NFSU:2

I know this isn't a GC exclusive game or anything, and I know its been out for awhile, but I finally got the chance to rent this game (I never got the chance to rent the first one) and I gotta say, this is one fine piece of game.

I'm not a big racing fan, and I'm definitely not a car guy at all, but I always had fun with the NFS series and I love customization in games so I wanted to give it a try. It didn't dissapoint at all, well, the "story" behind it is pretty lame, but it doesn't really matter. The racing controls are very tight, all of the music is from licensed bands and is very fitting (there's even a terrible cover of "Black Betty" that butchers the song, but it's still nice to hear the song in a racing game) and even people who know nothing about cars (like myself) will be able to tune up their cars to get it to handle just how they want. The variety of race modes is a nice change, the gigantic city to roam around in is definitely not original, but still done incredibly well, and the car customization is quote/unquote "off the hizzay". I haven't been hooked on a videogame like I'm hooked on this one in a long time.

Part of the reason for that just has to do with EA in general. I've noticed lately that EA games all incorporate some kind of "reward" system for performing outrageous stunts in their games. The NBA Street franchise, for example, basically understand if the play you did looked cool or not, and will reward you accordingly. The game managed to get you to take chances on plays that would be absolutely insane if you pulled them off, but really frickin hard to pull off. The result was that the game was hella fun and was hella fun just to watch. NFSU:2 does this as well, encouraging players to drift on turns, have near accicdents with other traffic, take out opposing players, and do it all in your pimped out ride. It just makes the game have that many more "I can't believe I just pulled that off" moments.

For any racing fans out there, or even an RPG fans, I'd definitely reccomend at least trying this game. Stick with it for a bit too, cuz you start off with some brutal cars but they upgrade fast, and once you start upgrading it just gets better and better.

I had this on PS2 and loved it until I got Midnight Club 3. That game has better speed, better customization, better controls, better cities and bikes.

Stealth... the game is cool... but I hate that EA put no effort into the Gamecube version...

The cube can pull more than what that offers ... and its sad.

But its a decent game at least. Personally I am tired of the NFS series.... I wish the FPS and racing was faster pace.

BV :hat

I have the first one for Gamecube and the second one for Xbox, but I have played it for the G-cube. I absolutely love this game. The customization feature is very addicting.

how do you think the cube version stacks to the Xbox version?

Bv :hat

In my opinion the Xbox controller is better suited for racing games, which is why NFSU 1 is the only racing game I have that isn't for Xbox, but I enjoy playing this game on any system.

Well, I don't like using the "triggers" or L and R buttons as my gas and brakes on any system, so it controller-wise it doesn't make much difference, cuz the layout for me would be pretty much the same. I've never seen the Xbox version, but even the "dumbed down" GC version looked excellent to me. I never even thought for a second that I was playing an inferior version.

I also thought the speed was very intense. I remember the first time I hit 200 km/h I thought I was flying. Then I got a better engine, got up to 230 on the freeway, frick, that was fast.

Bah, the speed in NFS:U2 is nothing compared to the speed in Midnight Club 3. We're talking Burnout here. (rated the fastest racer on any system ever). Where NFS:U let you go 200km/h, MC let you go 250MPH. That's about twice as fast. The customization in NFS:U can be a fun thing, but MC3 has it beaten to a bloody pulp. So to speak. Just rent it and see for yourself.

Well, I was only done about %30 of the game and I was doing 250kmh, I'm sure speeds would get in an around 250mph once I got better cars and such.

I did want to play Midnight Club 3, but I have to say, NFSU:2 set the bar pretty high.

Don't get me wrong here, I'm not one of the "I got MC3 first, so it's obviously better" kind of people. I had NFS:U first and enjoyed it. The traffic ruined everything, but the rest of the game was quite good. NFS:U2 on the other hand fixed pretty much everything, so it is one of my Top 5 racing games of all time. It's just that Midnight Club 3 turned out to be even better than NFS:U2. Sure you can't add layers to the vinyl, but on the other hand you can customize more or less anything else. To put it short, you can have five custom colors when picking "Color Change" alone. (you know, the color changes depending on where the light is coming from). On top of that we have two different kind of bikes as well (choppers and supoerbikes), with a large selection of both. They can be customized as well, from the color of the rims to what driver, each driver with three different outfits. NFS:U2 is almost as good as they get, but MC3 pushes the limit just a bit further.

But you know, the entire discussion is a bit pointless, don't you think? Instead of arguing which is the better game, simply get them both.

Sorry to be going against the grain, but NFS:U 2 is decidedly average in the handling stakes. It's lacking depth.

Customisation is good because there's a lot of it to be done. I'd prefer to have licensed kits from good manufacturers like Wings West and Veilside. The kits I saw looked cheap and tacky, but that's just my taste.

Burnout2, F-Zero GX, Gran Turismo and Project Gotham all have it beat for handling, which is unfortunate for NFS:U2, because that's what makes or brakes (...) a racing game.

The problem I have with GT and PG is that its way too hard. Those games are realistic to the point where its not even fun. I thought the NFS serious has always done a good job of blending realistic handling with arcade handling.

stealth toilet said:

The problem I have with GT and PG is that its way too hard. Those games are realistic to the point where its not even fun. I thought the NFS serious has always done a good job of blending realistic handling with arcade handling.

Click to expand...

I never thought the NFS series had anything close to "real handling"

Maybe I am wrong though.

BV :hat

nfsu2 is one of the best games ever. i am glad it iz comin 2 gamecube.

stealth toilet said:

The problem I have with GT and PG is that its way too hard. Those games are realistic to the point where its not even fun. I thought the NFS serious has always done a good job of blending realistic handling with arcade handling.

Click to expand...

PGR is a mix between arcade and realistic handling. I agree that GT can be difficult but doing the annoying license tests do show you how to play it properly. I think the problem with GT's is that they get too anal towards the end and have too many laps in some of the latter races, especially the endurance races.

But anyway, I agree with Bluevoodu that NFS:U has arcadey handling.