Need for Speed Carbon: Own the City

"Street Racing at it's finest on PSP"

Need for Speed Own the City is the third Need for Speed game to make it's way onto the PSP. How does this game stack up to the previous two Need for Speed games? Only having played one of the previous two games, I would have to say that this game is better from the last Need for Speed which was Need for Speed Most Wanted 5-1-0. From my experience in this game it seems like that it was improved from the previous to make it better and probably less annoying in some ways while at times can be a little difficult.

First off, the story of Need for Speed Carbon Own the City. While it may not be the best story for a street racing game or any racing game in a manner of speaking but it does provide you thinking about what is going to happen next. When it starts you play as someone whom got into a street racing accident while you and your brother were doing a big race, like a race of all races. Your guy wakes up in the hospital with almost no recollection of who or what was the reason for the crash along that took the life of his brother. The rest of the game is spent trying to find out the truth as to who done it and as to why it was done. There's something fishy about all that and there has to be a reason for it so as you progress you'll slowly try to find clues to about the accident that occurred that tragic night.

When it comes to the gameplay of this game, do I need to say that I seem to like it better than that of like the PlayStation2 version of the game but different. While the PlayStation2 version of Carbon had some decent gameplay there was only one thing I didn't really liked and can be rather frustrating at times was how the cars handled throughout the course. Now in Carbon Own the City, that don't seem to be quite an issue since it seems like the cars were meant to handle better than that of the console version of the game at least from the version that I've played anyway. As you unlock more cars towards the end particularly cars such as the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 or the Ford GT those cars can take a little getting used to when they are fully upgraded in the end.

In addition to the gameplay, like in the console versions of the game there are crewmembers known as “Wingmen”. These wingmen can help you out in most of the races that you can do. There are a few types of wingmen that can help you throughout the races. Assassin – who drive up in front of an opponent and drop spikes in front of them. Drafter – who drives in front of you to provide you with a slip stream to help you go faster. Brawler – who drives up to an opponent and knocks them down for about 10 to 20, seconds.

As for the cops in this game, I feel that the cop AI has been improved from Need for Speed Most Wanted 5-1-0. I felt like that the cops in Need for Speed Most Wanted on PlayStation2 were fun to be chased by but in Carbon for PlayStation2 they were like an annoyance. As for the PSP games go, Need for Speed Most Wanted 5-1-0 the cops seemed to be rather annoying and for the cops in Need for Speed Own the City the cops can be fun to be chased by in the game. So I'm wondering why on the PSP it was like reversed in terms of cops with the last 2 Need for Speed games Most Wanted and Carbon? I really hope the next time EA puts cops in a Need for Speed game and there's a PSP version to follow that the cops will be fun in the console and the PSP as well.

In terms of graphics are concerned, this is a nice looking game for the PSP at this point and there aren't many racing games that I know of that look like this. The cars and the city look as best as they could get for the PSP although that the city used in this game resembles so much like Rockport in Need for Speed Most Wanted, console versions of the game anyway. There are many things that you can see throughout this game during free roam such as lights, fog, and such as you drive around in the city, which I find this game to be nicely detailed for a PSP thus far. There is only one thing is that there isn't much traffic in this game in free roam.

The sound department of the game is almost what I expected to hear in a Need for Speed game for the PSP. The roar of the engine as you rev it up before starting a race, the squalling of the tires as you roll out, the sound of the nos squirting from the car when you use it, the cops, the smell of gas in the morning (I made that up), and the music. When it comes to the soundtrack featured in the game it may be the same as that in the consoles, but not sure that I really like the soundtrack that was featured in this game. To be honest it could've been done better in my opinion and there are plenty of songs that could fit right in with a racing game especially those that feature cops.

Overall Need for Speed Carbon Own the City is one of the better Need for Speed games to hit the little PSP. While this one does feature a story line unlike Most Wanted 5-1-0 where all you had was a blacklist to climb without any kind of story line. My final thoughts of this game is that you should give this game a try only if you have a PSP and wanting to look for a racing game to try out cause this game I believe is worth the current price of $20.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 01/09/08

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