always this intellectually lazy?
This was one of the reasons the 350z was my favorite car. Getting into Rachel's Z for the first time and thinking a car could look that cool made me want it more than DK's Toyko Drift car. And when I finally got mine in 2021, the first thing I did as I drove off in it was paired my bluetooth to it and played Riders on the Storm on the ferry trip back over Puget Sound. Cruising through the Emerald City at night makes me feel like I'm just in irl NFSUG2. To this day, this game is one I still revisit occasionally just for the atmosphere of Bayview and fun it is to play.
Good to see more people appreciating U2. Alot the fans just say: "mOSt wAntEd 2005" yeah that's a great game and all, but U2's vibes were just something else with the great alive city and the import culture.
Literally like 5 comments already telling me "mOSt wAntEd 2005" I think it's because none of them actually "beat" NFSU2 as a kid, they might've gotten softlocked or stuck and thought the game was much shorter/map was much smaller than it was due to not unlocking/beating the entire game. NFSMW holds your hand a lot more, which limits freedom, but at least, it allows ppl to figure out what to do.
Admittedly I think ProStreet had the sheer aesthetic down best of any Need for Speed title, and it could have been the best game IMO had it not been for EA saying "it's EAing time" and then proceeding to EA all over Black Box. That said, I love UG2 and Most Wanted (and even Carbon) more than it and thing UG2, MW2005, and also High Stakes are arguably better as complete games (honourable mention to Porsche Unleashed which I haven't played but many have said it's probably the most underrated game in the franchise).
The customization alone in Underground 2 wipes the floor with any modern NFS title, rip BlackBox, I haven't played any modern title and I don't even plan to olay them, even seeing gameplay from them is enough to make me hate them, BlackBox era titles were the peak of the franchise, after Carbon or ProStreet the franchise went downhill
Rockport also just doesn't hit the same aesthetic pinnacle of Bayview. The map is beautiful and small enough to easily navigate, yet large enough and so well laid out that it doesn't feel as small as it really is.
I think something that we didn't understand about this game, the first NFS Underground, Most Wanted and Carbon is that the career mode isn't meant to make your dream car or trade cars, the car modifier in the main menu is meant for that. Also RIP Cingular Wireless
Objectively, this was the pinnacle of NFS series. Back in 2005, I used to spam-play that game on my PS2 (and later on PC)... this was the game which not only encouraged you to rice the hell out of your vehicle, but even to this day, is very much enjoyable thanks to unique mods that no other installment got it. Trunk audio, for one! 7-year-old me would definitely spam it with those LCD screens back then 😂
Same here, but a little diffrent. I don't think I ever got stuck not have enough stars, and I have replayed it abit too many times that I've lost count🤣! I may know this map better than my own back-pocket, you can park the car in a random spot and make me navigate to one of the shops, without having the icons on the map, or even have the minimap turned off. That'll be treveil to do😉.
Nah, everyone's taste differs. I think the rubber banding was the worst of all NFS-games in NFSU2. Carbon maybe a second in that regard. Hot Pursuit 2010 was the pinnacle building upon what NFS was all about in the beginning with really tough police chases, great racing feeling, loads of shortcuts and less rubber banding. Great graphics (2010 quite up to par with today) and lots of good cars. But I like most NFS games, even some of the newer ones! The first NFS underground was better due to less rubber banding (quite bad still though). Most Wanted 2005 is great too! Rivals underappreciated. The Run also good (but too short).
@@FOREST10PL Nah, what makes NFSU/NFSU2 unique is that they're the only games to focus exclusively on the tuner scene. The cars, the customization, the atmosphere. For someone who just wants to live that early 00s, TF&TF-esque tuner culture, they're the only games. Afterwards they re-introduced supercars and added euro sports cars, muscle cars, etc. And the style, car mods, and atmosphere were all drastically changed to be more generalized.
My favourite were the long races in the Underground Racing League. It felt like a pure race as far as an arcade racer is concerned. I managed to tune my Skyline's drag racing setup to be 20kph faster than any other car & would never overheat. Once you hit level 10 for visual upgrades, you can revert back to make your car look normal.
This video is poetic. Thank you for this great rhyme about my favorite racing game. There is still no other racing game mechanics that i like as much as NFS Underground 2.
The drag races in that game were some of my favorite races in any game. Hitting a perfect shift and sling shotting your opponent at the very end was the most satisfying thing ever.
@@bacd-nn2lg Drift races were fun too! I think I also used the TT for it. If I am remembering right, I think it got to the point where It drifted so well the chain basically never stopped, and I would eventually spin out and lose it all because it never stopped counting to give me credit. I also liked how the Street X races were basically the complete opposite of the drift races, needing very tight handling, so it gave you a reason to fine tune your cars for different race types.
Jesus, 20:30 those new NFS' really got you stuck in " I'd rather break my back, then break at a corner, drift to win lets goo baby. Mode" I really enjoyed this review video (a lot more then the list videos too bad they get all the views) the rhyming was really funny. You should have quickly shown the pc version because they did a great job with the lighting. I remember playing as a kid with absolutely no style sense, just picking the cosmetic with the biggest number, and I was blown away with my family and uncles about how much better there cars looked. funnily enough I think it changed the way I looked at cars, and I started to appreciate the art gone into them.
Just finished the game myself, loved most of it (apart from the suv parts). Beautiful environment and the way that it is always night makes it perfect.
I'm definitely a huge fan of these more laid back-casual ish review videos. I'm looking forward to the NSFMW one. (I still do kinda miss the vlogs thoughhhh)
I always had an SUV as my second car which was my rice mule as well as it also covered the extra SUV-only events that show up on the map for 100% completion. Killed two birds with one stone and once I started playing like that I never got stuck with zero races on the map.
I bought a PS2 just to play this game. I worked very close to my home and I used to come home at lunch and play for an hour before I rushed back to work. I loved this game and this video brought back great memories!
I have to say the one thing I absolutely loved about this game that I can not find in ANY other NFS game: The gear ratio tuning. It was, basically, perfect. The ability to fine-tune your gears depending on your race type makes perfect sense, and yet no other NFS after U2 offered it. Close gearing on a widebody Celica in AutoX was probably the most fun thing I've ever experienced in a racing game. 10 laps? Easy, gimme more. Never got tired of it!
Things missing in new games: - Jump to safe house - Shortcuts - Story lines that were targeted at adults and actually not cringe - Variety of cars including lower spec cars - A handling model that isn't broken
I loved this game when it came out on the PS2 and the one thing that blew me away in particular was driving up into the hills and looking back down at the city knowing it wasn't just a backdrop and I could drive back down into it. I'd love to see Underground 3 with all the cars from the other games included plus day and night transitions and the ability to view your magazine and dvd covers whenever you want. I'm still also waiting with the vain hope that they will put this on PS Plus one day...
