Customer Reviews

Need for Speed Carbon Collector's Edition

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(13)

 

 

To the point: I've played Most Wanted and Underground II and loved them. This game, however, makes me think "uh, why does it suck?" I'd wager this thought will cross your mind too, more than once.

The graphics is a step down. While not neccesarily bad, overall the graphics are more cartoony. In-game, the player models look like zombies with brown teeth. These are graphics one associates with consoles games from before 2000.

Game is extremely easy and brief. There are essentially only 4 bosses -- I beat this game in 2 days. You take over bits of subarea territory by taking over at least 2 of 3 races. When a full area is taken over (which can be done in about 6-8 races), you square off against one of the bosses, first doing an ordinary race and then racing on a Canyon. While I'm sure there are some circuits which I haven't completed, and I haven't done online or the Challenger Series yet, the central offline game just isn't satisfying. Underground 2 was so much more coherent, and Most Wanted was exciting and varied enough -- completing courses, getting bounty points, in a progressively more difficult scheme -- and the graphics and else are excellent.

Now, if the graphics in Carbon are childish, the physics is... I don't know. It's either more realistic or just more boring. Driving cars in Carbon honestly feels like the way driving a garbage truck in Most Wanted feels. Overall, there is something 8-bit about the experience... loud unrealistic tire screeches and noises, slow accelleration, unresponsive turning.

The worlds of Most Wanted and Underground were large and sprawling. This game's city scapes and roads feel small and repetitive with a lot of interlap. One doesn't feel like he's travelled much or in a coherent place as one drives around the city. Most Wanted, on the other hand, felt like a real city of its own. Carbon feels like a small-scale cartoon game. There are few short cuts, etc.. but nothing like Most Wanted- a world replete with golf course detours, stadium cut-throughs... and everything else. The world of Carbon simply doesn't feel very 3d or real -- there's nothing to digest, learn, or remember for it -- just drive, turn, left, right, accellerate, through the roads.

Some other cons: 1) Police communications and dispatch were recycled directly from Most Wanted -- no new voices, no changes. There is no real tension in fleeing from police at any point in the game... If you evade, you evade... Police pursuits don't add to the game's aesthetic or gameplay value and only consume time. 2) The drifting courses are extremely hard to beat with beginning level cars. I was only able to beat them after I had advanced level cars souped up. But indeed since winning 2/3 races in a subarea is all that's neccesary to take it over, one can play the game till the end without having to win any of them.

The pros: 1) The idea of having "wingman" drivers is good, but poorly executed. Most of the time I've found them useless. The fact that some of them are useful in sculpting body kits is a plus if you're interested in that sort of thing (and are a bored artist), but nothing to write home about. I only like communications from them in races. I think there are about 6 (very boring and unvaried) different crew you'll be able to hire, 2 "scouts", 2 blockers, 2 boosters etc.. 2) Game has a more adventure feel to it than the other games, but is too deflated, acting too mechanical, and everything too small-scale (small maps, 4 bosses) to be truly interesting. 3) The concept of territory wars is good and part of the allure of the game, but once again poorly executed, and the game too easy. 4) When squaring off against bosses, if for example you crash in anyway, a small picture-in-picture screen comes up, showing the boss in his other car laughing. That adds to the game in princiiple, but again poorly executed... The same video comes up mechanically anytime you hit a wall.

There you have it. I couldn't even mark down the pros of the game without criticizing it, and the thought occurs again... Why does this game suck? This game is disappointing in a bewildering way. It's so unexpectedly bad it'll leave you confused. Definitely not up to par with other NFS games. Worth playing only if you're a diehard fan and have nothing to do over 2 days. Otherwise, for starters looking for good racer games ought to go for Need For Speed Most Wanted or Underground II.

Need for Speed: Carbon picks up pretty much where Need For Speed: Most Wanted left off. You're on the run from Officer Cross, who's looking to collect the bounty on your head. Once again, you're behind the wheel of a sweet BMW M3 GTR, and once again, the BMW is taken away, forcing you to choose a new car and start over from the bottom all over again. An old friend who needs some talent on his racing crew decides that you'll be working for him. You start up a racing crew and look to take over the streets.

This latest installation in the Need For Speed franchise is a hybrid of Underground 2 and Most Wanted with a few tweaks added in. The action once again takes place at night, and the city's endless labyrinths of concrete are lit up with activity and lighted signs. The city's many districts are each controlled by a different racing crew, and you must win races in order to sieze control of these districts. Once you take control of a large chunk of the town, that borough's boss will come looking for you, goading you into a dangerous race down one of the city's canyons to settle the score.

