Need for Speed: Underground | Nintendo GameCube

Make a name on the night racing circuit

Need for Speed: Underground puts your car at the center of a career in nighttime street racing. The aim is to win events, earn money and turn a licensed production car into a machine that looks and performs the way you want. Its emphasis on modified imports brings cars such as the Mazda RX-7 and Nissan Skyline GT-R into a racing scene built around customization and reputation.

The single-player competition includes more than 100 races. Moving through that lineup involves learning several disciplines while steadily expanding your car's possibilities. A victory supplies money for another modification, and your next event gives you a chance to put the result to work. Driving skill and the decisions you make in the garage develop together.

Learn the different race disciplines

• Circuit: Complete laps of a closed route and cross the finish ahead of the competition.
• Sprint: Race from one end of a route to the other.
• Drag: Time manual gear changes carefully; missed shifts waste speed, while over-revving can damage the engine.
• Drift: Build a score by sustaining controlled slides through corners.
• Lap Knockout: Avoid last place at each lap's end to stay in the race.

Quick Race lets you choose an event directly, while Free Run gives you space to learn a track without an opponent or time limit.

Build a car with its own identity

The garage draws on licensed vehicles and hundreds of real aftermarket parts. You can work on performance as well as appearance, bringing the same interest in car building to the races and the customization screens. The selection includes equipment from established manufacturers, giving the modifications a connection to the tuner culture that inspired the game.

Visual changes range from body kits and wheels to paint, graphics and lighting. Layered vinyl graphics let you combine designs, while decals can be positioned on different parts of the bodywork. Bumpers, hoods, spoilers and side skirts change the overall shape; neon and window tint give you finer details to adjust.

Performance equipment tackles different characteristics of a build. Engine and exhaust packages improve acceleration and top speed, while drivetrain upgrades increase top speed. Brake kits improve handling, and weight reduction helps both acceleration and handling. Nitrous provides a temporary burst of speed. These categories give your race earnings several practical uses beyond buying another visual change.

Style contributes to progression

Driving actions earn style points that unlock cars and graphics. Visual modifications raise your car's reputation, multiply style rewards and help meet tournament entry requirements. The career therefore rewards attention to appearance alongside race results. Tournaments combine several races, with finishing positions contributing to the overall result.

The sound of the underground

Nighttime streets and conspicuously modified imports give the game its identity. The licensed soundtrack mixes hip hop and hard rock, including music from Mystikal, Rob Zombie and The Crystal Method. That combination of music, cars and after-dark competition places the emphasis on the early-2000s street-racing scene.

Playing on GameCube

Local competition uses two-player split-screen with two GameCube controllers. Saving career progress, settings and statistics requires a GameCube Memory Card; the North American package specifies eight blocks.