Need for Speed: Carbon (PS3) Review
Posted by Caleb Newby on 12.12.2006
The storied franchise returns with its latest offering for the next generation of gaming. How does Need for Speed: Carbon stack up on the PS3? Find out inside!
While the Need for Speed franchise has been around since the mid 90s, I’m only familiar (loosely) with the previous entry of Hot Pursuit. Actually, I’m not exactly what you’d call a racing game fan. So when I found myself reviewing Need for Speed: Carbon I was worried on whether I could be fair to the license, genre, and fans. But as I was playing a funny thing happened… I found out this was a good game. And more than that, I liked it… a lot.
Graphics:
In racing games it’s all about the cars and the scenery. NFSC delivers strong on both accounts, though I would have liked a larger variety of vehicles and terrain. While it’s always easy to say “more, more, more!” on our end, it would have been nice to have a little more licensed cars to pick from.
Lest I forget, the career mode cut scenes are a real treat. Live actors play out the plot that’s full of twists and turns, even though most of the turns are easy to spot as they approach. The coolest aspect is how the live actors features and textures are washed out to make them appear more videogame like. Don’t be fooled into thinking this is your PS3’s graphics at work as much as it is clever use of video editing that truly sets the stage and environment for a movie-esque romp.
Gameplay:
NFS:C is definitely an arcade racing game. If you aren’t familiar with the NFS series and love your racers to be simulation style you might want to look elsewhere. That being said I’ve had more fun with this racing game than any other in recent memory.
The career mode allows of the choice of one of three car types to start. Muscle cars, exotics, and tuners are the types your vehicles will fall into. Muscle cars have high end top speed but difficult handling. Exotics take the most skill to drive but are powerful. Tuners lack top speed but have excellent cornering and handling.
After trying my hand at a good ol’ American muscle car (and thusly finding that I couldn’t control it) I switched to the tuners and never looked back. Tight cornering is my friend and it showed after making the switch.
Wide varieties of race types are available from your standard checkpoint and lap races to more unusual types in drifting and speed traps. Drifting is particularly interesting as the vehicle handling changing significantly to help your drifting quest of sliding around corners while avoiding crashing into walls and rails.
Sound:
While I couldn’t tell you what the make and model of a vehicle coming down the road is based off of hearing its engine, I can tell you that the sound in NFSC is strong. The different vehicles sound as you’d expect them too, with the muscle cars sounding particularly formidable. Oh, the good sound of American made engines with bite.
The music is also quite good, but surprisingly enough is hard to hear at points. The soundtrack is not as prominently featured as your typical soundtrack in a game of, say, Madden where you’d find it nearly impossible to forget the songs. Instead, while fitting and appropriate for the license, you’d be harder pressed to recall what the songs were.
The third component of sound is the dialogue. The cop chatter as you’re looking to evade is fun, though I’m told much of it is reused from previous titles. The cut scene acting is campy but in the good way that reminds you of Fast and the Furious campy. Sure the conversations are a bit silly, but it’s still fun.
Lasting Appeal:
There’s a fair amount of unlockables that require you to play every race in career mode. Doing so let’s you get the most customization out of your ride. From additional decals, paint, and spoilers to new transmissions and engines you’ll find a wide variety of ways to custom your car to your personal preference.
Speaking of, the ability to customize your vehicle is extremely flexible with the sculpting tool. It was a bit much for me personally though that is not to say it won’t have a large number of motor-heads looking to replicate a certain look or design. The mode seemed flexible and deep, the car equivalent to a modern day create-a-character mode.
Fun Factor:
Fun Factor. That’s the thing, I was having a lot of fun, and as racing isn’t my typical genre, that is what was the most impressive to me. While there were gripes I may have had along the way such as wanting a larger car selection to more varied tracks outside of the city, it was at the end of the day fun.
The 411:
Need for Speed: Carbon does a good job of giving us a taste of what next gen racing will be all about. It’s a definite arcade racer that may not appeal to the more traditional simulation style racing fans NFSC captures the eccentric movie world of stylish street racing. Fans of the series should enjoy their latest installment, while those like me who just joined the party now will have a good time flying down the city streets in what is currently the best looking racing game out there.
Graphics
8.4
Good cut scenes, style, and vehicle models make this the prettiest racer to date.
Gameplay
8.0
Friendly controls and a couple new twists to your standard racing affair.
Sound
7.8
Great sound effects though the soundtrack tends to get lost at times.
Lasting Appeal
8.0
Various game modes and unlockables should keep you coming back.
Fun Factor
8.5
Flying down city streets trying to shake the fuzz? How's that not a good time?