Finnaly someone understand how good this game was. The car list. The map customization every thing is all about car culture. Some of people saying that nfs mw is better than this game but i don't think they even play or completed this game.
If you want to customize car however you like, there's the My Car Option. You have infinite money for those, but the catch it, you had to unlock parts and cars as you progress career mode, and you can only use them in Quick Races. I wished this feature to be back in modern Racing Games though, since it's a great way for you to test cars before you buy them in Career.
when i was a kid, the way i would play was start the game, get through city center, get to beacon hill, spend all the money on visual upgrades, suck at the races and be unable to finish because i had a stock engine, abandon that save, start a new one
You're far from alone! I thought I beat the game when I saw no more races at Stage 3! I was 40 hours in (Bad driver as a kid lol). MANY and I mean MANY Forums in 2004-05 were filled with ppl saying, "They were stuck" in this game lol. Even Reddit threads in 2019 and heck even last year, still have ppl asking, "Hey guys, I got stuck :((((((((( no more races?!?!" because ppl keep wasting money and changing cars too frequently!
i definitely admit i was a part of the 40-45% as a kid but i must claim glory now for old times sake great content as always, always prefer someone talking about something they're passionate on rather than hating on something so keep doing you bladed :)
This game is my childhood. When I was 5 or 6 back in 2010/2011 I used to have a GameCube. The small disc, and this game is so nostalgic. I used to customize random cars with random body kits and just exploring the city and actually not racing because since I was very young I have zero clue about these. I would love to revisit this game because not only of 2010s nostalgia but also it is better then most racing games that came out nowadays.
There are actually a limited amount of outrun races before they stop spawning, I used to run them after beating the normal races in each stage. Also, you can put the special parts on any of your cars.
Aye man glad to see you transitioning over to gaming content, been a subscriber since you had less then 10k subs and I'm down for this shift in content--especially if its been making you happy about doing the content. I know it sounds like NFS Most Wanted is next up for review--would love to see a review on NFS ProStreet some day from you, since it seems to be the black sheep of the series in most's eyes but I find it to be an underrated gem.
I freaking lost it when you mentioned how to cheese outrun races because that’s exactly what I learned to do without the help of the internet. I also learned to cheese the star rating by using my starter car which if tuned right becomes the fastest cornering car of the game the Toyota Corolla. It was insane when I first played multiplayer and got owned by that single car. The rest of the 4 slots I picked my favorite cars and kept them clean. Man NFSU2 is just *chefs kiss*
I grew up playing this game. It's what made me love cars. This game directly caused me to buy a 370z and build a career as a tech. crazy to think how much of an impact a video game made on me. And I'm very happy about it. Me and my brother still listen to the songs from the game all the time and drive around laughing.
You know, it's funny cuz this is the only need for speed game that you don't have to pay for ANY of the cars! I thought it was just the beginning of the game because your insurance came through like Rachel said so the first one gets a pass, but you end up getting more free cars thanks to the sponsor deals as well which is very neat!
Midnight Club 3 DUB Edition is a very in-depth arcade racing game for hilariously ludicrous speeds, with essentially every type of road vehicle available. NFSU2 is an arcade game mainly to capture that late 90's and 2000's pure street racing culture in the night of a major city. I played both games and beat them several times - both games just hit different. Although they're both 'street racing games', they approach it differently with the only similar feature being the open world setting & crazy customization features. I personally like MC3 more than NFSU2 just because I had more fun with it, and for what it has to offer, but NFSU2 holds its own for what the purpose of that game was. NFSU2's sound design, visuals and realism with the handling model is why that game is absolutely amazing and has high replay value.
I really wish that the new games had the same type of outrun races as NFS undercover, cutting through highway traffic doing 200 into the tiniest gaps in between cars waiting for your opponent to crash out was fun as hell
Don't forget one of the most chill soundtracks in NFS - Riders on the Storm featuring Snoop Dogg. Also, I personally think supercars are cool, but they are just too far away from us. Many of the cars in this game are pretty common and affordable. You can tune them and keep them and race them toward the end of the game. You are driving the same Peugeot 206 that your friend's dad drives in real life - and you're modding the heck out of it and winning underground street races. How cool is that? In many other racing games, you have to change to some supercars in order to win. You don't build that kind of emotional attachment.
I figured out the 'punt them in the back and yeet them to interstellar space' thing by sheer accident when I was a kid and never done a "proper" outrun since. I also somehow knew that having 1 riced af car was enough. The only thing I hate about UG2 is how tedious the URL events are. It's like if you took those 5-6 lap races from UG1 and somehow made them even worse. Bayview is the most beautiful city in a video game period.
I actually got myself out of a softlock once by using outrun races.... It was tedious af though. The trick I found is let them get next to you and then put them into a traffic car. The rubber banding takes too long to catch up and you'll earn a pretty quick victory Edit - you actually covered it in the video! Nice!
One of the best parts of need for speed most wanted is when you hear dispatch call out "Patrol division be advised..." and then turning a corner into an open courtyard and seeing like 5-15 police cars, realizing they did in fact bring out the entire patrol division, and feeling in equal parts powerful and terrified.
I really like the feature where you can challenge racers as you encounter them, the only other games I know had this feature was Forza Horizon, and Import Tuner Challenge and maybe a couple others. I love that feature.
The fast travel and commuting thing you brought up was something I wasn’t expecting. Normally, most reviews, both contemporary and now, have complained about this game not having fast travel because driving down the same roads over and over and over again wasn’t fun and the endgame having so many events spread apart exacerbated that. Given that EA Black Box eased off the open world and added fast travel to events after just one game with Most Wanted, it seems they came to similar conclusions. Carbon let you fast travel to any location altogether at any time as well. But for whatever reason, the lack of it didn’t really bother me for this game. I think it’s a couple of things, that being the presentation and atmosphere of Bayview, it being a pretty dense and small world, and the core driving being so enjoyable on its own
There's a decent chunk of people who say UG1 aged better because of it's pacing without the open world. Personally it doesn't bother me even today that there's no fast travel, I think the game just goes on a bit too long/ too grindy, same issue MW had even with fast travel, but even then driving from event to event is definitely more enjoyable in UG2 and that's definitely because of the cities layout and design/ atmosphere being so enjoyable.
