Need for Speed Carbon

"Nothing Revolutionary, but Solid Regardless"

Intro
Need For Speed has long been one of the best multi-platform arcade racing games out there. Of course, there isn't a whole ton of competition...regardless, that series is still a very solid, fun series. I got into it all the way back with Hot Pursuit for the PSX, though took a hiatus through Most Wanted (PS2). And such, I was at EB the day Carbon was released, money in hand. So this review is written from the eyes of a fan of the NFS series, pure and true.

Gameplay: 9/10
As the obvious core for any game, gameplay is the biggest factor to judge a game on. NFS:C delivers for sure. EA was sure to bring back the same fast paced, break-neck racing that left me wanting more, more, more. The only real difference between Most Wanted and Carbon, is the different classes of cars. This time around, you have to choose between Exotics (Lamborghinis, Porsches, Mercedes, etc), Tuners (Mazdas, Mitsubishis, Suburus, etc) and Muscles (Dodges, Chevys, Fords, etc). And unlike many games, your choice actually makes a huge difference in Carbon. Tuners are quick to turn, but slow on the straights, while muscles are the exact opposite. Exotics are a bit in the middle, good top speed with decent acceleration and handling, though they generally don't excel specifically in any of the three categories. In terms of game modes, Carbon delivers the same bag as last year, with one major substitution: Drag races are out, drift races are in. Personally, I disliked this change quite a bit, it is the reason gameplay is only 9, and not 10. Drag races were amazingly fun to do with friends, and the lag of them this year is appalling in my opinion. EA was clearly going for the eye of movie goers, as this game all-in-all, seems to have been heavily influenced by movies like Tokyo Drift. Additionally, the newest important kind of race is the canyon duel. These, also influenced by Hollywood, place two drivers in a game of follow the leader down a very curvy and twisty mountain road, of which you can easily fall off and plummet to your metaphorical doom. Of course, nothing actually happens when you fall off the mountain, save for having to start the race over again, but it's still fun. Regardless, overall it's a small change, and certainly nothing to get too upset over.

Story: 7/10
NFS is one of the very few series to actually have a non-moronic storyline. The Carbon chapter is no different. Simply put, you'll find yourself continuing the story from Most Wanted (don't worry, very minimal spoilers if any at all.) I couldn't tell you if it's a continuation from Underground 1 and 2, as I haven't played them, though the characters certainly lead me to believe it is. The majority of the plot revolves around the events that took place as you and some rival drivers came barrelling around a corner, neck and neck towards the finish line...right into a police bust. Stuff went down, people got double crossed, and something 'secret' happened. Ok, maybe it's not the most original story ever, but it DEFINITELY beats any other racing game storyline I've ever seen (coughLARushcough). Regardless, your mission is to go around the city conquering territory from the various gangs of the city as the boss of the gang sits back and watches. The part that doesn't make sense, is that you conquer territory by winning races, including drift events and checkpoint races. I fail to realize how driving really fast by yourself will scare a gang into leaving their beloved streets, but hey, whatever....it's still fun. After enough winning, the boss of the area will show themselves, and race you around the city. Afterwards, they challenge you to a canyon duel. Win it, and their done. More importantly, you (just like in Most Wanted) get two rewards! You can pick from a mystery reward (in which you could get money, the bosses car, impound strikes, etc), a unique performance upgrade for one car, or a unique visual upgrade for one car. Nothing flashy, but it's still a good deal.

Graphics: 8.5/10
Again, an incredible deliverance from EA. For as long as I can remember, Need For Speed has been one of the best looking games out there, and it certainly delivers once again. The cars look incredible this year, though rather similar to the models from Most Wanted. You really can't blame that on EA though, once you've got your cars looking as good as they do, asking for more is kind of ridiculous. Regardless, you'll notice, especially in photo mode, and in your garage, how damn good the cars look. The only thing that bothered me graphically, is the car damage. It's pretty much the same as in Most Wanted, and is really rather boring. Slam head on into a wall and all you'll do is scrape the paint and crash the windshield. I'd really like to see some paint trading some day, but for now, we have to settle for the gray under body effect. Exciting, huh?

Sound: 5/10
Wow...just wow. A game can be so good, but just have one little flaw that means so much. I love this game, I really do, but EA needs to fire whoever puts their NFS soundtracks together, and they need to do it before the next game. The most memorable part of the EA TRAX on Carbon, was when I hit my 360 guide button and played music from my hard drive. In other news, the cars themselves sound great, so great that one of my car-enthusiast family members actually commented on how good the Plymouth Hemi Cuda sounded once, and I agree fully. NFS has some of the best car sounds around.

Replayability: 7/10
If you don't have the Live, you can pretty much give this a 2 or 3, depending on how much you like playing by yourself. Seeing as how they took out my personal favorite for split-screen racing, drag races, I find playing anywhere but online to be extremely pointless and boring. However, online mode is rather nice, ignoring EA's terrible servers. To their credit, finding people to play with is nice and easy, and if you can get a good group going, quite fun as well. Additionally, there are quite a few achievements and rewards you can only access via playing online. The major setback here, is that online races tend to be rather laggy, and filled with people who think that the Audi Quattro is God's gift to driving. However, like in most games, skill overcomes a really fast car.

Outro
Overall, Carbon doesn't bring a whole lot new to the table, minus the continuation of Most Wanted's story, and a couple new cars, and a new city. The gameplay is wholly the same. So, if you enjoyed Most Wanted, chances are you'll enjoy Carbon. I certainly did. Though this is definitely a game I'll be trading in to EB after I'm done with it.

Spleen's Recommendation:: Rent, and buy if you can't put it down.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 01/10/07