Need for Speed Underground Rivals PSP Review

The racing genre is a big risk. There's so much competition, just doing one little thing wrong will send your game into the bargain bin. It's tricky too. Making the game deep with all sorts of add-ons and tweaks for your car alienates those who know nothing about cars. Keeping the game at a surface level immediately turns car buffs away from your title. "Need for Speed Underground Rivals" is an in-between racer, offering arcade-like physics on the track, but deep customization options off. It's a mix that doesn't please anybody.

This is a series that invents a new genre, the caRPG. You basically level up your vehicle, buying new parts to make it stronger and faster. You challenge bosses for cash and take part in other types of races to earn even more. There are numerous licensed cars available for purchase.

That's great if you enjoy fiddling with your cars. Actually, even if you don't just adding things and watching the vehicle performance get a boost is fun. Sadly, there's little explanation for most of the upgrades. You go in blindly, boosting stats that you don't even know what they do unless you've done this type of work yourself. All of the visual upgrades are a nice touch too. There's just no point to most of it.

This would all make sense if the actual racing portions were sim-like. It's not. It controls just like any other arcade racer. There's no attempt to make this even seem like a simulation. Even this would be fine if the races were exciting, but they're not. In actuality, they're dull exercises you'll either win or lose depending on what sort of work you've done in the garage.

That's obviously a major problem. It's far more fun off the track than it is on. Leveling up is a slow process and trying to keep up with the difficulty curve while buying new vehicles is almost impossible in the early going. Later, things start evening out and the races finally start becoming fair, challenging even. It's a shame the opening hours of play are as dull as you can get.

Article Author: Matt Paprocki

Matt Paprocki is a 12-year movie and game critic. He currently freelances for Blu-ray review site DoBlu.com and video game site MultiPlayerGames.com.

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