| After rebooting the franchise with Need for | | | | spinning out opponents at your command. |
| Speed Underground, EA has continued to | | | | Drafters let you slipstream behind them, |
| produce some solid street racers under the | | | | giving you some extra speed from the reduced |
| Need for Speed banner. Last year's Need for | | | | drag, and from there you can pull aside and |
| Speed Most Wanted, which featured hilariously | | | | slingshot your way past them. Scouts have a |
| over-the-top live-action cutscenes and | | | | knack for finding the many alternate routes |
| seriously tense police pursuits, proved to be | | | | and shortcuts that can be found in most |
| a high watermark for the franchise. Now it's | | | | races, and they have short neon tracers that |
| being followed up by Need for Speed Carbon, | | | | follow them, making it easier for you to take |
| which downplays the role of the police | | | | advantage. You'll definitely find yourself in |
| chases, introduces some simple team-racing | | | | races where your wingman's influence is the |
| mechanics, and occasionally takes the action | | | | difference between winning and losing. But |
| off the city streets and into the outlying | | | | often, your wingman's presence is either |
| canyons. The new gameplay doesn't always | | | | unnecessary or an actual hindrance. Blockers |
| improve the experience, but the racing can | | | | are only really effective in taking out |
| still be quite intense and still has a | | | | competitors that are behind you, and even |
| pronounced sense of style. | | | | then, they're not very reliable. Drafters |
| | | | work as advertised, but the lengthy |
| Carbon continues the story where Most Wanted | | | | straightaway needed to set up a proper draft |
| left off. For those just tuning in, Most | | | | is rare in Palmont City, which limits their |
| Wanted ended with you recovering your stolen | | | | usefulness. Scouts are the least useful of |
| car and bailing out of the city of Rockport | | | | the three because the neon tracers don't seem |
| while the overzealous, anti-street-racing | | | | to get longer as the cars you drive go |
| Sgt. Cross continued his pursuit. At the | | | | faster, so eventually, there's just not |
| start of Carbon, you're making your way to | | | | enough time for you to anticipate an |
| Palmont City when Cross, now a bounty hunter, | | | | alternate route. If you didn't call on your |
| catches up with you and totals your car | | | | wingman, you might expect him or her to just |
| during the chase. Before he can collect his | | | | hang back. But we found ourselves getting |
| bounty on you, though, your old friend Darius | | | | bumped into and boxed in by our wingman on |
| steps in and pays off Cross. You are then put | | | | several occasions. It's not ruinous to the |
| to work, taking over the turf of the other | | | | experience, but sometimes it makes you wish |
| rival street-racing crews in Palmont City. It | | | | they would just go away. |
| seems that you've got a history in this town | | | | |
| that predates the events in Most Wanted. And | | | | Canyon duels are challenging, but their |
| during the course of the game, you'll learn | | | | repetitious structure can sometimes make them |
| more about that fateful night you skipped | | | | wearying. |
| town. Different characters will give their | | | | |
| takes on the night you supposedly ran off | | | | The game relies on some pretty tried-and-true |
| with a big red duffle bag full of cash. And | | | | types of races, but it also throws some |
| by the end of the game, you'll not only find | | | | curves. You'll find plenty of common stuff, |
| out what really happened, but you'll have | | | | such as lap-based circuit races, |
| taken over all of the street-racing territory | | | | point-to-point sprints, and checkpoint races. |
| in Palmont City. | | | | But there are also some unique races, such as |
| | | | the speed-trap race, where your standing is |
| Outside of the actual gameplay, one of the | | | | determined by your cumulative MPH as you race |
| more endearing aspects of Most Wanted was the | | | | through a series of speed traps. Most races |
| way it used live actors in CG environments | | | | take place on the city streets of Palmont, |
| for its story sequences. These sequences | | | | but there are also drift events, which can |
| invariably featured plenty of actor/model | | | | take place either on a closed racecourse or |
| types, trying a little too hard to talk tough | | | | on the winding canyon roads that surround the |
| and failing spectacularly at it. The | | | | city. The goal in the drift events is to |
| technique remains the same in Carbon, though | | | | score points by making clean drifts around |
| there are more story sequences now and a | | | | corners. The car-handling changes completely |
| slightly more self-aware tone. The heavy use | | | | for the drift events and feels much more |
| of flashbacks is an interesting idea, but the | | | | slippery than in the rest of the game, which |
| story ends up being kind of muddled. And none | | | | recalls the drift events found in Need for |
| of the villains come off as particularly | | | | Speed Underground 2. |
| menacing. Although it's hard to really | | | | |
| qualify any of it as sincerely good, it's | | | | You'll also face off with the different crew |
| just over-the-top enough that folks who enjoy | | | | bosses in the canyons, and these events may |
| stuff like The Fast and the Furious, | | | | test your patience. Once you've taken enough |
| ironically or otherwise, should get some | | | | turf for a crew boss to challenge you, you'll |
| enjoyment out of it. | | | | first race against him in a standard |
| | | | city-street event. If you beat him there, |
| Most Wanted had you racing to raise your | | | | you'll advance to one of the game's canyon |
| visibility with the police and take on the | | | | courses, which are narrow and undulating. |
| most notorious street racers in Rockport. In | | | | Here it's a two-part race, where you'll first |
| Carbon, it's all about turf. Palmont City is | | | | have to chase the boss through a |
| divided into four major territories, each of | | | | point-to-point race, and then reverse roles |
| which is predominantly controlled by a | | | | for the second part. Your score on the first |
| different street-racing crew. Each territory | | | | half is based on how close you stay to your |
| is then further divided into zones, and | | | | rival; then in the second half, your rival |
| within each zone, you'll find starting points | | | | tries to outdo you. These events can be quite |
| for a variety of different race events. | | | | challenging because the courses are |
| Winning at least two events in a zone will | | | | technically complicated, and the crew bosses |
| put it under your control. And once you've | | | | tend to be better, more aggressive drivers |
| taken over all the zones in a given | | | | than the average street racers. There are |
| territory, you can take on the head of that | | | | also a number of ways in which you can |
| crew. As you continue to extend your reach | | | | instantly fail. If, during the second race, |
| across Palmont City, rival crews will come | | | | your opponent manages to get ahead of you for |
| back and try to retake territory the same way | | | | more than 10 seconds, you automatically lose. |
| you took it from them, forcing you to accept | | | | But on the flipside, if you can get ahead of |
| their challenge if you want to maintain | | | | your opponent for more than 10 seconds in the |
| control. Having to go back and rerace events | | | | first race, you automatically win both races. |
| that you've already won is kind of a pain, | | | | Also, each course is absolutely rife with |
| but the open-world structure is nice and | | | | cliffs. This means that if you take a corner |
| gives you plenty of options to take on races | | | | at the wrong angle or speed, you can launch |
| at any given point. | | | | your car off of a cliff, immediately ending |
| | | | the race. All of these elements can make for |
| However, you won't be taking on all of these | | | | a tough but fair race. However, failure takes |
| crews by yourself, because Carbon lets you | | | | you back to the first half of the canyon |
| bring along a wingman into many of the races. | | | | duel, even if you failed during the second |
| These computer-controlled companions break | | | | half. It's kind of a minor point, but it's |
| down into three different behavior | | | | one that can turn a canyon duel into a real |
| types--blockers, drafters, and scouts. | | | | chore. |
| Blockers will run interference for you, | | | | |