Need for Speed vs Need for Speed: Underground
Need for Speed is an open-world racing game from Ghost Games (2020) while Need for Speed: Underground is a racing game (2003).
Quick answer: Need for Speed and Need for Speed: Underground are too close, or too thinly reviewed, to separate on the numbers; the table below shows what each holds.
Need for Speed: Underground
What each one is
Need for Speed is filed under Open-World and Racing. In contrast, Need for Speed: Underground under Racing.
Ready to own the streets? Get behind the wheel of iconic cars and floor it through Ventura Bay, a sprawling urban playground. Explore overlapping stories as you build your reputation – and your dream car – and become the ultimate racing icon.
Need for Speed: Underground is a 2003 racing video game and the seventh installment in the Need for Speed series following Hot Pursuit 2 (2002). It was developed by EA Black Box and published by Electronic Arts. Three different versions of the game were produced: one for consoles and Microsoft Windows, and another for the Game Boy Advance. An arcade version developed and published by Global VR came out two years later.
Story, characters and reception
Plot
The game begins with a circuit race set in Olympic City , with the player driving a white Honda/Acura Integra Type R that sports a unique set of vinyl and a wide body kit . They dominantly win the race; only to be awakened from a daydream by a woman named Samantha. Samantha is the player's contact in Olympic City, touring them across the import culture scene and illegal street racing therein. (Wikipedia)
Reception
Reception Need for Speed: Underground received positive reviews according to review aggregators GameRankings and Metacritic . Both gave it a score of 84. 29% and 85 out of 100 for the PlayStation 2 version, 83. (Wikipedia)
At a glance
| Need for Speed | Need for Speed: Underground | |
|---|---|---|
| GamingPickz Score | 6.4/10 | — |
| Steam rating | Mixed (69%, 29,486) | — |
| Critic aggregate | No aggregate | 77/100 |
| Price | $29.99 | Unknown |
| Install size | 30 GB | — |
| Steam Deck | playable | Untested |
| Released | 2020 | 2003 |
| Developer | Ghost Games | — |
Prices and Steam ratings are read live and move over time.
Need for Speed vs Need for Speed: Underground, point by point
Each facet side by side. A round is marked won only where a figure settles it; feel and "which is better" carry no mark, because no number we hold decides them.
Genre and premise
Need for SpeedOpen-world racing gameNeed for Speed: UndergroundRacing gameWhat each is filed as. Each game describes itself in full above; we do not judge a premise.
How it plays
Need for SpeedRacing, Driving, Open WorldNeed for Speed: UndergroundNo descriptive tagsThe tags players apply most, in order of votes. A read on feel, not a verdict.
Content and scale
Need for Speed29,486 reviews · 30 GBNeed for Speed: Underground—Reach and footprint, not quality: more reviews or a bigger install is not a better game.
Price
Need for Speed$29.99Need for Speed: UndergroundUnknownRead live from Steam and subject to change.
Across the rounds a number can settle, it is level at 0 each. Which one is "better" is the part no figure decides, so we leave it to what you want from the two.
Where they differ
RacingMultiplayerDrivingOpen WorldActionAdventure
Tags players apply to one game and not the other.
Difficulty and who each is for
By the tags players apply, Need for Speed is middle-of-the-road on difficulty. Need for Speed: Underground is middle-of-the-road on difficulty.
Accessibility features
Steam store pages declare 1 accessibility feature for Need for Speed and 0 for Need for Speed: Underground. A declaration is a floor, not a review.
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Common questions
How different are Need for Speed and Need for Speed: Underground in scope?
Need for Speed has drawn 29,486 Steam reviews and installs in 30 GB. Need for Speed: Underground lists little scope data.
Is Need for Speed or Need for Speed: Underground better?
Neither carries enough reviews for us to score it reliably, so we do not call a winner. The table above shows what each does have.
Which is cheaper, Need for Speed or Need for Speed: Underground?
One or both do not have a current listed price, so a straight comparison is not possible. See the table above.
Should I get Need for Speed or Need for Speed: Underground?
Need for Speed and Need for Speed: Underground are too close, or too thinly reviewed, to separate on the numbers; the table below shows what each holds. It also depends on what you want: the "which to pick" section above calls out which is cheaper, lighter on storage, better on a Steam Deck and the safer bet by weight of reviews.
Do you rank one above the other for a fee?
No. Neither game, nor anyone else, pays for placement or a verdict here. The order and every figure come out of the same public data the rest of the site uses.
Related comparisons
All comparisonsHow we compare, and what we will not do
The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment (adjusted for sample size), the critic aggregate and popularity, computed by the same code every ranked list on this site uses. The Steam rating label is Valve's own, reconstructed from the positive percentage and review count. Prices are read live. We do not write an opinion of which game is "better": we report the numbers and say which wins each measurable question above.