Need For Speed Underground 1 Review

Hey. So I decided a few weeks back that I was going to play through I guess what could be called the golden age of Need For Speed. In my opinion, that is NFSU1, NFSU2, NFSMW, and NFSC. I wanted to do this simply for fun, to see how each game evolved from the last, and to see why people love this period of the franchise so much.

I had never played NFSU1 before, and recently beated Underground Mode. As it was my first time, I played on easy difficulty for every race. The game started off pretty enjoyable with decent controls, a good soundtrack with some great songs, and a cool location to race through at night.

Something I really like is the amount of customisation offered to do with your car, which still holds up great today after over 20 years.

I also found progression to be good, as you were often climbing the ranks, unlocking new body parts, and gaining new performance upgrades.

And the different types of events were all overall fun, with drags in particular giving a sense of adrenaline.

There was honestly though a lot I disliked about the game, especially as I progressed through towards the ending. Firstly, the rubber band. I don't mind racing games having rubber band and I understand why they have it, but the rubber band in this game as you get towards the end is unbelievable. It doesn't feel like you are racing against actual racers.

In one particular race, the ai rubber band seems to be genuinely broken against your favour. Event 103, Enduro Street Circuit. That is the worst race I have ever played in any racing game, and is the sole reason why I won't be replaying the career mode for a VERY long time, if ever.

There are various other things I dislike as well. Vehicles, the crash cam, and the physics when you hit vehicles. In this game vehicles deliberately seem to be in your way, which I despise. And if you hit a vehicle, you go into a annoying crash cam, where the physics become over exaggerated. It is so frustrating, and really ruins the enjoyment of racing.

Something else I dislike is the repetition of races in this game, which becomes an issue right from the beginning of the game. You will replay the same race tracks over and over and over again, because there aren't actually that many unique tracks.

To conclude, I completely understand why people like this game and why it is so popular. It was a changing point in the franchise, and there is definitely fun to be had. In my opinion though, I don't think this game is good, at least nowadays. Back then, sure, but in 2025 I'm afraid not. I might replay races in quick race, but the career I will not return to for a long time. The game is simply okay at best.

Soon I will start playing NFSU2 for the original Xbox, which some people believe to be the best game in the whole franchise. I am quite excited to play that game for the first time, and definitely think it will be better than this game.