Whether you are a fan of the Need for Speed series, fast-paced street racing action, or are just in need of something to tie you over until Burnout is released for the PSP, Need for Speed Underground: Rivals is a great game that is sure to please street racing fans.
The point of the game is simply to earn points by winning races, and use the points to buy new cars and soup the up both visually and mechanically. All your cars are fully customizable, right down to the numerous choices of spoilers and rims.
Players will begin the game with a Mazda Miata MX-5, but 23 other cars can be unlocked throughout the game by completing various challenges and winning races. In the "My Underground" area of the game, players can check their stats to see things such as their total win and loss counts, number of events played, the top speed that they have reached, and other statistics.
"NFSU: Rivals is one of the best games currently available for the PSP"
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The gameplay of NFSU: Rivals is excellent. The vehicles in the game will handle realistically and react accurately overall, except for the fact that no damage can be done to the cars - even after colliding with traffic at 150 miles per hour and doing several flips in the air before coming to a crashing halt.
Players can use either the analog disc or the directional pad to steer your car, and both work very nicely. The controls are simple: the "X" button is used to accelerate; "O" will give your car a nitrous boost when it is available; "triangle" will switch between camera views; and "square" will brake your car and put it into reverse. The "L" button is the rear-view mirror, and "R" is a second brake. Using the bumper camera will give you a nice sense of speed, and will make you feel like you are actually flying down the road.
The game features wireless Wi-Fi multiplayer action, and also wireless LAN to connect multiple PSP systems. If you only have one PSP system available to play on, but want to play NFSU: Rivals with your friends, up to four players can take turns racing on the same system in the exciting Party Play mode.
The sound in the game is nothing short of superb, and takes amazing advantage of the PSP’s stereo sound system. Using the headphones will let you experience the game’s impressive surround sound.
The soundtrack is exactly what one would expect from the Need for Speed Underground series, featuring bands such as Queens of the Stone Age, My Chemical Romance, Snoop Dogg, Skinred, and more. If you want to listen to the soundtrack without playing the game, you can use the built-in "EA Games tm Pocket Trax" player to access all the songs.
One of the highest points of NFSU: Rivals is the graphics. The environments in the game are very detailed, excepting the traffic that is found in the cities. EA apparently didn’t spend very much time on the vehicles in the traffic, which resulted in boxy vehicles that come close to looking like they were cut out from cardboard boxes and given a paint job. Thankfully, though, your cars and those of your competitors look quite realistic. As you speed down the road, you can see the reflections of trees, lights, and buildings off the windows of the vehicles participating in the race, giving the game an even more realistic feel.
In conclusion, Need for Speed Underground: Rivals is one of the best games currently available for the PSP – and certainly the system’s best racing game to date. Both fans of the genre and fans of the series will enjoy the game, and will be glad to see the PSP’s capabilities put to good use.
