With films such as "The Fast and The Furious" and "Gone In 60 Seconds" virtually fueling (no pun intended!) the import car racing sub-culture in recent years, it's unsurprising that a game inspired by the aforementioned films was quickly spawned. However, make no mistake about it - Underground is far greater than a Hollywood cash cow (*cough* Enter The Matrix *cough*)! Instead, NFS:U fills a void that has existed long before either film was even imagined, combining hot chicks, cool cars and the attitude of the street scene into a highly polished, visually superb gaming experience.

To be specific, while titles such as Gran Turismo and Colin McRae Rally are undoubtedly fun, many car fanatics have found such gameplay understandably bland, longing for something to bridge the gap between ultra-realistic racing simulation and arcade gravity-defying thrill rides. Thankfully, the wait is now over and, although we did hit a few speed bumps along the way, it's clear that EA couldn't have competently continued the Need for Speed legacy any other way.