Need for Speed Carbon: Own the City

"Quick Review: NFS: Carbon - Own the City (Oh, believe me, I will)."

Personally, I'm not a huge fan of racing games. But I really like NFS: Carbon, Own The City.

The length of the game is just right. It isn't annoyingly long, and it isn't too short.
Replayability is also pretty good. I have beaten the game twice, and lately I've been playing other games, but occasionally I go back to NFS: Carbon-Own The City for a while.

There's the story line races, and then there's free roam, where you race around the city by yourself, smashing into random cars, get chased by the police, and smash up the (your) city.

I actually really liked the graphics, they're very smooth and flow just right. The only problems I encountered with the graphics is they where kind of dark. If I played it in a moderately light area (like in a car in daylight), it was hard to see. Even with the brightness on 3.

I didn't run into many glitches (mainly just ramming into a cement divider at 220 MPH, sometimes you go into the divider. And thats only possible at the end of the game).

The storyline was alright, although I remember a few times in the middle of the game, it would play a cutscene and I would think "oh! I forgot there was a storyline.". So you if want a racing game with a superb storyline, NFS: Carbon-Own the City is probably not for you.

The music is pretty sweet, there's plenty to choose from, and you can add your own music simply by having it on your memory stick, going into options, and selecting the songs you want.
unfortunately it only plays the music you add in the menus, not in-game

The controls are just right. A race or two to get used to them, and your set for the rest of the game. You use the analog stick/d-pad to turn, L for turbo, X to accelerate, square to brake, triangle to call your wing-men (to give you a draft for a extra speed boost, or to call your assassin to take out the guy in front of you), and R to "easy-brake" (or drift)

And as in most NFS games (or so I've heard, this is actually my first), there is plenty of cars to choose from and plenty of both visual and performance upgrades. The only problem I found is that it was pretty annoying waiting for the cars to become unlocked. And then for each new car, you have to wait for each performance/visual part to become unlocked. Then you have to get enough cash to buy them.

Summary:
Length: 8/10.
Graphics: 8.5/10
Glitches/Performance: 9.5/10 (didnt find many glitches)
Storyline: 6/10
Music/Sound:9/10
Cars/Upgrades: 8/10
Controls: 9/10

Overall a great game, but don't expect an amazing storyline.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 04/07/09

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