One of the big draws to the console version of Need For Speed Underground 2 is the fact that you can customize your car to your liking, with tons of options for paint schemes, window tints, rims, aerodynamic accessories, etc. You would think that because of hardware limitations, you can't do that very well on the GBA. Well, you would've thought wrong, because you can do all that fancy car customization in the GBA version too, and the racing action is quite good too, just like it is on the GameCube.

NFSU2 for the handheld comes with 16 real-life licensed cars, about a dozen different Circuit, Drag, and Drift tracks, and a whole lot of car customization options, especially for a handheld. The cars are in 3D, and you can rotate the camera around a car while in the garage. While the cars themselves aren't ultra-detailed, they're sure detailed enough to tell them all apart, so when that Lexus IS300 screams past you on the track, you'll know it.

The tracks themselves look pretty good for the GBA. Everything is in 3D, and the game runs smoothly and quickly, especially in first-person mode. The tracks aren't flat, either, as just about all of them have elevation changes, ramps, and even portions of tracks where you jump over another section of track below. There aren't too many circuit tracks, but the variety is okay, and the backwards variations mix it up as well. The three main race types should be familiar to any NFSU veteran: Circuit, Drag, and Drift.

Circuit lets you race around tracks against up to three other cars, or against the clock, depending on the circuit race selected. There are three difficulty levels, and while all three are available to you at the start, the only way you'll have any chance to win the races in the higher levels is to win the races in the lower levels to earn points to upgrade your car's performance. You can buy things like engine tuning, car handling, bottles of nitrous, suspension, and just about anything else you'd need to soup up your ride. You'll need all of them, because as you get into the higher levels, the racing starts to get pretty fierce. Not only can you not make any mistakes, you're going to need to drive a very fast car to win toward the end. The racing action is very good because of this difficulty curve, so expect to be tested if you want to clean this game out.

Drag mode makes you get down the track as fast as possible. You must shift gears in this mode, and even though there isn't any analog control for the accelerator, you can actually time the start pretty well. Just gun it at the right moment and shift into first gear, that's all there is to it. Drift mode has you sliding around drift tracks, racking up big points before time is up. If you can get a good score without hitting anything, you win. Compared to Circuit, Drift and Drag are pretty easy to beat, and after you beat all the tracks on these two modes, there really isn't any reason to go back to them, other than to perhaps take your new, customized ride for a spin.

The most fun you'll get out of NFS Underground 2 is with all of the car customization options. There are actually a lot more than you might expect in a pocket title. You'll start with the basic car models, but as you win races, more visual car upgrades will be made available for you to equip. You can change your car's body color, window tint color, front and rear bumper, side skirts, hood and roof scoops, spoiler, rims, and yes, you can even add neon lighting to your car's underskirt. There's nothing cooler than seeing your little car with neon lights under it. And oh, did I mention vinyls? The GBA version has got them too, with more than 40 to choose from. Making your car the way look you want it here is just as fun as it is on the consoles, and that's pretty impressive.

Another great thing about the game is how easy it is to race your car around. Turning with an analog stick would have been nice, but for the GBA, a stiff D-Pad will have to do. Surprisingly, the game's controls are solid, and accurately mimic those of an actual car. For instance, you'll more easily spin out or slow way down if you attempt to take a hard turn at top speed, but if you slow down enough and take the turn nice and wide, easing in with some gentle taps on the pad, you'll roll through the turn perfectly. You'll actually have to drive your car around the track, and not just hold down the A button and bounce off the walls.

Just like in real street racing (or at least the Hollywood perception of it), there will be the occasional brush with traffic. Well, in NFSU2, it's not so occasional. Or a brush. Every so often, you'll be met with an unavoidable accident, such as one where you're between two cars, racing for position, as an intersection comes up. If any car gets tangled up in it, you will too. There's also the homing bus torpedo that locks in on you as you turn around a blind corner. A lot of times, these incidents will cost you a race, but it's no biggie, you can just restart it and smoke that dude the second time. Also annoying is the screeching sound your tires make while drifting. While it's not bad during a race or drag event, you'll want to turn down the sound effects or the volume knob on your system all the way down during drift sessions, since it's quite bad to hear that "fingernails-on-chalkboard" sound for minutes at a time. The rest of the game makes these few downers tolerable, so all is forgiven.

If you want a great racing game for your pocket, give Need For Speed Underground 2 a try. Not only do you have some intense action on the track, you've got some hot action in the garage, where you can customize your cars just the way you like them. If you like the console versions, and want to take a NFS ride (like the souped-up Nissan 240SX) with you in your own ride (such as the high-performance 1987 Acura Integra), then the Game Boy Advance version is for you.