Need for Speed: Underground and the Olympic City Scene That Put Import Tuners on the Map

Need for Speed: Underground, the 2003 racer, is the seventh main entry in the series, which followed Hot Pursuit 2. Set in the invented city of Olympic City, it put import tuner cars at the centre of the series. The game sold around 15 million units.

EA Black Box developed the game and Electronic Arts published it, and it arrived in three versions: one for consoles and Windows, one for Game Boy Advance, and an arcade version by Global VR that followed two years later.

What is Need for Speed: Underground about?

Underground is a street racing game in which the player rises through the underground scene of Olympic City. Unlike earlier Need for Speed games, it features import tuner cars, a full storyline and a garage for detailed customisation. The career story centres on a gang rivalry and a contact who eventually becomes a rival.

The first scene is a circuit win that turns out to be a daydream, and the player wakes to meet Samantha, a woman who becomes their guide through the import scene. Her role shifts over the story, from friendly tutor to someone who is hurt by the player's choices.

Import tuners, a real storyline and a garage full of upgrades turned a fictional city into a sales hit.

Where is Olympic City?

Olympic City is the fictional setting for every race in the game. Its streets draw on Paris, London and New York City, along with Vancouver, Los Angeles and San Francisco, so the backdrop mixes several real cities into one invented place.

Because all races take place there, the city is the backdrop for every event from the first win to the final race. The setting gives the story its sense of a single scene that the player works through block by block.

How does the story unfold in Olympic City?

Samantha introduces the player to the import scene and to local racers such as Jose, Klutch and Dirt. The player then draws the attention of The Eastsiders, a gang led by Eddie, who mocks the player's skill. Eddie later sets up a race against Samantha, and the story ends with a final race against a mysterious driver.

Samantha teases the player about the first car, yet she helps buy it and points the player toward Jose, who offers circuit events, Klutch for drag events and Dirt for drift events. In event 7 she introduces T.J., a mechanic who rewards time trial wins with performance parts. Samantha also issues time trials of her own, but her rewards are visual modifications.

Eddie is the strongest underground racer in the city at the start. Unimpressed, he insults the player, tells them to take a taxi home, throws cash at them and signals a cab to collect the player at an event. Chad, Kurt and Todd are gang members the player races on the way up the ranking boards.

Once the player's reputation grows, Eddie challenges them to race Samantha. She loses after the engine of her Honda Civic Si is totalled, and T.J. takes the car for himself. Samantha distances herself from the player, although race offers keep coming in.

The endgame sees the player beat Chad, Kurt, Todd and Dirt for the number one spot on their boards. Then T.J. races for the vandalised Civic in a pink slip race, and the player wins it back and returns it to Samantha, which restores their friendship. Samantha offers a choice of unique body kits as a reward.

Eddie then loses a sprint race, and before the crew can celebrate, a grey Nissan 350Z appears and offers a closing race over 4 laps. The driver is Melissa, and the player wins, which makes them the best underground racer in Olympic City.

How does racing work in Underground?

Circuit races are the main mode, with up to three rivals on a loop track. Knockout removes the last racer each lap. Sprint races use point-to-point tracks up to 8 km long, while drift and drag races add more technical challenges.

Nitrous oxide appears in the series for the first time here. A player gets a single burst per race, and it returns only when the race is restarted. Drift mode is different, since the player drives a short loop against three rivals and scores points by drifting.

Bonuses reward drifting along the outer edge, drifting vertically and chaining drifts. A drift that touches the side of the track cancels its points. Time does not matter in drift mode, and nitrous is not allowed.

Drag racing uses a manual transmission, so the player must time gear changes and watch the tachometer and engine temperature. Steering is simplified to lane changes. A car is forfeited after a head-on collision or a blown engine caused by long redlining.

Who were the characters and rivals?

The rivals are a mix of local racers and gang members. Jose offers circuit events, Klutch offers drag events and Dirt offers drift events. The Eastsiders are led by Eddie, with Chad, Kurt and Todd among their members, and Melissa is Eddie's girlfriend.

Samantha and T.J. are the two characters who reward the player most directly, though with different gifts. T.J. hands out performance parts for winning time trials, while Samantha's rewards are visual modifications. Her later role is more personal, because the player's willingness to race her hurts her deeply.

The climb up the ranking boards is the thread of the story. Racing the Eastsiders lifts the player up the boards, and by the endgame the player holds the number one rank on each board they have contested.