You also still need to evade the police, and you'll accumulate heat levels and bounty just as in Most Wanted, but running up bounty and infractions is no longer neccessary for challenging "boss" racers. However, the police can still ruin your day; they will disrupt races, try to bust you after a race is over, and doggedly stay on your tail as you try to lose them. Getting your car impounded can mean a quick and unpleasant departure of hard-earned cash.

Another interesting change is the exotic/muscle/tuner angle. After your BMW gets totaled, you are prompted by Nikki, played by the lovely Emmanuelle Vaugier, to choose a new car. Your choice determines what types of cars will be unlocked as you progress through the game: tuner(such as a Mazda RX-8), muscle(such as a Ford Mustang), or exotic(like the Aston-Martin DB9). Each category has its strengths and weaknesses. Also, the cars are ranked in tiers; an RX-8 is a tier 1 tuner, while a Lotus Elise is a tier 2 exotic. The tiers of the cars determine what upgrades that car can receive; for example, a tier 2 car can't recieve a tier 1 turbo, you will have to unlock it.

The last new game feature is the Crew. When you race, you're no longer alone. AI-controlled team members will aid you, and they have three roles. A Blocker will look to knock out an opponent at your command, and Drafter will let you draft behind them for an extra burst of speed, and a Scout will seek out the shortcuts on a track to trim precious seconds off of your time. They will also shout out encouragement and warn you of racers attempting to pass you. Also, the crew gives you an extra chance to win; if either you or your teammate win the race, the win goes to your crew and you get the reward.

Sprint and Circuit races have returned. A sprint is one time from point A to B, and a circuit is several laps around a track. Speedtrap races from Most Wanted are also back; you must race along and hit each speedtrap at the highest possible speed, highest cumulative score wins. The tollbooth races from Most Wanted are also back, but without the tollbooths, now known as checkpoint races; you must make it from once checkpoint to another, with a time bonus for each time you beat the clock. When a boss challenges you, you take your act into a canyon, where you participate in the canyon pursuit race: you chase your opponent down the canyon, and the closer you stay, the more points you get. After that's done, the roles are reversed; your foe chases you down, and if your points are depleted before you cross the finish line, you lose. If either racer overtakes the other and stays ahead for ten seconds, they automatically win. After a one-game absence, drift races have also return, and remain challenging. You can also race outside of career mode in a number of instant races, and take your act online to participate in standard and online-exclusive races.

Once again, you can modify your car's performance and appearance in a number of ways. You can add engine upgrade, turbos, transmissions, suspensions, and other performance upgrades to make your ride a slick racing machine. Numerous hoods, spoilers, body kits, paint jobs, vinyls, and other modifications let you change your cars look till your heart's content. The new Autoscuplt feature lets you alter the look of various aftermarket body parts to create a truly custom ride. The customization options aren't nearly as numerous as in Underground 2, but you can still create a pretty pimped-out ride, or opt for an unassuming "sleeper" car.

Overall, I found this latest Need For Speed to be pretty enjoyable. As you progress, you'll receive rewards cards that help you unlock special rewards. The catchup or "rubber-band" AI from Most Wanted seems to be gone, although your opponents can still catch up, particularly if you're not on your game. The penalties for crashing are very severe; a crash robs you of nearly all of your momentum, so you have to be sharp in order to win. The slow-motion "speedbreaker" feature has returned, and is a great way to get around sharp corners or even avoid collisions. The game can be frustrating at times, and at times it seems like there's that one guy you can never catch. But it's not impossible, and with smart racing and good use of your teammates, you'll conquer the streets. So hit the pavement and make a name for yourself and your crew.

The reviews have been mostly good to lukewarm but being a fan of the overall NFS series I was about to purchase this game until learning EA will insert REAL-TIME advertising into my computer via the Internet. It was bad enough to see all the lame ads for retailers and products in earlier games but there is something inherently wrong with purchasing a game and then being forced to watch ads in order to play it. As far as I am concerned, they should be paying me to watch their stupid ads.

Even if the game were free I am not sure I would play it due to all the security holes and exploits these types of programs have the potential to create. This is a slippery slope I refuse to be a part of and EA will not get my business as long as they continue this policy.