The GameCube version had a limited amount of outruns you can do. Also, you don't have to do the outruns with the modified cars. You just have to do the special event to the custom shop in the modified car
ExtraOptions is required nowadays, because of many bugs that the original had. Widescreen is preferable for both NFS and GTA games, since 2001 up until 2008, because both use the same engine.
I do play this game from time to time to reminiscise the age where games were simple and honest... It had its good and bad points but without this game, I wouldnt have my childhood become so memorable 🤩❤️
1. The races can be repetitive after a while (mainly the Street X & URL races) 2. The rain in this game used to piss me off badly. 3. I wished this game DID have fast travel after I reached the third sponsorship races. Other than that, this game was golden.
Back when I played NFSU2 as a kid I wasnt even aware of how groundbreaking it was at the time, I just enjoyed playing the game. Thanks to your video I kinda have more of an appreciation for it now 🙂
As soon as I noticed the rhyming it felt like I was watching a 6ft jock witha soft side at a a poetry reading wearing a Steelers jersey and undersixed glasses. Great review thanks for the imagery.
NFS Underground 2 is my forever second favorite nfs. Mainly because of the tuning opportunity you have. I remember being blown up by simply being able to add a widebody to a peugeot 206 (Yes I had the european version). I still play it regularly X). Also that moment around 20:00 is so true. I did not beat the game as a kid, though I was aware of it. I discovered the stat screen only years after, so my many softlocked saves was probably because of the star rating. I thought for a long time that the rep was the important thing to progress. Also NFS Prostreet number one
Welp I was just playing through this game again to re-experience it and I'm definitely having a blast. The soundtrack really helps its case as well, barely any songs in the game are "bad" I remember I didn't soft lock myself on my first playthrough but I had to sacrifice a TT and a Skyline to the rice gods, so I'm glad I learned about this loophole from this vid before I went too far with the Supra.
This game has aged like a fine wine. I'm certainly biased, this and MW are a major part of my childhood and a reason why I love cars in the first place.
Best? In my humble opinion, no this is not. 1999's NFS High Stakes was the pinnacle. The sheer fact that the mod community for that game is still going strong to this day speaks volumes. It took a few years for mod support to get off the ground for U2 back in the mid 2000s, and even then it still isn't as prolific.
MW 2005 is one of the best racing games ever, but I've always been more drawn to UG2, Carbon, and Prostreet. They just had "more" to offer, when MW just has the best chases (and a lit soundtrack). It even has tuning features that modern games lack (looking at you Forza). UG2 was just too much fun to be outshined so hard by other entries.
NFSMW offers a certain "experience" as you said, the chases are thrilling. For an overall polished racing experience, NFSU2 has my heart still. NFSMW feels VERY CLUNKY at low speeds on certain vehicles. HokiHoshi also talks about this in his review of the game.
@@BladedAngel I agree with him on that. For me UG2 or other entries just hit more notes. MW has a lot going for it but it doesn't have the best vehicle selection, tuning, mods, or even story, plus that goofy ahh piss yellow tint to it. The others just aged better IMHO. UG2 had S tier customization and racing. Carbon had a more intense tone. Pro Street had a sense of speed that made you nervous. HP2010 was just insane. Hell, Shift overall was good even though it was very different. MW feels a bit one dimensional on a content level.
Damn, I remember soft locking the game for a couple of months. My god brother came over one day and explained to him how I couldn’t progress cause no races were available. He then started to do outrun challenges which I didn’t know will help progress the game, and even did hidden races which I had NO idea was a thing. And then out of nowhere, a new race popped up and I was SO hyped 😂 I did eventually get to a 10 star rating after about 2 years, which is still the NFS that took me the longest to complete.
Outrun races do not spawn infinitely. The number varies from stage to stage. Once you beat the outrun races enough times in a certain stage and unlock the unique part, they will cease to spawn until you enter the new stage. So even if you get the unique part or vinyl and it’s still not enough to get a high star rating, you’ll still be soft locked
Ah yes, dead saves. When I was like 8 or 9yrs old I've also locked myself at stage 3 of the game. But at the time I didn't know any English whatsoever and I figured that no races = no game left. The only thing that bothered my mind at the time was why I didn't unlocked every part of the city when I clearly completed the game. I finally understood what happened when I revisited game like ten years later xdd Also, Bladed, why didn't you showed SUV challenges? They were also fun to cheese star ratings because you could have 10 or 12 speakers in trunk of Navigator or H2 xd
I did beat the game as a 10 year old because: 1- I rice the living crap out of my car, not because I knew that’s what I had to do but because 10 year old me thought it looked AWESOME. 2- I committed to one single car. In my eyes having more than one car was a waste of time and money. Why use money on a new car when I can modify the one that I already have. I do believe at some race you needed a SUV. My Mazda Miata stuck with me the entirety of the game.
NFSU up to Carbon was the true golden age of the franchise. Everything after that just felt less than or outright took a nosedive. There was at least some cohesive lore, the cars handled so cleanly and the music was unmatched. We'll never get Paul Linford's dynamic pursuit music again and we'll never experience a repeat of the smokey damp neon lit world that complimented the absurd lifestyle of JDM and street racing culture that peaked at the time. It's over. But at least I was there and got to enjoy those games when they were still new. I was still in high school back then. I miss it so bitterly.....
I have a copy of this that’s almost clean, I gave away all my ps2 consoles and games to my friend but I kept this game I loved paying then I love it now.
My trick in this game to combat the customization was either, I visible stickers. (White stickers on white car) or a 2nd car simply visually, and no performance. Generally I had only 1 racecar, since that was the fastest way to do it with the custom performance mods.
What a coincidence. I recently got a copy of Underground 2 because I wanted to relive a part of my childhood, and I had a blast going through it again. I remember me and my brother kept getting the same cars, so we would go ahead to head against each other to see who can make their cars better. The only cars I remember us both getting was the Honda Civic and Nissan Skyline. Also in my recent playthrough, I was able to mostly avoid adding hideous visual mods to keep the star ratings high, even max. That meant no spinners, no unique hood opening animations, stuck with one unique vinyl, or just had the same one(s) layered on top of each other, and didn't have to stick to one sponsor decal in every slot. I still had to use carbon fiber parts, but I made it work.
Mine was NFS Porshe 2000, and that game was really hard so I never manage to finisn it up. However this game was much more easier so I did finish up the main storyline on first try without any guidance.
