Around my umpteenth session of playing Need For Speed II Underground, I'd decided that the yellow Evo just sitting there on the main menu had gotten rather unsightly. Being the feisty, impulsive individual that I am, I decided to wad on whatever customization I could in twelve seconds, and before I knew it, I was taking some amount of pride in the now very cool black Evo with the red and white rip decals lining the sides. I was positively crestfallen when I exited the menu to find that my car design didn't stay put.

This is especially peculiar, because I always thought the idea of ricing up a car just to make it look cool was silly. And yet, I had gotten so caught up in the aesthetics that I had fun and cared about my little design. This is what makes NFSU2 fun. I mean, there's a million racing games out there, but this one has a that special little touch that allows you to take a bit of pride in your creation, right down to the itty-bitty decals.

The goal of the career mode isn't just to win races and buy cars. Players need to draw attention to themselves and catch the eyes of sponsors. The most unique aspect of NFSU2 is the idea that your car's appearance actually affects the game. Your car gets a visual rating based on the amount of bodywork and aesthetic changes made, and this in turn opens up for more fun distractions and chances to earn money and respect. After getting at least a one star visual rating, there will be opportunities to be on DVD and magazine covers - you can even take the picture yourself. This is pretty fun if you're proud of your car and can do the suspension-of-disbelief thing for just a few minutes and enjoy your fictional street-racing fame.

On the other side of the "LOL CAR GAME" spectrum, there's plenty to think about as far as racing lines, proper shifting, traction control, etc, go. The actual racing portion of the game is terrific, mostly due the excellent control, but also because of the natural progression of tougher races and new cars and parts. Any decent racing game has that, though, but that's only half the fun of NFSU2.

NFSU2 may not look as good as SRS (it's choppy), have any semblance of car damage or a bizarre way to accumulate girlfriends, but infinitely better customization and other events like drag and drift competitions easily make it better. The racing events in Career mode (which are also available in Quick race mode) include typical circuit and sprint modes, but there are also some closed-course races without civilian traffic, much to the delight of Gran Turismo nerds. One of the most fun competitions is the Drift event - racers are judged by the speed, distance, and quantity of their drifts. Drag events are also very "different"; the tachometer, nitrous, etc., are displayed very largely on screen and become the main focus. Steering in this mode is mostly automatic; a direction only needs to be tapped once and the car moves into the next lane and automatically centers itself. It's strange at first, but after a few seconds of freaking out about being unable to steer properly, it becomes fun and interesting.

Sillier features include racing SUVs, and for some bizarre reason, limiting the garage in career mode to only five cars. That shouldn't be a deterrent to buying and thoroughly enjoying NFSU2, but forget trying to collect every car. There's a two-player mode barely worth mentioning; it exists, and contains car racing. There are a lot of other little features, like getting emails and messages from other drivers, a bit of storyline, a rearrangeable licensed soundtrack, and slow motion stunts that contribute to the, uh, sumptuousness of NFSU2.

Need for Speed Underground 2 comes highly recommended. If my jarring tale of personal experience isn't convincing enough, well, you might be surprised to find yourself attached to your own car that you spent hours tuning, racing, and beautifying in the realm of video game fiction-land, if you give the game a chance.