I have played every single Need for Speed game there is, even the limited edition porche series. And each successive game has been an improvement over the last, with Most Wanted being by far the best. So imagine my suprise when I played Carbon and I couldn't help but think 'wow did these guys at EA screw up or what.' Don't get me wrong, Carbon is not a bad game, and it's still fun...but if you've played Most wanted or nfs2 you are going to be disappointed b/c though Carbon tries to combine both, it tries to fix things that were not broken in the first place, and add new things which have no business being in a racing game, which just makes for a bad mix.

Things I liked:

-Plenty and a nice variety of cars to choose from (although few out of the box)
-Return to nighttime
-Decent soundtrack
-Autoscuplt feature is unique although not really necessary
-Different feel to different kinds of cars (muscle cars handle like beast)
-Cops chase you (although not as exciting as most wanted)
-new online pursuit modes are fun
-they kept speedbreaker and pursuit breakers, and regplenishable nitrous

Things I disliked...this could take a while
-NO DRAG RACING! Ok albeit drag racing in Most wanted was the most frustrating thing ever created in a game b/c it was near impossible to avoid hitting cars. But drag racing in NFS2 was so much fun, I still play it just for the drag. its such an easy engine to run, why o why is there no drag racing.
-Instead of drag racing, theres unrealistic drifiting...drifting in NFS2 felt way more precise
-Game interface is weird and sort of confusing, for example the rpm guage is not your convential gauge and it looks like junk and theres no boost gauge at all, or at least i can't tell if there is one. and its hard to find pursuit breakers and hideouts with the map.
-I don't like alot of the tracks, and often they are entirely too long
-ridiculuous system of buying performance packages for only certain tiers. for example, the rx-8 is a tier 1 car. so when u get all the tier 1 packages, u can't use tier 2 packages on the car??? in fact it seems as if performance enhancements has taken a backstage to cosmetic customization, which is a bit iffy to me. and u can't adjust performance settings during gameplay like most wanted, or dyno tune like in nfs2...though u will be able to tune, but if it really makes a difference i doubt you will be able to tell
-too many meaningless cutscenes
-graphics are a bit cartoony, and either the options on my computer don't work or if you tweak they just don't do very much. exampple i tried turning down the sound effects b/c the squeal of the tires is super annoying, but it won't turn down even if set it too zero. And why can't we have more options like the ability to play in the night or in the day?
-EA please please get rid of the addition of all that crew, territory junk. its so pointless and i hate it! why the heck should i have to enter a race i already won just to win back some territory.
-instead of crews and crap bring back the idea of trying to get on magazine covers and the like. and bring back outrun mode!
-it would be nice to have a decent story for once, although the presentation of is unique and nice...wasn't a fan of this particular nfs girl.

If you are a newcomer to the NFS franchise you may not be as annoyed by all the little details that Carbon screwed up. But if you're a long time fan, then these things will just tick you off. Granted, Most Wanted took a while to get used to, because it was such a departure from NFS2, but the whole point with Carbon is that you don't want to have to get used to new crap which replaces things that worked great in games like NFS2 and MW. That's what makes this game so frustrating. It it would have been so easy to make this the best NFS game ever, if EA had just combined the best aspects of Most wanted and NFS2, instead of just trying to bring new pointless elements to the game, just to say that they added new stuff. Hopefully the next NFS game won't dissapoint like Carbon did for me.

Let's get right to the pros and cons.

Cons:
1.) It's always night in the game: Allegedly, God reposessed the sunlight from Electronic Arts after Need For Speed: Most Wanted because EA couldn't afford to pay the new steeper royalties for daylight so God sold them the rights to nighttime at a cheaper rate. I kid because I miss the beauty of the sunlit Need For Speed: Most Wanted. The sun would momentarily over-brighten the entire screen as you emerged from a tunnel to simulate how your eyes would take a moment to adjust to the sun. That was cool because it was realistic.

2.) Drifting Returns - Drifting is a ridiculous pastime which des not deserve the title of racing or sport. I thought that after Need for Speed: Most Wanted, that it was gone for good.

3.) Canyon Races - These are also ridiculous races invented to differentiate this game from all the other Need for Speed games. There are 2 ways to win. 1st way: Knock-out your opponent in the 1st round by overtaking your opponent for more than 10 seconds. 2nd way: You enter round 2 where with your opponent chasing you over the same canyon. The closer they follow the faster your lose your points earned from the 1st round. If you still have points by the end of round 2 you win. If your car crashes throgh weak barriers it can go flying off the canyon-trail and into the abysmal darkness below. This make the game boring and tedious especially if your car crashes through a barrier on the second round and you have to start over from round 1.

