Software:Need for Speed: Underground Rivals

From HandWiki
Need for Speed: Underground Rivals
North American cover art
Developer(s)Team Fusion
Publisher(s)Electronic Arts
Director(s)Brad Fulton
Producer(s)David McCarthy
Designer(s)David Seymour
Programmer(s)Trenton Shumay
Artist(s)Terry Chui
SeriesNeed for Speed
Platform(s)PlayStation Portable
Release
  • JP: February 24, 2005
  • NA: March 14, 2005
  • EU: September 1, 2005
Genre(s)Racing

Need for Speed: Underground Rivals is a 2005 racing video game developed by Team Fusion and published by Electronic Arts for the PlayStation Portable. It is the first Need for Speed title released for the PlayStation Portable. It is a PSP spin-off of the Underground titles and follows a very similar gameplay style.

Gameplay

Race events take place only at night, and players cannot access free roam. Tuning is a major aspect of the game; to unlock more performance and visual upgrades, players must accumulate 'Upgrade Points'.

Players can play in both Underground (Career) and Quick Race modes. Underground mode is available on four difficulty levels. Statistics can be viewed on the driver status screen in My Underground.

Game Modes

  • Circuit Race: This mode is divided into four classes: Master, Novice, Pro, and Car Spec. The first three are simply race events with power restrictions, while Car Spec allows only the required cars to participate in specific events.
  • Drag Race: In a long, straight race, players accelerate their car to top speed. This mode can only be played with a manual transmission.
  • Drift Attack: Players must drift through various markers placed on the ground. The winner is the one who accumulates the most drift points.
  • Lap Knockout Race: Any player who completes a lap in last place is eliminated. This continues until only one player remains.
  • Nitrous Run: To win the race, players must pass from one checkpoint (called a "gate") to another. Passing through a gate adds time and nitrous.
  • Street Cross: Racers will drive on a tight inner circuit that mainly contains 90° and 180° turns. Street Cross is heavily based on Street X.
  • Rally Relay: Players complete two laps around a circuit. After completing the first lap, the player must change vehicles.

Customization

Players don't gain any advantage from visually customizing their car since there's no star rating system. Visual parts aren't sold separately, but only in body kits. However, players can now write their own lettering and place it on the windshield, taillights, and hood.

The most important feature is performance modifications, which allow players to alter acceleration, top speed, and handling. Any car in this game can be upgraded to be highly competitive, even against the strongest production cars. After purchasing a performance part, players can install it on other vehicles without having to buy it again.

Reception

Reception
Aggregate scores
AggregatorScore
GameRankings77.32% (45 reviews)[9]
Metacritic74/100 (36 reviews)[10]
Review scores
PublicationScore
1Up.com8/10[7]
Eurogamer6/10[2]
GameRevolutionB-[4]
GameSpot7.9/10[8]
GameSpy3.5/5[5]
GameZone8/10[3]
IGN7.9/10[6]
Play86/100[1]

References

  1. ↑ Martin Drury (2005-11-09). "Need for Speed Underground Rivals" (in en). Play. Archived on 2011-01-13. Error: If you specify |archivedate=, you must also specify |archiveurl=. http://play.tm/review/6846/need-for-speed-underground-rivals/. Retrieved 2010-12-17. 
  2. ↑ Ronan Jennings (2005-10-03). "Need for Speed Underground Rivals" (in en). eurogamer.net. http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/r_nfsur_psp. Retrieved 2010-12-17. 
  3. ↑ jkdmedia (2005-04-18). "Need for Speed Underground Rivals - PSP - Review" (in en). GameZone. http://www.gamezone.com/reviews/need_for_speed_underground_rivals_psp_review. Retrieved 2010-12-17. 
  4. ↑ Dodson, Joe (2005-04-14). "Need for Speed Underground Rivals - PSP" (in en). GameRevolution. http://www.gamerevolution.com/review/psp/need-for-speed-underground-rivals. Retrieved 2010-12-17. 
  5. ↑ Bryn Williams (2005-03-25). "Need for Speed Underground Rivals (PSP)" (in en). GameSpy. Archived on July 17, 2012. Error: If you specify |archivedate=, you must also specify |archiveurl=. http://uk.ps2.gamespy.com/playstation-portable/electronic-arts-psp-title-4/599154p1.html. Retrieved 2010-12-17. 
  6. ↑ Tom McNamara (2005-03-21). "Need for Speed Underground Rivals" (in en). IGN. http://uk.psp.ign.com/articles/597/597786p1.html. Retrieved 2010-12-17. 
  7. ↑ "Need for Speed Underground Rivals - (PSP)" (in en). 1UP. 2005-03-18. Archived from the original on 25 June 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160625141459/http://www.1up.com/reviews/speed-underground-rivals_2. Retrieved 2010-12-17. 
  8. ↑ Jeff Gerstmann (2005-03-17). "Need for Speed Underground Rivals Review" (in en). GameSpot. http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/need-for-speed-underground-rivals-review/1900-6120665/. Retrieved 9 May 2012. 
  9. ↑ "Need for Speed Underground Rivals" (in en). GameRankings. http://www.gamerankings.com/psp/920772-need-for-speed-underground-rivals/index.html. Retrieved 2010-12-12. 
  10. ↑ "Need for Speed Underground Rivals PSP" (in en). Metacritic. http://www.metacritic.com/game/psp/need-for-speed-underground-rivals. 
  • MobyGames is a commercial database website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes over 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms.[1] Founded in 1999, ownership of the site has changed hands several times. It has been owned by Atari SA since 2022.