I've played practically all NFS' up to SHIFT2 (the Run excluded). There were high and low points, but every one of them had at least one or two redeeming features. But practically every one of them excelled at atmosphere. And music - yes, NFS has given us some excellent tracks, both in the electronic era of late '90s and rock/rap in mid '00s. For me NFS Underground 2 is maybe not the best iteration of the series, but it's definitely the most memorable, to which I hold many fond memories. To this day I listen to some tracks from it, most notably Switch/Twitch from Fluke and Back on a Mission by CIRRUS. AND it made me buy the car I drive today - a I gen Lexus IS300. I've bought an IS200 in 2015 and traded it for an IS300 five years later. Yes, it's old, it doesn't have 500bhp (2JZ, no shit) and fuel consumption is... not good to say the least. But it's mine, it's a tiny bit unique (especially considering it's a SportCross), and when every once in a while Switch/Twitch comes on the stereo... it brings a smile to my face. And for those brief moments I can return back in time to when I was playing this game after school with not a care in the world. See you on the streets of Bayview.
I played this game over and over so much I just instinctively learned everything you talked about in terms of soft locking and modding myself appropriately, and eventually beating the game. Probably played the game 5-6 times through...even after figuring everything out that you are talking about. Probably put in 200+ hours in this game back in the day same goes for: Star Wars Battlefront 2 NFS Hot Pursuit 2 Fallout 3 Pokemon Leaf Green Pokemon Silver CoD WaW Forza Motorsport 2 Zoo Tycoon 2 Roller Coaster Tycoon 3 Cruise Ship Tycoon Ace Combat 4 Ace Combat 5 GTA Liberty City Stories (PSP)
Your NFS poetry is awesome. Well done. I got to find some time to finally finish this iconic racer. It looks like a blast from start to finish all while driving the most obnoxious, over-modified, highly-rated car you can build. I'll definitely remember to spam the slam-from-behind or pit maneuvers for the Outrun races. Great video. Thanks Bladed Angel.
Couple tweaks with the PC version to make it playable in 2023: - Use a widescreen patcher to get 1080p and up resolutions. - NoCD Crack/Patcher - Make a shortcut of the .exe and place a command in it to force it to use one CPU core, prevents random crashing (you can manually do this post launching the game in Task Manager if you prefer, find .exe, right click, go to details, set affinity, deselect all but one core).
The thing that dates this game the most.
The Cingular Wireless Symbol
Shit, you got me there bro.
HOLY FUCK I FORGOT ABOUT CINGULAR LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Anybody remember vonyage?
@@BladedAngel If you can, do a review of Need For Speed 3: Hot Pursuit for the PlayStation. Not PC.
Even though it was made in 1998, it's still better than the "Need For Speed Hot Pursuit" that came out in 2010.
Trust me.
Lol everyone sending you emails instead of text.
Cingular wireless is still alive it’s just AT&T they didn’t have a wireless system so they bought out Cingular
One underappreciated feature in UG2 is the colored atmosphere. Different places have different lighting so that you can immediately know where you are when you come back to the game after a while.
Yep. Carbon was supposed to be the same but they scrapped it and you get that blue/ purple hue everywhere.
Wait, isn't that an Emulator Glitch? I play on PC and it was just dark, but not colored.
@@d1ogonp The "Color" is designed for CRT TV's. But you can adjust your monitor to prevent it from looking weird on Emulator. You need to up the Monitor Brightness (As the game itself has no brightness slider) then boost saturation, so the added brightness doesn't "Wash out" the colors.
@@d1ogonp I think it was a PS2 only feature and then the emulator overdoes it.
@@BladedAngel Why emulate it when there is a PC version. No emulation slowdowns, better textures and lighting. Its as if no one knows this.
One thing that I personally really miss in NFS games are shortcuts, they used to be in older games but EA decided to not make them anymore, and they are one of the things that made the races so great.
1000000000000000000000000000000%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
The feeling of hitting the apex and early turn-in sliding into a shortcut was the sauciest feeling in the world.
@@BladedAngel Yessss, it gave you the sensation that you were actually getting ahead of your oponents every time you were using them. It kept you "awake" every second you were playing because you were focused on finding them on the minimap and trying to take them. You were not just casually driving, you were actually trying to be as fast as possible.
Not just short cuts, but small tiny ones.
Ones where you go cut like 4ft off a single turn, but it gives you the perfect angle for the next turn giving you the edge
@@zaczane or just cutting through greenhouse ended with cinematic jump like in Fast and Furious scene for pure ascetics.
@@zaczane the first race on nfs underground 1, the first shortcut which is just a walkway you go through. Thats the best kind of shortcut
The fact that after you've finished the campaign, you were rewarded with ONE bodykit for ONE car only, made that bodykit feel so special. Same thing goes for 5 car slots. I'm pretty sure though, if we had these things in today's NFS games, people would probably hate it
Are you kidding you can any body kit you that want in the game every car have more than 4 bodykits
You're talking about nfs undergound 1 here
@@bigsmoke5814 only in arcade mode tho
@@bigsmoke5814 what he means is that you can only have a body kit on one of your cars from the story mode, as it's one of the "unique" parts. So choose your favorite car.
If i’m correct Payback had the 5 car limit but oh the cries
Baded became a poet playing through ug2 with all these rhymes.
All my Videos this month feature this poetry
Plz go watch them.
Plz, I need the views
😭
The definition of passion
2000s kids will never know the feeling of your cousin or friend challenging you to a race in NFSU2 and showing up to your house with a memory card. I remember the race being so even and intense, i choked and hit incoming traffic meters away from the finish line. I can never forget this moment because even though i lost, it will probably be the closest thing to living that experience again in any Racing game.
2000's kids do know this lmao. This game came out in 2004. Born 99' we played this and MW at the age of 6-7.
You mean 2010's?
@@frizzyrascal1493 No you/they don’t. According to your math, you were 4 years old when the game came out 😂😂😂 You were in preschool 😂😂😂.
If you played it when you were 6-7, that’s kindergarten and first grade, STILL too young, AND 3 more NFS games have come out in that time; Most Wanted, Carbon, and Prostreet. It was old news by then.
You can play any older game at ANY time, nostalgia won’t be the same unless you were there and in it when it came out.
Nice 🧢
@@GenerationDown Reading comprehension doesn’t seem to be your best friend, does it?
Where did my comment say that I played this game at its release? I was in first grade when I first played Underground 1 and 2 against my cousin on his Playstation 2 in 2005. ProStreet and Carbon weren’t even released then.
I also grew up with a GameBoy Color and Pokémon Crystal, but apparently, I can’t have nostalgia for that because I only played it after its initial release day. Nostalgia is not defined by whether someone’s witnessed something at the time of its release, but by the time they personally experienced it.
Are you always this intellectually lazy?
This is definitely one of the most influential games of our generation.
