About as unsurprising as a corrupt Tory politician comes word this week that have begun on Underground 2, sequel to 2003's surprise hit Need For Speed Underground, which has sold an unbelievable five million copies worldwide to date. This new sequel promises to expand upon the original's theme with larger servings of 'tuner' culture, and the ability for drivers to explore an expansive free-roaming city divided into five districts. Which certainly sounds like another rather popular driving-based title we've played. Ahem.

Continuing in the subversively illegal street vein started by the original, players will meet rival racers on the streets of the city, engaging them in races, or being directed to driving 'hotspots' or shown where to find the most impressive car upgrades.

Thirty licensed vehicles will feature, and all will be fully customisable and heavily tunable (is that a word?). New game modes will also feature. With the plethora of new visual improvements available to the budding street racer, NFS Underground 2 promises a staggering seventy-billion possible car looks in total. Which should be enough to satiate even the most thirsty petrol-head's appetite.

EA Canada are in charge of development which will be concluding in late 2004 by the publisher's current estimates. The new will be released on the Xbox, PS2, GameCube, and GBA, and if it fairs as well as its predecessor it is not unreasonable to predict that EA's domination of the 2004 festive season could match 2003's stellar performance.

By Luke Guttridge