Carbon Leaves Its Predecessors In the Dust
Friday, March 2, 2007; Page WE46
Players got their first taste of Need for Speed in 1994. Since then, the venerable franchise has continued to raise the bar for racing games. Whether it's running from the cops in Hot Pursuit, ruling the streets in Underground or making a name for yourself in Most Wanted, EA has always managed to deliver some of the best racing action around, and Need for Speed Carbon takes the series to another level.
Players spend a good chunk of time in Career mode, where they'll battle rival racers. A new feature is racing crews. As players move up in rankings, they can recruit other racers to become part of their crew. Crew members have different classifications (drafter, scout and blocker), and using them is pretty cool. Drafters let you draft them before slinging you ahead. Scouts race up front and search for shortcuts. Blockers do just that: block other racers so you can pass them.
  Racing crews and canyon duels set this game apart. (Electronic Arts) |
The best new feature is canyon duels. This is how it works: two cars, two rounds. First round, one car chases the other down the canyon. Second round, it's reversed. Several factors make duels interesting. First, they're always at night. You're guided only by headlights, so braking and turning precisely are crucial. Second, if the car ahead of you manages to get a 10-second lead, the race is over. Third, you can run off the road. Typical Need for Speed games have forgiving walls and guardrails. If you hit it at 100 mph, you usually just slow down and then keep racing. Here, if you hit a guardrail, you're going over, so it's not about speed but skill.
Another improvement is the addition of car classes. There are three: tuner, muscle and exotic. Players must master each class, plus know which kind is best suited for a particular race. For example, you're not going to use a muscle car on a track with lots of sharp turns or use a tuner car on a more open track.
The game has an online multiplayer component as well. If you go online via Xbox Live or on your PlayStation 3, you can join matches with as many as eight players. Multiplayer games such as Pursuit Tag and Pursuit Knockout keep the online gaming fun and interesting. Canyon duels are a blast online as well.
-- Tom Ham
Need for Speed Carbon Everyone 10+; Xbox 360, PS3 ($60); Xbox ($30); PS2 ($40); GameCube ($30);Wii ($50) Electronic Arts/EA Black Box