Which cars and upgrades were in the game?

Underground features 20 fully licensed cars, all of them tuner-type cars. The list runs from the Dodge Neon and Mazda RX-7 through the Toyota Supra and Honda Civic Si to the Nissan 350Z and Volkswagen Golf GTI. It was also the first series entry to include a Korean-made car, the Hyundai Tiburon.

Visual customisation covers paint, vinyl, underglow neon, bumpers, side skirts, spoilers, hoods, exhausts, roof scoops, tyres, stickers and wide body kits. Performance upgrades cover the engine, drivetrain, suspension, tyres and engine control unit, plus nitrous, turbochargers and weight reduction packages. Story races are how the player earns them.

The Style Points system rewards stunts and competitive driving. Points come from drafting, power sliding, taking shortcuts, close calls with traffic and avoiding walls. They are multiplied by a Style Modifier that rises as the car gets more visually modified, and they unlock visual upgrades and custom cars. The system drew on The Kudos idea from Metropolis Street Racer and Project Gotham Racing.

What was the soundtrack like?

The soundtrack has 26 licensed songs in genres from rap to drum and bass. The main menu mostly plays hip hop, while races mostly play electronica, metal, techno and disco. Players can also swap the menu and race music if they prefer.

Artists include Nate Dogg, T.I., Lil Jon and The East Side Boyz, while Static-X, Rob Zombie and Lostprophets add rock. Petey Pablo, Story of the Year, The Crystal Method and Andy Hunter also appear, and Junkie XL, Asian Dub Foundation and BT bring dance and electronic textures.

The theme song, Get Low, is by Lil Jon and The East Side Boyz, and BT produced the opening track Kimosabe.

How was the game developed and released?

Underground was first announced in April 2003 and released worldwide that November for PC, PlayStation 2, Xbox and GameCube. Japan received the PlayStation 2 and GameCube versions later, on December 25.

Visual effects were supervised by Habib Zargarpour, whose earlier credits include a pod race in the Star Wars prequel. The game used 20 licensed vehicles from thirteen carmakers, and its hundreds of aftermarket parts came from 52 or more manufacturers.

The marketing budget was $5.8 million. The arcade version came from Global VR with help from Electronic Arts and arrived in late 2005.

How did critics and reviewers respond?

Critics gave Underground positive reviews on GameRankings and Metacritic. The PlayStation 2 version scored 84.29% on one and 85 out of 100 on the other. Complaints centred on repetitive tracks, rubber-banding AI on Easy mode and the absence of free roam and real damage.

Official UK PlayStation 2 Magazine scored the PS2 edition nine out of ten and praised its speed, though it called the title another driving game with Hollywood sparkle. Famitsu gave the GameCube and PS2 versions two eights and two nines, a total of 34 out of 40.

The scores on other platforms were close. The GameCube version reached 83.73% and 83 out of 100, the PC version 82.29% and 82, the Xbox version 81.76% and 83, and the Game Boy Advance version 77.33% and 77.

Damage was limited mostly to licence plates and side mirrors coming off during collisions, most noticeably in Drag races.

Which awards did Underground win?

Computer Gaming World named Underground its 2003 Racing Game of the Year. The Electric Playground gave it the 2003 Best Driving Game for PC award, and the Interactive Achievement Award went to it as Console Racing Game of the Year.

The game also took a CESA Game Awards prize in the Global Awards category for overseas works, presented by CESA and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

How well did Underground sell?

Electronic Arts said sales passed 7 million units worldwide by mid-2004, and the game eventually sold 15 million copies. By July 2006 the PS2 version had moved 2.6 million copies and taken $115 million in US sales alone.

Next Generation placed it sixth in sales among launch titles for PlayStation 2, Xbox or GameCube in the United States between January 2000 and July 2006. It was also the top-selling Need for Speed release in the US over those dates.

The PlayStation 2 version earned a Double Platinum award from ELSPA, which points to at least 600,000 UK sales. It had reached 700,000 copies in the UK by January 2004.

What did the sequel and arcade version add?

Need for Speed: Underground 2 followed the original in 2004. The arcade edition, which Global VR both made and published, appeared two years after the original, with Electronic Arts assisting. It was released in late 2005, so the cabinets arrived well after the console launch.

Underground 2 is the natural next step for anyone who finished the first game, since it continues the same import scene. The arcade version, by contrast, offered a shorter, cabinet-based way to play the same type of racing.