This was one of the reasons the 350z was my favorite car. Getting into Rachel's Z for the first time and thinking a car could look that cool made me want it more than DK's Toyko Drift car. And when I finally got mine in 2021, the first thing I did as I drove off in it was paired my bluetooth to it and played Riders on the Storm on the ferry trip back over Puget Sound. Cruising through the Emerald City at night makes me feel like I'm just in irl NFSUG2. To this day, this game is one I still revisit occasionally just for the atmosphere of Bayview and fun it is to play.
Late as he'll but preach
Thanks for your story bro. Awesome read. I also grew up with NFSU and NFSU2. Definitely am gonna get a 350Z like Rachel's for myself. Love that car
Good to see more people appreciating U2. Alot the fans just say: "mOSt wAntEd 2005" yeah that's a great game and all, but U2's vibes were just something else with the great alive city and the import culture.
Literally like 5 comments already telling me "mOSt wAntEd 2005"
I think it's because none of them actually "beat" NFSU2 as a kid, they might've gotten softlocked or stuck and thought the game was much shorter/map was much smaller than it was
due to not unlocking/beating the entire game. NFSMW holds your hand a lot more, which limits freedom, but at least, it allows ppl to figure out what to do.
Admittedly I think ProStreet had the sheer aesthetic down best of any Need for Speed title, and it could have been the best game IMO had it not been for EA saying "it's EAing time" and then proceeding to EA all over Black Box. That said, I love UG2 and Most Wanted (and even Carbon) more than it and thing UG2, MW2005, and also High Stakes are arguably better as complete games (honourable mention to Porsche Unleashed which I haven't played but many have said it's probably the most underrated game in the franchise).
MW05 is just horribly overrated
The customization alone in Underground 2 wipes the floor with any modern NFS title, rip BlackBox, I haven't played any modern title and I don't even plan to olay them, even seeing gameplay from them is enough to make me hate them, BlackBox era titles were the peak of the franchise, after Carbon or ProStreet the franchise went downhill
Rockport also just doesn't hit the same aesthetic pinnacle of Bayview. The map is beautiful and small enough to easily navigate, yet large enough and so well laid out that it doesn't feel as small as it really is.
I think something that we didn't understand about this game, the first NFS Underground, Most Wanted and Carbon is that the career mode isn't meant to make your dream car or trade cars, the car modifier in the main menu is meant for that. Also RIP Cingular Wireless
Objectively, this was the pinnacle of NFS series. Back in 2005, I used to spam-play that game on my PS2 (and later on PC)... this was the game which not only encouraged you to rice the hell out of your vehicle, but even to this day, is very much enjoyable thanks to unique mods that no other installment got it. Trunk audio, for one! 7-year-old me would definitely spam it with those LCD screens back then 😂
Same here, but a little diffrent. I don't think I ever got stuck not have enough stars, and I have replayed it abit too many times that I've lost count🤣!
I may know this map better than my own back-pocket, you can park the car in a random spot and make me navigate to one of the shops, without having the icons on the map, or even have the minimap turned off. That'll be treveil to do😉.
I wouldn't say that's a objective fact. It's yout opinion mostly influenced by nostalgia. Not, that's bad, but this is the opposite of objectivity
You mean subjective bubba
Nah, everyone's taste differs. I think the rubber banding was the worst of all NFS-games in NFSU2. Carbon maybe a second in that regard. Hot Pursuit 2010 was the pinnacle building upon what NFS was all about in the beginning with really tough police chases, great racing feeling, loads of shortcuts and less rubber banding. Great graphics (2010 quite up to par with today) and lots of good cars.
But I like most NFS games, even some of the newer ones! The first NFS underground was better due to less rubber banding (quite bad still though).
Most Wanted 2005 is great too! Rivals underappreciated. The Run also good (but too short).
@@FOREST10PL Nah, what makes NFSU/NFSU2 unique is that they're the only games to focus exclusively on the tuner scene. The cars, the customization, the atmosphere. For someone who just wants to live that early 00s, TF&TF-esque tuner culture, they're the only games.
Afterwards they re-introduced supercars and added euro sports cars, muscle cars, etc. And the style, car mods, and atmosphere were all drastically changed to be more generalized.
4:02 Shakespeare would be proud with bars like this
edit: the entire video is filled with slick rhymes lol
For real I was like damn man everything is a rhyme 😂
Pure poetry 🤌🏽
My favourite were the long races in the Underground Racing League. It felt like a pure race as far as an arcade racer is concerned. I managed to tune my Skyline's drag racing setup to be 20kph faster than any other car & would never overheat.
Once you hit level 10 for visual upgrades, you can revert back to make your car look normal.
U2 is the prime example of great aesthetics is way more important than having more polygons and pixels on your screen.
This video is poetic. Thank you for this great rhyme about my favorite racing game. There is still no other racing game mechanics that i like as much as NFS Underground 2.
The drag races in that game were some of my favorite races in any game. Hitting a perfect shift and sling shotting your opponent at the very end was the most satisfying thing ever.
My favorite were Drift Races in this game. My Audi TT just dominated everyone even in the endgame part.
@@bacd-nn2lg Drift races were fun too! I think I also used the TT for it. If I am remembering right, I think it got to the point where It drifted so well the chain basically never stopped, and I would eventually spin out and lose it all because it never stopped counting to give me credit.
I also liked how the Street X races were basically the complete opposite of the drift races, needing very tight handling, so it gave you a reason to fine tune your cars for different race types.
You should rank all of the classic NFS games. From The Need for Speed to Undercover.
Jesus, 20:30 those new NFS' really got you stuck in " I'd rather break my back, then break at a corner, drift to win lets goo baby. Mode"
I really enjoyed this review video (a lot more then the list videos too bad they get all the views) the rhyming was really funny. You should have quickly shown the pc version because they did a great job with the lighting.
I remember playing as a kid with absolutely no style sense, just picking the cosmetic with the biggest number, and I was blown away with my family and uncles about how much better there cars looked. funnily enough I think it changed the way I looked at cars, and I started to appreciate the art gone into them.
Just finished the game myself, loved most of it (apart from the suv parts). Beautiful environment and the way that it is always night makes it perfect.
SUV races are totally optional unless you want 100%. If you just want to complete main story, you don't need to use em. I never bothered with em.
I actually liked the suv races.
Yeah i can’t understand why modern games have SUVs but no separate events for them making them completely useless.
There was SO much iambic pentameter and freeform stanza in this video. You didn't make a big deal of it but it was much appreciated. ❤
The fun thing is there still a picture of me playing this game when I was young. This game was full of memories the best nfs ever...
