Need for Speed: Underground (2003)

Need for Speed: Underground supposed a shift from semi-professional racing and isolated circuits to the street racing style of other arcade racing series: all circuits are now part of a single map, Olympic City, except for drifts. This game introduced three new play modes (Drag, Drift and Sprint) and tuning with more options than in the previous attempt, High Stakes. Underground was also the first game in the series to feature a story, told via pre-rendered videos, rebooting completely the franchise.

Most of the new elements in Underground have become defining marks of later installments in the Need for Speed series.

This was the first Need for Speed to require Hardware Texture and Lighting in Graphics Cards.