Need for Speed Carbon: Own the City

"A good game, but for one crippling fault"

As a confirmed car nut, I love racing games. I'd previously played a couple of Need For Speed games--the godawful Underground: Rivals and Most Wanted: 5-1-0 for the PSP. While looking for a used DS, I came across this game and decided to give it a try.

Graphics: 8/10

Taken for what it is, this game offers some decent graphics. Most everything in the race mode is well done, with nicely detailed backgrounds and a smooth-looking dashboard. The score is brought down by rather rough depictions of the cars when you're in your garage and some hokey cut-scenes.

Sound: 7/10

Every car has its own distinct sound, but the V8-powered American cars don't have the rumble that I'd expect...or, maybe demand is more accurate. The cars you unlock later in the game sound downright wicked. Blasting through a tunnel while on the nitrous makes for some interesting sounds. Screeching tires, jarring metal, and other good stuff are also present. The soundtrack, however, is terrible, and worse yet, you can't pick what tracks you want to listen to. I wound up going without the music.

Gameplay: 8/10

Controls are standard racing-game fare, with two layouts each for automatic and manual shifting. You also have the option of soft and hard turns. The controls work well, with good response. The touch screen shows your dashboard when you're racing, and except for data entry and a few customizing tasks, you'll hardly need a stylus.

You'll start off with the story being set up for you, and once that's out of the way, it's time to race! There are four types of races: circuit (make some laps and whoever crossed the finish line first wins), elimination (similar to circuit except the last person to cross the line on each lap is eliminated), hunter (similar to circuit except for a points system--more on this shortly), and sprint (get from Point A to Point B quickly). Hunter is both a blessing and a curse...you don't need to finish first to win, but the AI drivers bash into you at every opportunity, costing you points. You earn points for being in first place and bashing other drivers.

For the most part, you can complete the races in any order you like. Once you've finished with the main races, you'll take on (for want of better term) an underboss. You won't lose any sleep over the underbosses, but some of the bosses (called Crew Leaders in the game) can be tough. Beating a boss unlocks new stuff, as do some of the main races.

Every race also gets you points. Points are used instead of cash for buying new cars and modifications. It is possible to build up a lot of points quickly, and then go off and get a new set of wheels and some parts for it.

There is the option of using a wingman. They can be of two classes: drafter (drive behind them to build up speed and refill your nitrous) and attacker (self-explanatory).The wingmen are almost without exception unskilled stooges who are perfectly content to live in your shadow. If they get too far ahead of you, they sometimes wait for you to catch up to them, and then follow you. I never utilized them, but it is nice to have someone on your side, I guess.

That pretty well covers the game progression, but that's only part of it. Of course, you can customize your car. There are four stages of performance parts available, as well as a number of body modifications, neons, and the like. The dash can also be modified with different finishes, gauge styles, and stereos/toys. Once you buy a mod, it can be installed on everything you own without paying for it again. The game seems to focus too much on the visual aspect, and Tier 3 body-kits are only available for four cars (two of which you probably won't even think of using by the time you unlock the Tier 3 kits), so they could have been just as easily left out.

And so goes the career mode portion of the game. There is also the Race Now option, which allows you to create a custom race, with your choice of track, traffic settings, and such. Pretty good gameplay overall.

Multiplayer: N/A

I did not test the multiplayer function, so no rating is given for it.

Replay value: 2/10

And here is the crippling fault I mentioned in the tagline. The excellent Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition for the PSP will keep you going for a long while chasing after the expensive cars you'll still want. This game won't. After you complete career mode, you'll have a ton of driver points, more than enough to buy every mod. You'll also have all the cars available, rendering career mode redundant. Race Now is useful for taking your final prize car for a few trips, but without any rewards, it gets boring really quickly.

Buy, rent, or borrow?

If you think you can complete this within a week, then you're best off renting or borrowing it. If not, buying it might work out better for you...just get a used copy and let someone else (i.e. me) take the big hit from buying it new.

Final thoughts

With my previous disappointment in this franchise, I was surprised by this game. It can be aggravating at times, but it has a reasonable difficulty progression, and is overall pretty fun while it lasts. I only wish they would have given us a little more to do.

Final score:
Sound: 7/10
Graphics: 8/10
Gameplay: 8/10
Replay value: 2/10

25/4=6.25

Rounded down for a final score of 6

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 04/07/08

Game Release: Need for Speed Carbon: Own the City (US, 10/31/06)