Need For Speed Carbon

I first experienced this game by trying the demo. After that I was sold. The NFS games have had their ups and downs over the years. The racing storyline seems to change on a yearly basis keeping the concept fresh. With Carbon you are a brash racer who is coming back to his old haunts. Now it's up to you to race others in non stop action. I was in awe playing this game realizing how wonderful the graphics were. They really bring the environments alive as you are able to see how long they spent creating these wonderful environments. The excitement that comes from this game is when you begin to realize that your in a nonstop world with the ability to find races anywhere in the city. There are numerous territories that are controlled by different racers and it's up to you to challenge those racers for the territory. Being succesful takes many steps as you have to compete in several races before you can challenge the leader of each racing group. That is where you get to have a pulse pounding race in the canyons. Avoiding hair raising turns that can have you swerving off a cliff. In this game you will experience the tried and true formula of the pursuit where the police will be on your tail and you can gain a wanted status. What's new to this game is the teammate formula where you are able to use the team mate to take out an opponent. The system works well for the most part and adds a great new addition into the NFS series. I would have to say overall this has been one of my favorite NFS games. If you enjoy great arcade racing give Carbon a try. You won't regret it.

The case to the game was empty upon opening. Therefore, we can not review the product because we were never able to play it!

Gameplay: 8.4

Every car handles differently, every course is linked together in one massive world, and the controls will take you back to the days of arcade racers like Daytona USA. (Actual arcade racers - the ones with $5,000 cabinets all arcade owners dreaded purchasing.) The customization features are a little shallow, and the game is a little easy. Okay, a lot easy. But you'll love the ride while it lasts, and you're going to want to play through this racer more than once.

Graphics: 8

The cars look amazing. Every part of them is packed with realistic detail. Even the interiors are noticeably accurate. The cars reflect the city lights quite beautifully, and will do so differently depending on the type of finish that's been applied (chrome, matte, etc.).

Carbon's environments aren't nearly as memorable. The backgrounds aren't that far beyond what was possible with the old Xbox. Also, the cars, as gorgeous as they are, cannot be damaged. They can crash repeatedly, and abolish generic police vehicles. But your vehicles - which are from licensed manufacturers - are as protected as those in Gran Turismo, save for a few scratches every now and then (that magically disappear after every race).

I know that this is what most, not all, automakers want. But if some manufacturers are on board and others are not, maybe it's the supportive companies you should be focusing on - to give the gamer the most intense experience possible.

Sound: 7.9

Hurray for the return of full-motion video! First you get to see the actors, who look toward the camera when talking to the player's character as if you were actually in the story. The actors also appear in polygon form, with extreme realism to boot. Their polygon expressions are a little better than their real expressions, mainly due to the real actors' lack of believability.

The voices - they're better than most, but have a hint of "video game syndrome." It looks like a bunch of actors were hired to be in a video game. It doesn't look or sound like they were hired to be in a professionally written story. Which isn't too surprising. Carbon's characters only have one theme: "take my city and I'll hate you forever" (an exaggerated but truthful interpretation).

Difficulty: Easy/Medium

Most Career mode races can be won on the first try. The external challenge mode provides additional races to conquer, but they're not enough to boost this game's difficulty.

Concept: 7.5

It's Need For Speed all over again. I'm not about to be one of those crazy people who say the series needs an overhaul to be great again. It doesn't. I love the direction the developers have taken. That said, it's not an original direction, just one of polish. But this series is meant to be a certain way. To make it original again would likely eliminate all the things we love.

Multiplayer: 8

Four for co-op; eight for multiplayer via Xbox Live. Some of the Career mode races are playable online as well for added challenges.

Overall: 8.2

A throwback to the good old, worry-free days of arcade racing. This is the kind of game you'll play after seeing The Fast and the Furious (or any other street racing flick). You might hate that series - you might think the third Furious is the worst movie ever made. But mark my words, if you're flipping through and it's on TV, you will drop the remote, grab your 360 controller, and play this game.

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