A modder is remaking Need For Speed Underground 2 in Unreal Engine 4, revamping the graphics and adding interesting new features to the classic racer.

A Need For Speed fan is building a visually-impressive remake of 2004’s Need For Speed Underground 2 in Unreal Engine 4, and the results could easily be an official entry in the popular racing simulator franchise. Underground 2 came at the height of Need For Speed’s popularity, with both it and the subsequent Need For Speed Most Wanted being considered by many to be among the best games in the series. Need For Speed Underground 2 refined the fast-placed gameplay of the previous year’s Need For Speed Underground, adding new car customization options and methods for selecting races as players tore through the busy streets of the fictional city of Bayview in hopes of being crowned the city’s best underground racer.

However, more recent years have not been as kind to the Need For Speed series, with newer entries like 2019’s Need For Speed Heat being met with mixed reviews at best and various Need For Speed sequels being delisted from online servers due to waning player interest last year. On the other hand, an updated remaster of 2010’s Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit was met with a warmer reception, and recent rumors have hinted that brand-new Need For Speed games are in development from Criterion Games and Pokémon Unite developer TiMi Studio Group. Some of these rumors hinted at a modern remaster of Need For Speed Underground, but publisher EA was quick to shoot down these claims.

However, a modder named Ivan Novozhilov recently imagined how a revamped version of Need For Speed Underground 2 could look and play if it was built using Unreal Engine 4, and posted a video of his work under the YouTube handle of 2Unreal4Underground. Sure enough, this brief demo features impressive graphics as a speedy blue racecar zips through dark city streets, complete with more dynamic reflections and lighting. According to DualShockers, this still-in-development fan remake adds more than shinier graphics to Need For Speed Underground 2, as Novozhilov aims to fix various issues from the original game like stuttering radio noise and missing textures on top of new features like named locations within each track, optimized in-game weather and destructive environments, and drastically revamped driving behavior. Novozhilov’s Need For Speed Underground 2 remake is still a work in progress, and EA has yet to give an official response to the project.

Using Unreal Engine 4 and the new Unreal Engine 5, modders from all across the internet have built impressive remakes and remasters of classic games just like Need For Speed Underground 2. These include visually stunning recreations of classics like The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time and the original Metal Gear Solid, as well as more contemporary tributes to The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Aside from remakes of existing titles, Unreal Engine has been used to build dream games based around classic characters like Superman and Spider-Man.

Ivan Novozhilov’s blistering Need For Speed Underground 2 fan remake is just the latest of these Unreal-powered passion projects, deftly recreating the thrill of racing through the streets of Bayview with modern-day graphics. While this will remain purely a fan project, it could very well provide a preview of what the currently-untitled official Need For Speed game that is said to be in the works could look like should it race onto current consoles like the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.

Next: Need for Speed 2022 Map Leak Teases Rumored Chicago-Inspired Setting

Source: 2Unreal4Underground/YouTube (via DualShockers)