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EA’s Need for Speed series has gone through plenty of changes since it first appeared on the 32-bit 3DO system and early 90’s PCs. The spiritual successor to the Test Drive of the 80’s, the Need for Speed games have always driven a fine line between real world environments and easy to play, arcade gameplay. Since EA decided to obsessively focus on an open-world, street-racing theme the series’ quality has been hit and miss over the last few years. Need for Speed: Most Wanted returned the game to top tier racing, and Carbon thankfully isn’t a step backwards.
 
Carbon Life
 
Admittedly, Need for Speed Carbon doesn’t advance the series much either. A direct sequel to Need for Speed: Most Wanted, you play the same racer on the run and returning to his old stomping grounds in Palmont City. Unfortunately, his entry into town is less than friendly, his tweaked BMW gets totaled yet again, and he must start from ground zero to regain his crown of best racer ever. It’s a lame plot, and the actors seem to know it with their wooden delivery and hackneyed cinematic sequences.
 
While Need for Speed: Most Wanted focuses on intense police chases and intentionally raising your wanted status, Need for Speed: Carbon takes a stealthier approach. The ultimate object of the game is to take over all the gang-run territories of Palmont City, and the cops are merely a distraction. Cops will remember your car, and as you’ll hear on the police scanner, call in reinforcements, set up roadblocks, and aggressively try to take you down whenever they see you. The solution is to either change cars or change the appearance of your car, which will lower the heat for a while.
 

Territorial Gaming

Need for Speed Carbon has an engaging system, and the game offers up some truly powerful chase sequences. Taking over territory is a reasonably simple matter of winning the majority of events within a specific district of town. You’ll have to regularly defend conquered areas from competitors, and while the idea of owning real estate just by running a circuit seems silly, it works within the cartoonish logic of the game.
 
Each territory has a boss as well, and boss battles are a strange addition to the game. Initially, you race them in the city, but then the battle goes to the canyons where you’ll engage in a chase. Two races dictate the winner—first you chase the boss and try to damage and slow them down; then the boss does the same to you. At the end, whoever has the most points, wins. These boss battles are a frustrating way to race, and don’t add much to the gameplay.

Dude, it’s your wingmen

Standard racing in Need for Speed Carbon is up to the usual high standards of the series. The controls are responsive, the cars handle well, and you can modify them to your heart’s content. Another new addition is the use of wingmen. As you gain notoriety, other racers will join up with you and help you during a race. Blockers will bash rivals out of the way, drafters will give you a boost of speed by allowing you to hang behind them before zooming ahead, and scouts find shortcuts.
 
Their AI is generally tolerable, but these teammates seldom bring anything substantial to a race, and the rival AI is almost never challenging enough to require the wingmen. At times, your wingmen can even get in the way. You can give them simple commands to activate their specific skill but like nitro, wingmen have a finite amount of usefulness.
 
Shiny Things and Dreams of Racing

Need for Speed: Most Wanted was easily one of the best launch titles for the 360, and one of the few ports that made good use of the system’s hardware, so it’s no surprise that Need for Speed Carbon looks and sounds stunning too. Aside from the bizarre fact that Palmont City exists in perpetual night, everything in the game is incredibly polished and shiny. Need for Speed gamers have always loved shininess, but Carbon takes this to a new level.
 
The background audio work is exceptional as well. The sound effects are room shaking, and the innovative use of police band chatter and ambient noises is terrific. Unlike past Electronic Arts games, the soundtrack is actually lowered because of the importance of the rest of the audio.
 
Of course, the game also works well online, supporting up to eight players. Although Carbon probably won’t dethrone Project Gotham Racing or Test Drive Unlimited as the premiere choice for online racing, the cop versus racer mode will likely prove appealing to any racing fan.
 
Feel the Need

Need for Speed Carbon doesn’t advance the series much over Need for Speed: Most Wanted, although both games are huge improvements over the Need for Speed Underground variations. Need for Speed Carbon is a gorgeously fast racer, with plenty of compelling action and a surprisingly meaty single player game.

Article by: Jason D'Aprile
Video produced by: Michael Benson