Need for Speed Underground 2 Remaster
Need for Speed Underground 2 is an arcade driving videogame that came out in 2004, and was developed by EA BlackBox Games.
Are you looking for the Definitive Edition of Underground 1? Read How to download and install Need for Speed Underground 1: Definitive Edition.
I recently discovered the existence of an unofficial Remaster, I wanted to try it and I liked it, that's why I thought about writing these instructions, in order to help other people to revive this masterpiece.
Table of contents
1) Download the repack
Important information
This step requires you to download unofficial and potentially illegal software. The repack is offered by DODI, who is a known cracker that distributes commercial software by removing controls on licenses (cd keys and similar). It is your only responsibility for the usage of this programs.
Of course I invite you to buy an original copy of Need for Speed Underground 2. That said, the repack also includes the full base game, and at the moment I have not found an easy way to obtain the same result by installing the single packets on the original game. If I'll manage to do that in the future, I will surely update this article.
First of all, download the repack from DODI website, I advise you to choose the Torrent.
To download torrents I recommend you to use qBitTorrent, it is an opensource free software, a good alternative to uTorrent and BitTorrent.
I personally installed the Remaster and had no problems, so I think there are no hidden malwares. Of course I cannot give this for granted at 100%.
2) Install the Remaster
Info: Join our Facebook group Need for Speed Most Wanted Remake 2024 to get all the updates about the upcoming 2024 remake of Most Wanted!
After downloading the files, run setup.exe. Then, click on the window that appears and press Up Arrow to continue.
Click on Install, then on Proceed, and select the path where you want to install the game.
You will need 2GB of free space on the disk, and the installation will need a few seconds (less than 20 for me).
3) Run the modified game
To run the game, you will always need to launch the file Play NFSU2 Real Remaster v2.0 Lite.exe that you can find in the folder where you installed the Remastered game.
4) Update ReShade
This step is optional. It also requires some deeper knowledge about graphics and computers. If you don't like to put your hands on advanced settings, you should skip this step.
When you run the Definitive Edition, you will notice that some text appears over the window. This is generated by ReShade.
In the case you want to have some more advanced customization options, I recommend you to download the latest release of ReShade. The source code is also available on GitHub. Basically, ReShade offers modern graphics settings to apply new visual effects on old games.
Run the program and click on Browse to search for SPEED2.exe.
Click on Next, select DirectX 9 and install the packages you want. If you just want to update the base stuff, click on Skip. Otherwise, to install everything you can click on Uncheck all and then on Check all to select all the packages. Continue, it will take a few minutes.
In my opinion, the updated version is better because it allows you to enable many more options and find the settings that fit your preferences. At least for me, the pre-installed version from the repack was kinda dark and I did not like it much.
In case of some error messages with ReShade when you run the game, you can ignore them and play anyway. At the moment I chose not to go deeper in the details to find solutions, I think it would be a bit complicated.
5) Editing the folder paths on Reshade.ini
This step is optional.
ReShade also allows you to save screenshots by pressing the "Print Screen" key, above the arrow keys.
In this case you might see an errore because the default path in the Reshade.ini file, that you can find in the game folder, is wrong.
You will find something similar to this:
IntermediateCachePath=C:\Users\ionut gaming\AppData\Local\Temp
PostSaveCommandWorkingDirectory=C:\Users\ionut gaming\Desktop\NFSU2 Real Remaster v2.0 Lite
SavePath=C:\Users\ionut gaming\Desktop\NFSU2 Real Remaster v2.0 LiteThese actually need to be corrected with the correct folders, as in this example:
IntermediateCachePath=C:\Users\YourUser\AppData\Local\Temp
PostSaveCommandWorkingDirectory=G:\Games\NFSU2 Remaster
SavePath=G:\Games\NFSU2 RemasterThis way, files will be saved in the right place when needed.
Differences between the original game and the Remaster
First of all, the game has several modifications and improvements. The user interface has been redesigned and some showrooms were added.
Moreover, new textures have been created to improve graphics, and you can surely spot the differences!
You can find a gameplay video also on Youtube.
Here is a comparison screenshot, using the updated ReShade version (see step 4):
Conclusions
Good, now you can play the Remaster of Need for Speed Underground 2!
If something did not work or you encountered any problem, let me know in a comment here below.
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