Need for Speed Carbon

"Not too impressed."

I'm a big fan of the Need for Speed series, but for some reason this game just did not impress me that much. I like it, I can play it, but sometimes I don't enjoy it. My main problem with this game is that it's just a repeat of Most Wanted. From NFSU 2 to Most Wanted was a big improvement, but Most Wanted to Carbon, not so much.

1) Game play and Controls
The game play is pretty good, all NFS games have nice game play, so I can't really say anything bad about Carbon's. For one, they brought back drift races. Drift races are fun, and the drifting system has improved a lot since Underground 2, so that is a definite bonus. Police chases are still in the game, but you don't really see them to much. In Most Wanted, police chases were needed to race the next person on the list. It's not like that in Carbon. It didn't change though, and they are still fun. You also still have your basic races, and there aren't to many dramatic changes. The gameplay is great, something I would definitely expect from a NFS game.

The new crew feature was probably the only thing I found to be relatively new. The crew system is pretty cool. You get to name your own crew, and recruit your own people. These crew members help you throughout the races. It's something new, and it isn't that bad, though I think the game could of survived without it, but it's always nice to have some extra features.

The controls are like any other racing game, except with the Wii's remote control it offers a much more enjoyable experience since you are playing as if you were really turning a wheel in a car. It may be a bit hard at first, but you'll get used to it. They kept speedbreaker in the game, which is always useful during sharp turns. Other than that, I don't really have much else to say about the controls.

2) Story
This is where I think this game is flawed. The story is pretty much the same thing as Most Wanted. You're fighting over territory, and you race other bosses for their territory, which is basically the same thing as racing other bosses to gain their spot on the Most Wanted list. I was really expecting something new, but instead they just kept the same relative story line. If you never owned a copy of Most Wanted, this might not be that much of a problem to you.

3) Graphics and Sound
The graphics are pretty good, for the Wii, I can't deny that. The customization looks really good, especially with the new autosculpt feature which allows you to change the size of the part you're customizing. The graphics look outstanding, and it was definitely a big step from Most Wanted, although other versions of this game for the Xbox360 and Ps3 probably look 10x better. Graphics are good, I don't have much more to say about them.

I don't have much comments on the sound. There isn't any flaws in it, voice acting is fine, and the sound effects sound pretty good.

4) Replay Value
The replay value in this game, and most racing games are above average. If you're replaying the career mode, it might not be that good, but if you're designing new cars, doing free roam, or duplicating old races, it's pretty fun. The replay value could of been better in my opinion, because it seems like the type of game you play, you beat, and you throw it on your game stack and not take it out until a few months later.

If you already own a copy of Most Wanted, I would say this game isn't worth it. It's pretty much a shorter version of Most Wanted. The story lines are practically duplicates. I think they could of done a better job in changing the story line around completely than adopting the Most Wanted one. I would say go for a different racing game if you already have MW. If you don't own MW, this game would be pretty good choice to go out and buy.

I give this game a 6/10

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 01/04/07