Features

Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".[2] This approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.[3] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.[5]

Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

History

Logo used until March 2014

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.[5]

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.[7]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.[15]

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.[17]

On February 13, 2025, Freyholtz stepped down as the site lead to move onto new projects, leaving operations to Tracy Poff, a veteran coder on the site, and Atari staff.[18]

See also

  • IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sheehan, Gavin (2023-02-22). "Atari Relaunches The Fully Rebuilt & Optimized MobyGames Website". https://bleedingcool.com/games/atari-relaunches-the-fully-rebuilt-optimized-mobygames-website/. 
  2. ↑ Litchfield, Ted (2021-11-26). "Zombie company Atari to devour MobyGames". https://www.pcgamer.com/zombie-company-atari-to-devour-mobygames/. 
  3. ↑ "MobyGames FAQ: Emails Answered § When will my submission be approved?". Blue Flame Labs. 30 March 2014. http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq7#g1. 
  4. ↑ "The MobyGames Standards and Practices". Blue Flame Labs. 6 January 2016. http://www.mobygames.com/info/standards. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Miller, Stanley A. (2003-04-22). "People's choice awards honor favorite Web sites". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 
  6. ↑ "20 Years of MobyGames" (in en). 2019-02-28. https://trixter.oldskool.org/2019/02/28/20-years-of-mobygames/. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Plunkett, Luke (2022-03-10). "Atari Buys MobyGames For $1.5 Million". https://kotaku.com/mobygames-retro-credits-database-imdb-atari-freyholtz-b-1848638521. 
  8. ↑ "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-02-07. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/report-mobygames-acquired-by-gamefly-media. 
  9. ↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray (December 31, 2013). "MobyGames purchased from GameFly, improvements planned". http://www.polygon.com/2013/12/31/5261414/mobygames-purchased-from-gamefly-improvements-planned. 
  10. ↑ Wawro, Alex (31 December 2013). "Game dev database MobyGames getting some TLC under new owner". Gamasutra. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/game-dev-database-mobygames-getting-some-tlc-under-new-owner. 
  11. ↑ "Atari invests in Anstream, may buy MobyGames". November 24, 2021. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-24-atari-invests-in-anstream-may-buy-mobygames. 
  12. ↑ Rousseau, Jeffrey (2022-03-09). "Atari purchases Moby Games". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/atari-purchases-moby-games. 
  13. ↑ "Atari Completes MobyGames Acquisition, Details Plans for the Site's Continued Support". March 8, 2022. https://www.atari.com/atari-completes-mobygames-acquisition-details-plans-for-the-sites-continued-support/. 
  14. ↑ "Atari has acquired game database MobyGames for $1.5 million" (in en-GB). 2022-03-09. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/atari-has-acquired-game-database-mobygames-for-1-5-million/. 
  15. ↑ Stanton, Rich (2022-03-10). "Atari buys videogame database MobyGames for $1.5 million". https://www.pcgamer.com/atari-buys-videogame-database-mobygames-for-dollar15-million/. 
  16. ↑ Harris, John (2024-03-09). "MobyGames Offering “Pro” Membership". https://setsideb.com/mobygames-offering-pro-membership/. 
  17. ↑ "MobyGames on Patreon". http://www.patreon.com/mobygames. 
  18. ↑ "An update on MobyGames leadership". 2025-02-13. https://www.mobygames.com/forum/3/thread/269628/an-update-on-mobygames-leadership/#post-269628. 
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