Bayview (Need for Speed)

File:Need for Speed Underground 2 Bayview.jpg

The city of Bayview, as seen from Jackson Heights, in Need for Speed: Underground 2.

Bayview is a fictional city in Need for Speed: Underground 2 (2004), a racing computer and video game by EA Games. Bayview's design is a departure from previous Need for Speed installments, as it is portrayed as a large city that could be freely explored in the manner similar to cities in the Grand Theft Auto series, compared to closed, circuit like tracks in both Underground (2003) and earlier titles. Bayview is apparently portrayed with a varied selection of districts, as well as a variety of roadways and landscapes; it is also only depicted at night in Underground 2, like its previous Underground installment. The surrounding flora, architecture, and subtropical atmosphere of the city suggests that Bayview is located in the southern West Coast of the United States, although several landmarks are also based on those in other areas of the United States and world.

Bayview is mentioned in dialog and text in Need for Speed: Most Wanted as a city that exists alongside Rockport, another fictional city set in Most Wanted.

Geography and city size

Bayview is mountainous (with steeper terrain in Beacon Hill and Jackson Heights at the north) and located on shorelines at the west. Palm trees (Arecaceae) are also seen scattered around the city as roadside flora. Thus, the city's location is suggested to be in a West Coast state, such as California.

Bayview covers approximately 22.43 square miles (36.1km²) of land, containing approximately 38mi (60km) of drivable area. The city also has land elevations ranging from -459ft (-140m) to 1509ft (-460m) - a total range of 1968ft (600m).

Districts

Bayview is divided into several major unlockable segments, which are each divided into districts (with the exception of the Airport, which is only one district in itself). The segments are as followed, from north to south:

• Jackson Heights, a mountainous district housing Bayview's wealthy and their massive estates, an observatory and a polo country club. The best views of Bayview can be found here. Jackson Heights's thin roads are relatively steep and windy; it is the also only district where Downhill Drift events takes place. A coastal road is also visible west from Jackson Heights, but is not accessible. The top of the mountain houses the Bayview Sign, a play off of the Hollywood Sign. It is the third segment of Bayview unlocked for access in Career mode.
  • Jackson Heights (includes the mansions at the mid-level section of the mountainside)
  • Palomino Valley (the polo country club and nearby ranches)
  • Bayview Summit (highest point in the city, home to the observatory)
  • This is one of the import games that you will be introduced of what Touge racing feels like.

• Beacon Hill, a bayside chic neighborhood and upscale shopping district, which boasts with a large park at the east, the beachfront at the center, and various waterfront recreational facilities at the west. The east houses Pigeon Park, (With a a sign referring to it as "Brad Lawless Park", who the game is dedicated to.) A memorial statue in Pigeon Park reads: "To Brad Lawless: A great friend". It is the second segment of Bayview unlocked for access in Career mode. Much of the city's civic structures are located here.
  • Beacon Hill East (includes the city hall, shopping district and museum of art)
  • Beacon Hill West (home to the cruise ship port, pier, marina and beachfront)
  • Pigeon Park (also includes the city university)

• City Core is Bayview's city center, financial district and entertainment district. There is a beltway of interstates circling around this borough. It is the first segment of Bayview alongside the Airport segment that is available for access in Career mode. The district is notable for its elegant avenues, vast skyscrapers and vibrant structures; it also houses a Hispanic district
  • City Core (includes the city's skyline and it's hoards of traffic)
  • Union Square (premier shopping center of downtown)
  • El Norte (the Hispanic district of Bayview, including it's many cathedrals and taco eateries)
  • South Market (the "Strip", home to casinos, resorts and a covered thoroughfare, and a gritty, run-down area to the south)
  • Hotel Plaza (includes luxury spas, the convention center and resort hotels)
  • Stadium (consists of two of the city's major stadiums)

• Airport, Bayview's international airport, adjacent to the City Core and Coal Harbour from the west. Its runways are suggestively the site of several Underground Racing League (URL) tournament races. The Airport is the first segment of Bayview alongside the City Center segment that is available for access in Career mode; it is also the starting point of the player in Career mode, when the player has arrived to the city "by plane".

