Need for Speed: Underground 2 (browser port)

GAME BRIEF

What's the game?

Underground 2 Revived is the PC game's own code, translated from x86 to C and compiled to WebAssembly, with its Direct3D 9 graphics drawn through WebGPU and its sound through Web Audio. It builds on Talha Müderrisoğlu's NFSU2Recomp, and the port's code is on GitHub. The site streams the game's data from its server as you need it and keeps it in your browser, so there is nothing to supply. Press Play and the EA intro, Brooke Burke's driving-safety message and the title screen with Snoop Dogg's Riders on the Storm follow; from the main menu we started a Quick Race on Resort Loop in the Peugeot 206. The site adds online free roam and races with other players on its server, cloud saves by keyphrase, 16 languages and settings for resolution and frame rate.

BEFORE YOU PLAY

What to expect

Unofficial: Need for Speed: Underground 2 was made by EA Black Box and is owned by Electronic Arts. The site calls itself a fan project, not affiliated with or endorsed by EA, and gives rights holders an address to write to, so it could be taken down. It needs WebGPU: the latest Chrome, or Firefox where WebGPU is on. In our Chrome test the game data needed to reach a race was about 70 MB, plus about 35 MB of code on a first visit; the rest streams in as you drive, 1.7 GB in all, and the site has a button to preload it. Online mode and free roam with others need no account, and free roam with others stays off until you turn it on. No ads; the page links a Ko-fi for donations. The site says touch controls appear on phones; we have not tested a phone.

Controls: Arrow keys or WASD to drive, Alt for nitrous, Space for the handbrake, Shift and Ctrl to shift up and down with a manual gearbox, C to change camera, R to respawn, Esc or P to pause; arrow keys and Enter in the menus. The site says Xbox and PlayStation controllers and steering wheels work; we used the keyboard.