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EA is back at it again with yet another installment of the Need for Speed series, this time a sequel to 2003s popular Underground. This time, EA serves up a much deeper game than the original, with a well thought out progression system, smooth graphics, and enough customization to keep even the biggest car geeks happy.

For some reason beyond my comprehension, EA tries to implement a storyline to help set up the game. Apparently you used to be some big-shot racer at one point, but someone set you up and you got landed in the hospital, and have been ‘out of the game’ for quite some time. Well, now you’re back in good health, and ready to tear it up again. It’s a simple premise, but all it really does is make the game seem like it’s trying to be more important than it actually is.

Paper thin storyline aside, the rest of the game is grade A, start to finish. In order to progress through life on the streets, you’ll have to drive around the extensive, lovely city that is fictional Bayview, looking for race markers so that you can participate in numerous styles of racing, which will earn you both cash (or ‘bank’ as the cool kids are calling it these days), and a reputation with the underground scene. Earning a reputation, however, isn’t as easy as just passing the finish line before everyone else, it’s a matter of how far ahead of the pack you are when you cross the finish line. While coming in a hair of a second sooner than 2nd place will earn you squat, a full 2 or 3 seconds will earn you some serious respect.

As I said, there are numerous race types in NFSU 2, and they’re all rather enjoyable to both the casual and hardcore racer. First up is the most obvious: Circuit. Circuit races are exactly what you think they are; races through a predetermined course through a set number of laps. There’s Out Run, a race where you’ll have to ditch an opponent by getting a fair distance away from them. Street X races are small, closed in, technical tracks that really test your turning abilities. Sprint races are a simple long race with no laps, just one long course from point A to point B. Drag races are an interesting high speed straightaway run that require strategic use of gear shifting. Drift races are point-based races that track your sliding abilities; the longer and more angled the slide, the higher your points. Last, but certainly not least, Underground League is a set of circuits that earn you more cash and more rep than any of the other race types.

On top of winning races, one of the most important matters at hand in NFSU 2 is car customization. Throughout the game, you’ll come across shops and garages that act like stores for your car, allowing you to purchase upgrades that will make your turns sharper, your speed faster, and your ride cooler. Anything from transmission to rear view mirrors are available for purchase at these shops through the game, though not right from the beginning. As you progress through the career side of things, you’ll periodically receive SMS messages on your cell phone from friends letting you know that new parts are in stock at the local garage. You gotta spend the cash you earn somehow, right?

There are a couple different shops that you can visit throughout Bayview. The mainly important shop is the upgrade shop, which allows you to make physical changes to the inner workings of your car to improve handling, speed, etc. Another shop will allow you to make physical changes to the outside of your car, including rims, hoods, scoops, bumpers, you name it. The last shop, but still very important, is the shop that allows you to put vinyl’s on your car (up to 4 layers) to further customize your ride to your own personal speed demon. All these shops are important for the game, and nothing is waste, as the appearance of your car matters just as much as its performance.

Your car carries a visual rating out of 10. This rating is shown every time you enter a customization shop that allows you to improve the look of your car. Visual presentation of your car is key to landing magazine and DVD covers from popular sponsors. As you gain more sponsors, you gain more cash, the more cash you earn, the more you can trick out your ride, the better the sponsors you get, the more cash you get, etc. It’s a pretty little circle of repetition that carries the game.

Of course, it wouldn’t be very fun if you only drove one car through the course of the whole career, right? Of course not, that’s why EA has been kind enough to offer up a menu of 30 different varieties of vehicle for your racing pleasure. Everything from the Ford Focus to the Toyota Corolla (?) is available to rip up the streets in. The local garage will only start off with a couple different choices, but as you progress through the career, they get in new stock, which, luckily enough, your happy-go-lucky sponsors are more than willing to buy for you. You can have up to 5 cars in your own personal garage at any given time, and you can upgrade and tweak each and every one of them to your hearts content.

Getting any serious sense of speed requires you to seriously focus on the performance of your car, but once you get going, it’ll seem like you were crawling before. Thankfully, to give you that extra ‘umph’ in a quick pinch, NOS is there to save the day. You can purchase NOS at the local upgrade shop for about a grand, and it can literally save your skin in the heat of the moment. Hold the B button down, and zoom! Be careful though, because your NOS drains remarkably quickly. In order to gain back NOS during a race, you can do things like avoiding traffic, catching serious air, pulling off a nice drift, or a sweet power slide.

Bayview is a huge city to be sure, but it’s not a very full one. Yes, there are several garages to hit, there are plenty of races to be had, but that’s pretty much it. There are a couple shortcuts you can take here and there, and some menial cash to be found in some out of the way spots, but there really isn’t much to do in it. Thankfully, for the player that gets bored with the exploration end of the game, and wants to just race, EA has implemented the World Map, which gives you a list of sponsor objectives, and a list of races that need to be completed. It takes out the exploration end completely for players with the desire to use it, which I think was a great move on EAs part, instead of making the exploration a tedious task. Much appreciation, EA.

Online play is pretty solid, though nothing really special. Take your tricked out ride to the track with up to 5 other players in any of the career modes different race types. Everything runs fairly smoothly, with only a small bit of slowdown here and there. There really isn’t too much to be said about online past that though, since it plays exactly like single player, but with people to talk to. Not that that’s a bad thing.

NFSU 2 carries a level of visual style and presentation that’s second to none in the racing world. Anyone that wowed at NFSU’s visuals in ’03 have plenty to look forward to this time ‘round, as its sequel boasts some seriously desirable graphics from every angle: Bayview itself, the cars, everything. Unfortunately, there is absolutely no car damage at all in the whole game, no matter how brutal a crash you get into. To make up for it, though, your car looks so pretty that it’d be a shame to have it all torn to bits anyway. Your windows give off real-time reflections, which is a nice touch. Bayview itself is full of neon glow jutting out from the night skies, making for some interesting, and beautiful, lighting effects throughout the game.

In classic NFS fashion, the games audio is a key point to staying deeply involved during the game, thanks to their thick level of authenticity. Engine revs, shift changes, tire squeals, all very real-sounding, and car specific. Through most of the game, you get to hear Brooke Burk talking, so she better do a damn good job. Thankfully, she delivers her lines well enough that I don’t have to mute the game while she speaks. In fact, her delivery is pretty believable for the most part. Unfortunately, scarring said delivery is the inclusion of the token ‘hip’ lingo. Phrases like ‘dawg’, ‘I’m out’, and plenty more are strewn about like they were going out of style, which, hopefully enough, is the case. I know people talk like that, but hearing it laced out throughout a 40 game like syrup smothering a sundae is far too much for my liking.

The games soundtrack is an extensive and varied list of 27 songs from enough different artists and styles to make your head spin, so you’re likely to find at least a selection of tracks you’ll like, even if you’re not into the hip-hop scene. Snoop Dogg feat. The Doors (who came up with that idea, anyway?), Chingy, Rise Against, Spiderbait, Skindred, Unwritten Law, and Xzibit are but a handful of the artists you’ll hear pumping out during high speed races. Each track can be set to play during menus, races, both, or neither, which adds a select level of track customization that’s becoming more popular in games these days, thankfully.

To be honest, Street Racing Syndicate (SRS) did a lot of these things before NFSU 2 ever did, but Underground 2 pulls it off so much better, and with so much more style that there’s really no comparison. Slick visual presentation and even slicker gameplay that’s varied enough to keep you interested all the way through, and a level of customization that blows current competition out of the water set Need for Speed Underground 2 apart from the crowd.