Listening to UG2 ambience for sleep is better than some ASMRs ngl
The bleeding effects on headlights and taillights is such a slick way to make the lighting look way better than it is.
I'm definitely a huge fan of these more laid back-casual ish review videos. I'm looking forward to the NSFMW one. (I still do kinda miss the vlogs thoughhhh)
The tuning in this game was so fucking good! I miss this era of NFS
I always had an SUV as my second car which was my rice mule as well as it also covered the extra SUV-only events that show up on the map for 100% completion. Killed two birds with one stone and once I started playing like that I never got stuck with zero races on the map.
I love how you rapped for a while during your first segment lol rhymed every statement for a solid 2 mins
I bought a PS2 just to play this game. I worked very close to my home and I used to come home at lunch and play for an hour before I rushed back to work. I loved this game and this video brought back great memories!
I have to say the one thing I absolutely loved about this game that I can not find in ANY other NFS game:
The gear ratio tuning. It was, basically, perfect. The ability to fine-tune your gears depending on your race type makes perfect sense, and yet no other NFS after U2 offered it.
Close gearing on a widebody Celica in AutoX was probably the most fun thing I've ever experienced in a racing game. 10 laps? Easy, gimme more. Never got tired of it!
Check Prostreet, they returned that all back.
I never knew i got soft locked. Man thank you i'm going back in game. I'm getting my civic back.
Things missing in new games:
- Jump to safe house
- Shortcuts
- Story lines that were targeted at adults and actually not cringe
- Variety of cars including lower spec cars
- A handling model that isn't broken
Lol nfs always had corny dialogue
It makes me so happy to see that there is still a community that still has love these older games.
I loved this game when it came out on the PS2 and the one thing that blew me away in particular was driving up into the hills and looking back down at the city knowing it wasn't just a backdrop and I could drive back down into it. I'd love to see Underground 3 with all the cars from the other games included plus day and night transitions and the ability to view your magazine and dvd covers whenever you want. I'm still also waiting with the vain hope that they will put this on PS Plus one day...
Finnaly someone understand how good this game was. The car list. The map customization every thing is all about car culture. Some of people saying that nfs mw is better than this game but i don't think they even play or completed this game.
If you want to customize car however you like, there's the My Car Option. You have infinite money for those, but the catch it, you had to unlock parts and cars as you progress career mode, and you can only use them in Quick Races. I wished this feature to be back in modern Racing Games though, since it's a great way for you to test cars before you buy them in Career.
Nothing wakes you up more at 4 am then hitting a perfect slide into a shortcut.
when i was a kid, the way i would play was start the game, get through city center, get to beacon hill, spend all the money on visual upgrades, suck at the races and be unable to finish because i had a stock engine, abandon that save, start a new one
You're far from alone! I thought I beat the game when I saw no more races at Stage 3! I was 40 hours in (Bad driver as a kid lol). MANY and I mean MANY Forums in 2004-05 were filled with ppl saying, "They were stuck" in this game lol. Even Reddit threads in 2019 and heck even last year, still have ppl asking, "Hey guys, I got stuck :((((((((( no more races?!?!" because ppl keep wasting money and changing cars too frequently!
The only reason why I finished the game as a kid were older friends in the neighbourhood knowing that I have to raise my star rating.
i definitely admit i was a part of the 40-45% as a kid but i must claim glory now for old times sake
great content as always, always prefer someone talking about something they're passionate on rather than hating on something so keep doing you bladed :)
This game is my childhood. When I was 5 or 6 back in 2010/2011 I used to have a GameCube. The small disc, and this game is so nostalgic. I used to customize random cars with random body kits and just exploring the city and actually not racing because since I was very young I have zero clue about these. I would love to revisit this game because not only of 2010s nostalgia but also it is better then most racing games that came out nowadays.
23:25 Nfs 2015 kind of tried doing the same 5 car thing and players cried about it. The audience is just different.
There are actually a limited amount of outrun races before they stop spawning, I used to run them after beating the normal races in each stage. Also, you can put the special parts on any of your cars.
Aye man glad to see you transitioning over to gaming content, been a subscriber since you had less then 10k subs and I'm down for this shift in content--especially if its been making you happy about doing the content.
I know it sounds like NFS Most Wanted is next up for review--would love to see a review on NFS ProStreet some day from you, since it seems to be the black sheep of the series in most's eyes but I find it to be an underrated gem.
@@J.PC.Designs those days of gaming soundtracks were goated!!! Most Wanted has one of my soundtracks in all of gaming. 🔥
I freaking lost it when you mentioned how to cheese outrun races because that’s exactly what I learned to do without the help of the internet. I also learned to cheese the star rating by using my starter car which if tuned right becomes the fastest cornering car of the game the Toyota Corolla. It was insane when I first played multiplayer and got owned by that single car. The rest of the 4 slots I picked my favorite cars and kept them clean. Man NFSU2 is just *chefs kiss*
I remember having my Nissan 350z orion bumpers and skirts installed, thinking it's cool af until I look back and it age like milk. 💀
I grew up playing this game. It's what made me love cars. This game directly caused me to buy a 370z and build a career as a tech. crazy to think how much of an impact a video game made on me. And I'm very happy about it. Me and my brother still listen to the songs from the game all the time and drive around laughing.
Nice neffex destiny in the background, used to be my favourite song
It was my first nfs game. 2 of my brothers played it, even my sister. I miss it.
The way you transition in and out of poetry about this game is so smooth :P
You know, it's funny cuz this is the only need for speed game that you don't have to pay for ANY of the cars! I thought it was just the beginning of the game because your insurance came through like Rachel said so the first one gets a pass, but you end up getting more free cars thanks to the sponsor deals as well which is very neat!
Midnight Club 3 DUB Edition is a very in-depth arcade racing game for hilariously ludicrous speeds, with essentially every type of road vehicle available. NFSU2 is an arcade game mainly to capture that late 90's and 2000's pure street racing culture in the night of a major city. I played both games and beat them several times - both games just hit different. Although they're both 'street racing games', they approach it differently with the only similar feature being the open world setting & crazy customization features. I personally like MC3 more than NFSU2 just because I had more fun with it, and for what it has to offer, but NFSU2 holds its own for what the purpose of that game was. NFSU2's sound design, visuals and realism with the handling model is why that game is absolutely amazing and has high replay value.
Can we appreciate the fact that Bladed managed to turn a review into a poem?
