'Need For Speed Underground 2' Unreal Engine Remake Is A Thing Of Beauty

So little has been announced by Criterion Games, about the latest Need For Speed which is rumoured to release this year, that fans have taken matters into their own hands.

Some have suggested that the game has been quietly delayed while Criterion works to get things right, meaning it won’t release until next year. The studio supposedly pivoted away from PlayStation 4 and Xbox One to develop exclusively for the newest generation of consoles. Finally we saw some extremely grainy leaked screenshots which make it seem that the overworld is at least near completion.

Take a look at the remake of Criterion’s Need For Speed Hot Pursuit in the trailer below.

As spotted by DSOGaming, one fan has been working on a complete remake for Need For Speed Underground 2 in the Unreal Engine 4. Unlike some of the other gorgeous fan remakes we’ve covered before, this one is different as 2Unreal4Underground intends not only to overhaul graphics and music, but also to improve the gameplay and mechanics like a true remake. 

The developer says they have “drastically changed driving behaviour,” while admitting that “it’s still in the making and [needs] a lot of tweaking.” They say the aim of editing how the driving works is to make it feel more like an arcade racer, and allow drifting even at low speeds. They have also added turbo into the mix.

They have even added new elements into the UI hoping to indicate better where drift zones are and when to drift. They also intend to tweak the menus and improve the music and sound effects from the original games. 

The project is merely a fan project and not available to download. However, with the quality of this, it is likely that if the developer attempted to release it, EA would shut it down almost immediately.