Featured Image Credit: EA
Topics: Need For Speed, EA, PC, Mods
Need For Speed Underground 2 holds a place in the hearts of many. A proper arcade racer, it felt brilliant to speed through city streets in the flashiest of cars.
However, the franchise has sat dormant with EA for some time and fans are constantly clamouring for a new entry which, in the eyes of most, would look amazing on this generation of consoles.
Forza Motorsport seems to be leading the pack when it comes to racers in this generation
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It’s no wonder that so many community creators are using their skills to ‘remaster’ the original game using modern technology like ray tracing.
One video showcasing a remaster has appeared on YouTube and fans are torn.
One YouTube commenter has this to say after watching the footage, “It looks decent (apart from the reflections) but I think the original visuals and art style are much better, it's part of the charm.”
They make a subtle argument that sometimes the original visuals are part of the charm and should be left alone.
Another user agrees, “I personally find it funny how the original looks better imo. The way that the RTX has been implemented does not look how it should since there are a ton of missing light sources in that mod.”
There are other viewers who seem to think this remaster is a good thing and they argue, “The car models are actually on par with the ones in newer Forza Motorsport games. I'd say this is a win.”
Taking such an old game (it’s been 20 years) and upscaling it does go some way to impressing, however without completely overhauled models it’s never going to look perfect.
Another commenter points out that many modders are “completely neglecting” art style which is part of a game’s charm and they finish their comment saying “I would honestly prefer playing with 2004 visuals rather than this mod which makes UG2 feel like it’s an Unreal engine game done in like a week or so.”
Fans are definitely divided on this one, but the project is ongoing so it has time yet to cook.