Shortcuts and charming over the top intros are what I miss the most from the older NFS games
Came for the game,
stayed for the poetry,
the video was great,
we love Skindred's Nobody
I really wish that the new games had the same type of outrun races as NFS undercover, cutting through highway traffic doing 200 into the tiniest gaps in between cars waiting for your opponent to crash out was fun as hell
lmaooo i was just thinking about this game yesterday, and wow look a bladed angel video.
Don't forget one of the most chill soundtracks in NFS - Riders on the Storm featuring Snoop Dogg.
Also, I personally think supercars are cool, but they are just too far away from us. Many of the cars in this game are pretty common and affordable. You can tune them and keep them and race them toward the end of the game. You are driving the same Peugeot 206 that your friend's dad drives in real life - and you're modding the heck out of it and winning underground street races. How cool is that? In many other racing games, you have to change to some supercars in order to win. You don't build that kind of emotional attachment.
I figured out the 'punt them in the back and yeet them to interstellar space' thing by sheer accident when I was a kid and never done a "proper" outrun since. I also somehow knew that having 1 riced af car was enough. The only thing I hate about UG2 is how tedious the URL events are. It's like if you took those 5-6 lap races from UG1 and somehow made them even worse. Bayview is the most beautiful city in a video game period.
I actually got myself out of a softlock once by using outrun races.... It was tedious af though. The trick I found is let them get next to you and then put them into a traffic car. The rubber banding takes too long to catch up and you'll earn a pretty quick victory
Edit - you actually covered it in the video! Nice!
I'm pretty impressed by the car models even though the game is almost 20 years old. Look forward to your next game review.
One of the best parts of need for speed most wanted is when you hear dispatch call out "Patrol division be advised..." and then turning a corner into an open courtyard and seeing like 5-15 police cars, realizing they did in fact bring out the entire patrol division, and feeling in equal parts powerful and terrified.
I really like the feature where you can challenge racers as you encounter them, the only other games I know had this feature was Forza Horizon, and Import Tuner Challenge and maybe a couple others. I love that feature.
NFS Carbon has them aswell
The 2005 mustang GT was the business on underground 2.
And it's undisputed, NFS Underground 2 is the absolute height of the franchise.
The fast travel and commuting thing you brought up was something I wasn’t expecting. Normally, most reviews, both contemporary and now, have complained about this game not having fast travel because driving down the same roads over and over and over again wasn’t fun and the endgame having so many events spread apart exacerbated that. Given that EA Black Box eased off the open world and added fast travel to events after just one game with Most Wanted, it seems they came to similar conclusions. Carbon let you fast travel to any location altogether at any time as well.
But for whatever reason, the lack of it didn’t really bother me for this game. I think it’s a couple of things, that being the presentation and atmosphere of Bayview, it being a pretty dense and small world, and the core driving being so enjoyable on its own
There's a decent chunk of people who say UG1 aged better because of it's pacing without the open world. Personally it doesn't bother me even today that there's no fast travel, I think the game just goes on a bit too long/ too grindy, same issue MW had even with fast travel, but even then driving from event to event is definitely more enjoyable in UG2 and that's definitely because of the cities layout and design/ atmosphere being so enjoyable.
The GameCube version had a limited amount of outruns you can do.
Also, you don't have to do the outruns with the modified cars. You just have to do the special event to the custom shop in the modified car
Yeah I was confused about that as well. I thought there was a limited amount of outrun races for each stage and I play on PC.
@@xzraiderzx308 I'll have to test it on the PC
ExtraOptions is required nowadays, because of many bugs that the original had. Widescreen is preferable for both NFS and GTA games, since 2001 up until 2008, because both use the same engine.
The goat of all NFS games, in my humble opinion.
I'm aging myself with this but my favorite need for speed is NFS 3 on the playstation 1. The cops there made GTA cops seem nice
I do play this game from time to time to reminiscise the age where games were simple and honest... It had its good and bad points but without this game, I wouldnt have my childhood become so memorable 🤩❤️
You can can find simple and honest games with hard work put in them just look at indie games not this AAA garbage 🤮
1. The races can be repetitive after a while (mainly the Street X & URL races)
2. The rain in this game used to piss me off badly.
3. I wished this game DID have fast travel after I reached the third sponsorship races.
Other than that, this game was golden.
Back when I played NFSU2 as a kid I wasnt even aware of how groundbreaking it was at the time, I just enjoyed playing the game. Thanks to your video I kinda have more of an appreciation for it now 🙂
As soon as I noticed the rhyming it felt like I was watching a 6ft jock witha soft side at a a poetry reading wearing a Steelers jersey and undersixed glasses. Great review thanks for the imagery.
NFS Underground 2 is my forever second favorite nfs. Mainly because of the tuning opportunity you have. I remember being blown up by simply being able to add a widebody to a peugeot 206 (Yes I had the european version). I still play it regularly X).
Also that moment around 20:00 is so true. I did not beat the game as a kid, though I was aware of it. I discovered the stat screen only years after, so my many softlocked saves was probably because of the star rating. I thought for a long time that the rep was the important thing to progress.
Also NFS Prostreet number one
The NFS with the best driving physics up to this day..
Welp I was just playing through this game again to re-experience it and I'm definitely having a blast. The soundtrack really helps its case as well, barely any songs in the game are "bad"
I remember I didn't soft lock myself on my first playthrough but I had to sacrifice a TT and a Skyline to the rice gods, so I'm glad I learned about this loophole from this vid before I went too far with the Supra.
I never regretted subscribing to your channel bladed angel
This game has aged like a fine wine. I'm certainly biased, this and MW are a major part of my childhood and a reason why I love cars in the first place.
Best? In my humble opinion, no this is not. 1999's NFS High Stakes was the pinnacle. The sheer fact that the mod community for that game is still going strong to this day speaks volumes. It took a few years for mod support to get off the ground for U2 back in the mid 2000s, and even then it still isn't as prolific.
MW 2005 is one of the best racing games ever, but I've always been more drawn to UG2, Carbon, and Prostreet. They just had "more" to offer, when MW just has the best chases (and a lit soundtrack). It even has tuning features that modern games lack (looking at you Forza). UG2 was just too much fun to be outshined so hard by other entries.
NFSMW offers a certain "experience" as you said, the chases are thrilling. For an overall polished racing experience, NFSU2 has my heart still. NFSMW feels VERY CLUNKY at low speeds on certain vehicles. HokiHoshi also talks about this in his review of the game.
@@BladedAngel I agree with him on that. For me UG2 or other entries just hit more notes. MW has a lot going for it but it doesn't have the best vehicle selection, tuning, mods, or even story, plus that goofy ahh piss yellow tint to it. The others just aged better IMHO. UG2 had S tier customization and racing. Carbon had a more intense tone. Pro Street had a sense of speed that made you nervous. HP2010 was just insane. Hell, Shift overall was good even though it was very different. MW feels a bit one dimensional on a content level.
