Need for Speed Underground 2, Pepsi, and Pork Pies

In my view, various forms of entertainment, such as music, movies, and film, share a unique characteristic: they possess the power to transport us back to significant moments in our lives. Like how hearing a song or recalling a film can evoke vivid memories, computer games also have the ability to immerse us in the past, working similarly to both music and film, in my opinion.

They can trigger recollections of where we were, the stage of life we were in, the company we kept, and even the job we held at the time—a little window into our own past.

I have been with my long-suffering partner for nearly 16 years (long suffering because for some reason she puts up with me), and of course, we have our "song" or collection of songs and memories of films we watched together for the first time.

When we first met, my life was a little messed up. I had returned from traveling a few years prior and was still floating aimlessly, not having a clue what I was doing or where I was going. I was unemployed, and the jobs I did have through an agency varied greatly. One week I was in a call centre trying to talk people out of cancelling their internet subscription, packing light bulbs into boxes in a warehouse the next, and even selling pallets of corporate chocolate packages to large multinationals.

When I was out of work and signing on at the job centre (as was the missus), our weekly job centre appointments were an hour or so apart. So to whittle away the time, we would sit in the local park, sipping small bottles of Pepsi, and munching on a pack of pork pies bought from a local independent discount shop, the sort where your gran goes to buy tinned Fray Bento's pies and Vienetta ice cream.

Life felt simpler. We have said to each other many times, looking back at that phase in our lives some 17 years ago, that while we didn't have a house, bills, and all that came with it, it felt like it was a simpler time, a simplicity that has been lost and overshadowed by the complexities of adulthood and all the boring stuff that comes with it.

When I first went round to my missus's house, the first thing that struck me was the Max Power car poster on the back of her bedroom door! Her bottom drawers were FULL of Max Power magazines and aftermarket parts catalogues. This girl was different, but in a very good way! She loved cars in real life, just as much as I loved computer games! So, when a decent computer game with cars came along, it was a match made in heaven.

"Need For Speed Underground 2" was a game we had both played when it originally came out in 2006, a few years before we met. The game itself is a time capsule into pop culture of the time, taking strong influence from films like "Fast and the Furious"—way before it had spin-offs and had become a billion-pound behemoth.

In between trips to the job centre, off-and-on agency jobs, and pork pies and Pepsi, "Need For Speed: Underground 2" on the PlayStation 2, was what we spent most of our time playing. We would spend until 4 am in the morning, surviving on cheap booze and boxes of broken biscuits from Netto, playing the game, customizing our cars, and drifting!

We had finished the game many times over, and drifting and customizing was what we played for months on end. We both spent many hours (annoying the other for taking so long) carefully crafting custom paint jobs and applying layer after layer of the right vinyl’s and body kits to our cars. The beauty of the game was that it had "normal" cars in it and not just the typical supercars that most racing games have.

The car that was on her bedroom door was a Peugeot 106, and that car was also in the game! She carefully recreated the car on the poster in the game itself down to the smallest possible detail. It gave the game a different feel, almost a level of accessibility—there aren't really that many racing games that let you drive or customize a car that you could potentially own.

Each time there was a new entry in the "Need for Speed" series, we would get excited and wonder what customization options there would be, what new features there were, or what sort of drifting there would be. "Need for Speed Underground 2" is not the best in the series; "Need for Speed Most Wanted" takes that trophy in my opinion, but it sure is my favourite due to the memories it gave me and my other half.

Despite the series' subsequent directional shifts, none quite reached the heights of "Underground 2 in my opinion. Don’t get me wrong, I do love some of the later games, just for different reasons, memories I have associated with Underground 2, could only happen once.

With my PlayStation 2 residing somewhere in my attic these days, I managed to pick up the PC version for 50p from a charity shop a just before the national lockdowns, and as soon as the early 2000’s hip hop title screen music hit, all those memories came flooding back.

The road of life has its twists and turns, and as the journey with my missus unfolded, we embraced the bumps and relished the ride. Pardon the puns—I'll spare you further absurdities.

There have been many rumours over the years, and even petitions for Electronic Arts to remaster the game, or even develop a sequel. I know that game development budgets are very high now, and the risk is great—but if anyone at Electronic Arts (EA) is reading this (probably not)— there are at least two people that would love to drive that road, one more time.

Note:

This article is a revved-up tribute to my life trip companion (faye), the co-pilot who ensures I don't end up challenging traffic cones to a duel on the motorway. Without her, I'd probably be riding my motorbike down the road in my underpants, frantically searching for my house keys, before I realised I lived in a tent and don't own any keys. Note: I don't live in a tent: Richy