Need for Speed: Underground

About Need for Speed: Underground

The game begins with a circuit race set in Olympic City , with the player driving a white Honda/Acura Integra Type R that sports a unique set of vinyl and a wide body kit. They dominantly win the race; only to be awakened from a daydream by a woman named Samantha.

Samantha is the player's contact in Olympic City, touring them across the import culture scene and illegal street racing therein. Albeit poking fun at the player's choice of car, she helps the player buy their first car and kickstarts the player by introducing them to local street racers such as Jose (who offers circuit events), Klutch (who offers drag events), and Dirt (who offers drift events). In event #7, she introduces him to T.J., a mechanic who rewards them with numerous performance upgrades and parts, provided they win their time trial challenges. Samantha also issues time trials to the player, her rewards being unique visual modifications instead.

Eventually, the player draws the attention of The Eastsiders, after racing their members Chad, Kurt, and Todd to climb up the racing ranking boards. Eddie, the leader of the gang and his girlfriend Melissa take notice of the player. Eddie is the current best underground racer in Olympic City - unimpressed by the player, he insults them for their racing skills, going as far as demanding they "take a taxi home so that he can get home faster" while throwing cash at their face, and signaling for a taxi cab to pick up the player in an event.

Gameplay in Underground typically involves the player defeating opponents in illegal street races in the fictional Olympic City. The game introduces nitrous oxide for the first time in the series which can be used to boost the acceleration of the car for maximum speed; however, it can only be used once and cannot be used again until the player restarts the race.

In the car customization menu, cars can be altered with performance upgrades and visual upgrades, such as paint colors, vinyl, underglow neon, custom front, and rear bumpers, custom side skirts, spoilers, custom hoods, exhaust tips, roof scoops, custom tires and stickers, and wide body kits.

Players can apply performance upgrades to their vehicles. The player can upgrade their car's engine, drivetrain, suspension, tires, engine control unit (ECU) as well as add nitrous oxide, turbochargers and reduce the car's weight (in the form of "weight reduction packages"). Performance upgrades are earned by completing certain races in the story mode.