Damn, I remember soft locking the game for a couple of months. My god brother came over one day and explained to him how I couldn’t progress cause no races were available. He then started to do outrun challenges which I didn’t know will help progress the game, and even did hidden races which I had NO idea was a thing. And then out of nowhere, a new race popped up and I was SO hyped 😂 I did eventually get to a 10 star rating after about 2 years, which is still the NFS that took me the longest to complete.
Finally , a man of culture.
Outrun races do not spawn infinitely. The number varies from stage to stage. Once you beat the outrun races enough times in a certain stage and unlock the unique part, they will cease to spawn until you enter the new stage. So even if you get the unique part or vinyl and it’s still not enough to get a high star rating, you’ll still be soft locked
Ah yes, dead saves. When I was like 8 or 9yrs old I've also locked myself at stage 3 of the game. But at the time I didn't know any English whatsoever and I figured that no races = no game left. The only thing that bothered my mind at the time was why I didn't unlocked every part of the city when I clearly completed the game. I finally understood what happened when I revisited game like ten years later xdd
Also, Bladed, why didn't you showed SUV challenges? They were also fun to cheese star ratings because you could have 10 or 12 speakers in trunk of Navigator or H2 xd
pimped hummer seems cool
pimped navigator feels a crime
I did beat the game as a 10 year old because:
1- I rice the living crap out of my car, not because I knew that’s what I had to do but because 10 year old me thought it looked AWESOME.
2- I committed to one single car. In my eyes having more than one car was a waste of time and money. Why use money on a new car when I can modify the one that I already have. I do believe at some race you needed a SUV.
My Mazda Miata stuck with me the entirety of the game.
NFSU up to Carbon was the true golden age of the franchise. Everything after that just felt less than or outright took a nosedive. There was at least some cohesive lore, the cars handled so cleanly and the music was unmatched. We'll never get Paul Linford's dynamic pursuit music again and we'll never experience a repeat of the smokey damp neon lit world that complimented the absurd lifestyle of JDM and street racing culture that peaked at the time. It's over. But at least I was there and got to enjoy those games when they were still new. I was still in high school back then. I miss it so bitterly.....
You can still download them there are discord servers dedicated to those games and host them, I can torrent them cus piracy isn't illegal in my place
I have a copy of this that’s almost clean, I gave away all my ps2 consoles and games to my friend but I kept this game I loved paying then I love it now.
Need for weeb
Only real Cartakus remember
@@BladedAngel what are the fans of this channel called? Bladders?
Need For Weeb Underground 2
My trick in this game to combat the customization was either, I visible stickers. (White stickers on white car) or a 2nd car simply visually, and no performance.
Generally I had only 1 racecar, since that was the fastest way to do it with the custom performance mods.
What a coincidence. I recently got a copy of Underground 2 because I wanted to relive a part of my childhood, and I had a blast going through it again. I remember me and my brother kept getting the same cars, so we would go ahead to head against each other to see who can make their cars better. The only cars I remember us both getting was the Honda Civic and Nissan Skyline. Also in my recent playthrough, I was able to mostly avoid adding hideous visual mods to keep the star ratings high, even max. That meant no spinners, no unique hood opening animations, stuck with one unique vinyl, or just had the same one(s) layered on top of each other, and didn't have to stick to one sponsor decal in every slot. I still had to use carbon fiber parts, but I made it work.
I'm gonna cry watching this
This nostalgia hits different.
You’re literally me in a different body, IM A HUGE MC3 STAN AND UNDERGROUND 2 IS THE BEST NFS KINDA GUY
This was the first NFS I played, and I had amazing memories with it
Mine was NFS Porshe 2000, and that game was really hard so I never manage to finisn it up. However this game was much more easier so I did finish up the main storyline on first try without any guidance.
I've played practically all NFS' up to SHIFT2 (the Run excluded). There were high and low points, but every one of them had at least one or two redeeming features. But practically every one of them excelled at atmosphere. And music - yes, NFS has given us some excellent tracks, both in the electronic era of late '90s and rock/rap in mid '00s.
For me NFS Underground 2 is maybe not the best iteration of the series, but it's definitely the most memorable, to which I hold many fond memories. To this day I listen to some tracks from it, most notably Switch/Twitch from Fluke and Back on a Mission by CIRRUS. AND it made me buy the car I drive today - a I gen Lexus IS300. I've bought an IS200 in 2015 and traded it for an IS300 five years later. Yes, it's old, it doesn't have 500bhp (2JZ, no shit) and fuel consumption is... not good to say the least. But it's mine, it's a tiny bit unique (especially considering it's a SportCross), and when every once in a while Switch/Twitch comes on the stereo... it brings a smile to my face. And for those brief moments I can return back in time to when I was playing this game after school with not a care in the world.
See you on the streets of Bayview.
I played this game over and over so much I just instinctively learned everything you talked about in terms of soft locking and modding myself appropriately, and eventually beating the game.
Probably played the game 5-6 times through...even after figuring everything out that you are talking about.
Probably put in 200+ hours in this game back in the day
same goes for:
Star Wars Battlefront 2
NFS Hot Pursuit 2
Fallout 3
Pokemon Leaf Green
Pokemon Silver
CoD WaW
Forza Motorsport 2
Zoo Tycoon 2
Roller Coaster Tycoon 3
Cruise Ship Tycoon
Ace Combat 4
Ace Combat 5
GTA Liberty City Stories (PSP)
One unappreciated feature of this video are those sweet and smooth rhymes, Bladed discovered a new talent
Another fantastic review, another hint at your inner rap god. Loved it!
Thank you for telling me about the star rating soft lock. I would have gotten softlocked myself and never would have known.
Your NFS poetry is awesome. Well done. I got to find some time to finally finish this iconic racer. It looks like a blast from start to finish all while driving the most obnoxious, over-modified, highly-rated car you can build. I'll definitely remember to spam the slam-from-behind or pit maneuvers for the Outrun races. Great video. Thanks Bladed Angel.
Couple tweaks with the PC version to make it playable in 2023:
- Use a widescreen patcher to get 1080p and up resolutions.
- NoCD Crack/Patcher
- Make a shortcut of the .exe and place a command in it to force it to use one CPU core, prevents random crashing (you can manually do this post launching the game in Task Manager if you prefer, find .exe, right click, go to details, set affinity, deselect all but one core).
19:19 man... now i need to play it again