The first Need for Speed port to the GBA, this game was released back in 2003. It brought to the console a high level of 3D gaming, and it’s was the precursor that future ports tried to improve upon in following years.

In Need for Speed: Underground, you try to reach the top of the ladder by challenging the racers above you on the leaderboards. You start at the bottom and work your way up to the top. And while this was the first port to the GBA, it’s far from the worst.

With it’s stunning gameplay and high quality graphics, NFS: Underground is worth exploring.

Let’s dive in.

The GBA can do this? - 9 / 10

While the graphics did improve over the years, they didn’t have a mediocre start. Instead, the graphic designers refined the high quality graphics that were already present from the beginning. And if you haven’t ever played a GBA NFS, your perceptions of the racing in GBA games will be shattered.

That’s because the 3D is phenomenal. The game really put the graphical limits of the GBA to the test, and the designers managed to create an addictive game with courses of high quality.

On the other hand, the game suffers from a lack of HUD graphics. Unlike the NFS ports that released afterward, this one doesn’t have the mini-map. As someone who’s played all but one of the NFS GBA games, let me tell you that the mini-map is definitely important.

It has to do with turning.

One problem that was never resolved on the GBA was the quickly approaching turns. In many cases, you won’t see whether to turn left or right until it’s too late. That the graphics designers couldn’t solve this problem, despite all of their other improvements, reveals that it might have simply been beyond the capacity of the GBA. The mini-map helps a lot with this, since you’re able to predict turns more effectively. Without it, you find yourself restarting the race countless times after turning straight into a dead end.

But despite these problems, the designers did create a game that surpassed all expectations, and they took 3D graphics on the GBA to a whole new level.

9 / 10.

Terrible Music - 4 / 10

Music is one of the weakest components of this game.

You’ll notice that the music is lyrical, and that’s not a problem in itself. But it’s being used on the GBA, which is a problem. Surprisingly, the sound isn’t -that- garbled. But the lyrics are just beyond the reach of comprehension, and while that is better than the music of NFS: Own the City (2006), it’s still bad. The other tracks that you hear in races are barely audible above the sound effects, and they just add to the background noise.

But the music is okay compared to the mediocre sound effects. The engine sounds a lot like the engines in most other GBA racing games, annoying. Thankfully, that’s one problem that gets fixed in a future NFS game. The worst sound effect you’ll hear is when you turn, meaning you hear it often. It’s a wheel screech that will make you cringe (and hit mute).

There was much to be fixed in terms of sound, but you can take some solace in the fact that the creators did realize their mistake for future releases.

4 / 10.

Addictive - 8 / 10

There isn’t much of a learning curve. You can get started without trouble, and you’ll have a decent chance of winning your first race. While your opponents do get more difficult as you progress, it takes many races for you reach that point, and by then you’ve improved enough to have a fair shot at the win.

Therefore, once you start, you’ll find that you’re doing well enough stay interested. It’s definitely addictive, and it’s easy to lose track of time. While racing game without challenge isn’t much fun, one that’s fairly simple to play can keep you from getting stuck for long and grab your attention. Makes sense, right?

While it’s not the type of game to play for hours on end, I’m certain that you won’t be satisfied with just one race. You’ll keep wanting to race, and you’ll find it difficult to stop.

8 / 10.

Climb to the Top - 2 / 10

There isn’t much of a story, and you wouldn’t expect one from a racing game. And while NFS does utilize a storyline in Own the City (2006)-interestingly enough-it would be unfair to expect one here.

But you do play as an aspiring racer, who aims to be at the top. You start in 11th, and you work your way up one rank at a time.

2 / 10.

Decent Depth - 5 / 10

If you want to dive right into the competition, you choose “Underground Mode”. In it, you’re not only challenging the people ahead of you, but also getting challenged by those whom you previously beat. So your place in the ladder isn’t safe; you’ll move up and down, depending on your wins and losses.

You can win a certain amount of cash for each match, and this can be used for car customization. But this is high-stakes, so losing the challenge will, in turn, result in a loss of money.

If you just want a quick race with no consequence, there’s an option for you, “Quick Race”. In it is a variety of races to choose from, including circuit, sprint, drift, and drag. You get to choose the course, the difficulty, and number of laps. It’s a simple and familiar interface that you should have no trouble with.

There’s also a variety of cars and a whole menu of customizations to choose from as you progress. It’s not necessarily the most essential feature, but it’s more that you can do.

While the depth isn’t notable, it isn’t terrible either. You won’t get lost in what to do next, and yet there’s still enough variety to keep you engaged.

5 / 10.

AI isn’t too Tough, but Collisions have Issues - 5 / 10

Overly difficult AIs. Control Issues. Those are two things that can ruin a racing game. Thankfully, Underground has neither. The AIs are fairly easy to beat, even for new players. If you turn up the difficulty, then you might have more challenge, but it’s your choice. You don’t need many tactics. As long as you turn close to the walls, you should be set.

You shouldn’t have much trouble with controls; they’re really easy to use.

The most difficulty comes from collisions. As explained earlier, the lack of a mini-map makes predicting turns much harder. It’s quite likely that you’ll hit a few walls. The collisions are unpredictable. On some occasions you’ll just glance off the wall, and others you’ll spin and lose your lead. The same happens when you hit another car. Either they move in the direction you hit them in, you get slowed down, or your car spins out of control.

It seems like there should be some logic behind what happens, but there doesn’t seem to be.

You’ll often see non-racing cars in racing games. They serve as obstacles to make your life harder. They’re in Underground, but they’re quite different. Instead of driving on the race’s road, they drive on perpendicular roads that intersect yours. These automobiles are almost impossible to foresee, and it’s the most luck driven component of the game.

While there are collision problems, the game doesn’t have much natural difficulty.

5 / 10.

Worth Exploring - Overall: 6.7 / 10

Graphics : 9 * 25% = 2.25
Sound / Music : 4 * 25% = 1.0
Addictiveness : 8 * 25% = 2.0
Story : 2 * 5% = 0.1
Depth : 5 * 10% = 0.5
Difficulty : 8 * 10% = 0.8 (Optimal difficulty was 7/10)

Sum = Overall Score = 6.7 / 10.0

To sum up, Underground was an exceptional start to the NFS GBA ports, and while it did have plenty of room for improvement, we know now that most of the issues were fixed in later games. But by itself it’s still an addictive game with exceptional graphics, one which can’t be dismissed easily.

If you want to play a solid GBA racing game with quality graphics, and smooth controls, try this one, or its successors out.

Let me know if you find yourself unable to slow down.

EideticMemory :

Ok.

SERIOUSLY?!?!

THAT

Is a gameboy advanced game?

W-O-W.

wow.

That- is outstanding. I knew the GBA was impressive, but not that impressive!

Nice little in depth point rating list you did there at the end.

I'm quite shocked that they put lyrical themes in this game. We're they trying to emulate a PSP or something?

Nice review bud BTW. :3

Well, that's another great review by EM! I love how you split into categories and gave each category a suitable amount of detail.

I remember playing this game a long while back. I played it on my GBA quite a bit before I lost it. It was one of the few racing games I could ever get into, but looking back it ain't all that great.

Wow the graphics are so impressive, it made my eyes hurt. Its a lot better than xbox 360 and ps3 games. (sarcasm)

Well this is a great review, thats all i gotta say.