• Coal Harbour, Bayview's industrial district, housing the city's industrial population, train yards, seaports and nuclear power plant. It is the final segment of Bayview unlocked for access in Career mode. Streets in the district are not well organized, providing many shortcuts and alleyways.
  • Coal Harbour East (high-tech offices and steel industries)
  • Coal Harbour West (the heavier industries and factories, the port, and the power plant)

Differences within Underground 2

Several Drag Race tracks clearly taking place in familiar locations of the city were modified, and differ from their actual Free-Roam counterpart, to maximize the amount of road needed for the races and straighten the track if necessary. Inconsistencies include the order of landmarks seen and open paths to new routes that were originally blocked in Free-Roam mode. Examples of such tracks include "Bayview Bridge" and "Tunnel Construction" (The only track to be 100% modified is the Bayview Bridge track, it is completely different from the free roam mode).

Bayview Bridge Track

• The race (starting foward) begins in a tunnel, which does not exist in Free Roam mode or other races.
• The Bayview Bridge is longer, and straightened.
  • There are trams that go across the birdge.
• A highway at the end (starting foward) is non-existent in Free Roan mods or other races.
• Almost all buildings are re-arranged.

Tunnel Construction Track

• In Free Roam mode, the tunnel is innacessable, but the construction blocking the entrances/exits are removed in this race.
• Midway through the tunnel, the roof opens up to show the sky in an area where Union Square is (impossible, thus an inconsistence)

Spoof landmarks

Throughout the city are numerous spoofs of structures and buildings based off of real-world landmarks, some of which are listed below:

Alamo Square, San Francisco, California American International Building, New York City, New York Balboa Park , San Diego, California Bal au Moulin Rouge, Paris, France Buenos Aires City Hall, Buenos Aires, Argentina Canada Place, Vancouver, British Columbia Central Plaza, Hong Kong, People's Republic of China (PRC) Chicago 'L' elevated train, Chicago, Illinois Citigroup Center, New York City, New York El Teatro des Bella Artes, Mexico City, Mexico El Zocalo, Mexico City, Mexico Excalibur Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada Fremont Street Experience, Las Vegas, Nevada Griffith Observatory, Los Angeles, California Hearst Castle, San Simeon, California Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles, California Hollywood Sign (known as the "Bayview" Sign), Los Angeles, California The Holmenkollen ski jump, Oslo, Norway Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, Hong Kong, PRC InterContinental Mark Hopkins San Francisco, San Francisco, California Jin Mao Tower, Shanghai, China Marriott Waterfront Resort Hotel, San Diego, California

Nathan Phillips Square, Toronto, Ontario One Liberty Place, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Oracle headquarters, Redwood Shores, California Ocean Drive, Miami, Florida Pirelli Tower, Milan, Italy Raffles Hotel, Singapore San Diego Mission, San Diego, California Santa Monica Pier, Los Angeles, California San Francisco International Airport, San Bruno, California Shinjuku Park Towers, Tokyo, Japan Stahl House, Los Angeles, California Staples Center, Los Angeles, California Stratosphere Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada Sunshine Skyway Bridge, Tampa Bay, Florida Sutro Tower, San Francisco, California Taipei 101, Taipei, Taiwan Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station, Three Mile Island, Pennsylvania Trump Tower, New York City, New York Via Rodeo Drive, Los Angeles, California Victoria Peak Tower, Hong Kong, PRC Wisma 46, Jakarta, Indonesia Winter Garden, New York City, New York Yokohama Landmark Tower, Yokohama, Japan

Advertising and real-life brandings

Throughout the city are numerous Best Buys and Burger Kings. Numerous city billboards advertise Campbell Soup Company, Old Spice, and Edge shaving gel. Like in Underground, such product placements were apparently done as a method of advertising real-life products in the game.

External links

• Official Need for Speed: Underground 2 website; contains a map of Bayview and its districts, assessable by selecting "Neighborhoods". Note that the map is only available after several attempts to view it.