Need for Speed Carbon: Own the City

"Need For Speed's debut on the PSP a taste of things to come? I sure hope so!"

Need for Speed - can't get enough! One of the best, if not the best street racing series out there. I didn't play Underground 2, or Most Wanted very much - I simply skipped them, only playing demos and at friends houses. But when I heard of Carbon, I was worried - perhaps the whole series had died out, its buzz now a murmur, the excitement thrown away. But when I got the game as a gift, I was proven wrong. Very wrong.

GRAPHICS: 8/10

The PSP is the most powerful portable system out there, and Own the City brings out the best in this game. No, they're not the best graphics on the PSP, but EA did put their effort in, and it shows. The cars themselves look very realistic, and it isn't cheap or shabby like so many other racing games out there. The reflections, the tire tracks, even the crashes look very real. The environments are no different, and the city looks and feels like an actual city - you've got the residential, commercial and industrial zones, road signs - it's incredibly in depth, as always.

The HUD isn't bad either - simple, but it does it's job. As for the game art (loading screens, etc) EA seems to have gone with a graffiti style artistic job - but don't get me wrong, it looks pretty cool, and street racers are punks anyway, so why not give the whole game that "punk ass" feel?

But back to the cars, as usual, you can visually upgrade your rides to make it looked "pimped out" and "upped to the max". There aren't too many body kits (only 1 or 2) and that's half the car right there, so that was a disappointment. But they don't let you down anywhere else in the upgrades department - you've got heaps of rims, spoilers, tints, paints and vinyls to choose from, so no two cars will look the same when you're online - puts a lot in to the individuality column of OTC.

SOUND: 9/10

First things first - the option to add your own music is pure genius! It makes me feel so much better when I hear something I'm listening to music I've actually heard of before! It gives so much more individuality to the game, and racing and good music go hand in hand - unfortunately, EA didn't give us much of that "popular music", but this feature more than compensates.

As for the sound effects, again, EA has done their work to a high standard. Each car sounds different, even more so when you begin to upgrade your cars, and you can hear when people are going to pass you, and when they're power sliding on your inner corner - you'll know when to have your Wingmen take out the competition before they're even in front of you.

Another thing I love about OTC - something expected, but isn't in all games these days, is that sounds actually match visuals. I hate games that are cheap and use the same sound for three or four completely different actions. Here, slides sound like slides, revs sound like revs, and you've gotta love the sound of burning nitrous oxide.

GAMEPLAY: 9/10

Good ol' street racing with some new stuff put in - EA doesn't leave a game empty very often, but it's not like some of their game where they just dumped random crap in and expected it to get good word of mouth. You now have two 'Wingmen' to help you win races, by crashing in to your opponents, popping their tires, or drafting behind them for you to got faster. it helps a lot! They help out a lot in races, but don't think that the opponents and hungrier for the gold then before, because these guys will ram you off the road if need be to take home that cash. Also, two new modes are included - Escape, where you have to escape from a rival gangs territory before they catch you, and Delivery, where you have to deliver a certain object to a location on the map before your opponents get there. Sweet!

As always in Need for Speed, multiplayer is back, but you may be wondering just how EA pulled off the multiplayer in OTC Simple - Wireless. The Wireless capabilities mean you can play with your friend next door, or play with your friend on the other side of the world! Any time, any where, you can have an all out derby for the street credit you've always wanted.

But you're not stuffed if you don't have online, or any friends with the game - the single player story is very enjoyable, and although it is just racing against AI, every other NFS has done the same, and they've all sold extremely well, so it's nothing to be frightened of. Something different in the story is the crates scattered around the city. There are heaps to find - it's kind of like Grand Theft Auto's hidden packages.

But even if following a story isn't your thing either, there's always the normal one time races - quick and easy to set up, and off you go! You also have Free Roam, so you can just take a cruise around the city, or so you can test your car without opponents on your back,

OVERALL: 9/10

If you like NFS, and you've got a PSP, there's no reason to not get this game. The fact that you have a PSP alone is a good enough reason to pick this up. If you're not sure, as always, rent first - try before you buy, but I'm pretty sure you'll want to keep the game after the first race.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 01/02/07, Updated 03/24/08

Game Release: Need for Speed Carbon: Own the City (AU, 11/09/06)