Need for Speed Carbon

"While it strives to be the best, it just can't compare to Most Wanted"

If you're a big race game fan, especially of the Underground Racing branch, then you know that Need For Speed: Carbon is EA's latest addition to their Underground racing series. If you've played Need For Speed: Most Wanted, 2005's breakthrough underground racer, then you'd find yourself jumping into the continuation of the previous game's cliffhanger. You've got your car back, defeated Razor, escaped the heat, and lost Cross (temporarily), making your way across the state. Now, enter Palmont City... the game's vast world, in which all races will take place, sans the newest type, Canyon Duels.

The game starts out with you trying to escape Sargent Cross, who has followed you around since you escaped him, and is intent on catching you once and for all... dead or alive. After a few beautiful, and I mean BEAUTIFUL cut scenes, you'll have to choose your first car. Now, unlike Most Wanted, this game divides the cars into three Classes, and three Tiers. Each tier starts off and can upgrade better than the previous, giving you the need to buy more cars. Aside from the tier introduction, they also give you three Classes:

Muscle - This class is pretty much all American muscle, cars of old and new. Going all the way back into the late 60s with the Chevorlet SS Camaro, all the way to the 2007 concept Camaro. These cars excel in acceleration and speed, but lack in the handling department.

Tuner - This class is mainly the Japanese cars like the Mitsubishi Eclipse or Mazda RX-8, and stays pretty modern. These are any street racer's dream cars, the cars that define circuit and drift racing. These cars excel in handling and top speed, but lack the acceleration needed in straight aways.

Exotic - This has to be my favorite class. These are cars from around the world, from Italy, to Britain, to France and beyond, these are THE luxury cars. From cars like the monstrous Lambourghinis and the lesser-known Alfa Romeos, this class is all about dominating opponents. Unlike the other classes, Exotic cars have no single strength or weakness. Each car varies from the other greatly, and thus brings somewhat of a balance.

Also new are the reward cards. These are given to you by accomplishing certain goals, or accumulating so much cash. Visiting the Reward Card option in the main menu shows you what you need to do, and the prize. Whether it be a new car to use in multiplayer or online, to previously un-unlockable rims and unique vinyls, Reward Cards make the game last longer, due to the fact that it only has 4 bosses, and not 15 like Most Wanted. But what it loses in bosses, it makes up for in difficulty and races.

Their are almost 100 races in total, and the boss battles can be outrageously hard at times, making this game not only large, but difficult enough to challenge even the most experienced racer.

Returning from the previous game is Pursuit. I was VERY dissapointed this time 'round. Not much has changed since Most Wanted, but it is almost useless. Its only there for a few Reward Cards, and is practically worthless, having no major effect on the game plot-wise. Shame on you, EA.

Another thing you can complain about is the Music. The rock sucks, as does the Techno, and the Rap is hit-or-miss, forcing you to play a CD when using the consoles, or switching on a playlist from your media player in the background while racing on PC, if you have the memory.

Online mode can be fun, and is the only place where you could be a Cop or Racer, and duke it out with your friends, or someone you've never met before in Mexico.

The cars are not really different from Most Wanted's selection, more than half of them being brought back from the game, with the Muscle class providing most of the newbies.

The newest and biggest edition to the series is the newest type of race: Canyon. Canyon Duels are the second half of the boss races, and Canyon Sprints are scattered about. The Canyon Duels are simple: Gain points by getting as close to the boss as possible, then get as far away as possible in the second half, when he's chasing you. This is what makes or breaks you. If you just can't grasp the idea, or it seems to difficult to you, I suggest putting down the game, since these are a key element of the game. Also, if you can overtake the boss, and stay ahead for ten seconds you win. And if you fall off the cliff, you lose. Canyon Sprints are just that: Sprints. Three opponents, one canyon track, and no fear of falling off the cliff. These aren't too challenging and test your car's handling.

Finally, the three classes adds replayability into the mix. Once you've conquered one class, you can move on to the next, if you want, and start all over again. This made the game last more than a day... at least for me it did.

All-in-all, this game has a balance between good and bad, and may disappoint some fans of the Underground series, and please newbies to the series due to all the features, cars, and great actors. The graphics were pretty good and smooth, and the game was fun for a while, and grows on you. When it comes down to it, Carbon is a pretty solid Racing game, and a great edition to your collection, but wasn't as great as it could have been.

Sound - 5
Graphics - 8
Difficulty - 8
Replayability - 9
Overall: 7

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 12/03/07

Game Release: Need for Speed Carbon (Collector's Edition) (US, 10/31/06)