4.) Repetitive Race-Events - Yes, canyon-races, I'm looking at you. Also rival gangs challenge you to race-events you've already won to reclaim their turf. This can be a little annoying when you are trying to control the entire map and can cause you to lose a territory of the map if you forfeit too many race-events in that territory.

5.) Unrealistic Wingman Concept: You can have one computer controller wingman in ordinary-races (not boss-races) whose purpose is to scout for shortcuts, block other racers or give you a boost. This is not only unrealistic but they are not very uselful to you either because they are driving too slowly or just not programmed well enough to be very useful.

6.) Lack of Environmental Variety: Need For Speed most wanted had stadiums, golf courses, better coastal-towns, etc.

7.) No nitrous in Canyon Races: Each canyon race disallows nitrous. Why? This is so unrealistic and uncool.

Pros:

1.) Optional Rival Street Challenges: Street challenges are cool because a racer will pull up to your car while you are driving and challenge you to reach a checkpoint 1st. You must follow your GPS to arrive 1st and win. This was far more realistic than silly canyon races. These are optional so you can ignore challenges if you want.

2.) Better in-game (realtime) facial animation. The opponents express emotions realistically whenever you collide with a wall, overtake them, close in on them, fall behind, etc...

3.) Better drifting for people like myself who loathe drift racing since it is a stupid sport.

4.) Greater Customization: Now you can tune your customiztions to the dimensions and style you want by using the tuning controls to strech them to more pleasing dimensions.

5.) Great graphics.

Overall - They should have created a game like "Need For Speed: Most Wanted" but with night levels and drag-racing.They should also include "chicken" challenges where you speed towards one another "chicken-style" and see who flinches first. That would have been the best racing game ever. Instead we have to settle for Carbon.

Racing games haven't always shown their real potential these past few years on the computer. Although there are some that have actually delivered, others have just bit the dust. That hasn't been the case with Need For Speed within the past few years. The last one, Need For Speed Most Wanted was one of the most entertaining and thrilling racers that really not just delivered with the thrills of the chase against the police, it shined brightly against the speed demons of the blacklist. Now, the game has a new light ahead of them. Can Need For Speed definitely shine the way it did before on the computer?

Need For Speed Carbon for the P.C. is a wild and outrageous game that brings out the madness of the speed to a new phase. The game tackles on after you evade the police from Rockport City, as you are brought in to tackle the thrills of crew racing, aginst Darius and his mob. In the game, you have three different racers to tackle, tuners like the Mazda RX-8, exoticas like the Lambourghini Mercialgo, and the classic-styled Muscle cars of the 60's and 70's like the Dodge Charger concept. The game also brings back the thrills of the chase, as you face-off in races like the fierce sprints, speedtraps where you have to clock in at the fastest speed, the return of the drift tracks which were highlighted last time in Need For Speed Underground 2, and the new canyon duel races, where you tackle a foe in a speed game of chicken. The graphics are beautiful and shine brightly in the game. Yet, although the game drives in the thrills of the night racing, there are a few disadvantages to the game. One of the biggest problems, is that you don't have as much of the pursuit against the police, as you thrived in Need For Speed Most Wanted. The other dissapointment is that the control on the muscle cars are much more difficult to maintain in the race as the other kinds, which makes you lose control at times in the thrill of the race.

Despite a couple of flaws, Need For Speed Carbon is a delightful game for anybody who is a die hard fan of the franchise, and delivers in the chase for newcomers nicely. I loved playing this game on the computer, and you'll love the wild action of this game too.

Graphics: B+

Sound: B

Control: B 1/2-

Fun & Enjoyment: B

Overall: B 1/2+

Ah! Need For Speed in all its glory. Spend 3 minutes racing, spend 3 hours running from the police. At first glance it appears to be another gasp for air while the NFS series drowns in its sea of failure. However its much much more!

Finally! The art of ricing out cars is no longer limited to Honda's and Toyota's! No sir, now you get to deface once proud muscle cars with parking bench sized wings. Owning a 2001 Camaro SS myself, I was excited about seeing muscle cars in the game. However, they seemed to put no thought into what cars to add. Some of the cars, yes, were the best year to add. However, others, such as the 1969 Roadrunner were a bad choice. When people think of the Roadrunner, the one that comes to mind is the 1970, just like the 1969 model comes to mind when one thinks of a Charger. I wish EA did more research into what people like.

However, the flaws don't stop there. The accessories for these cars are a real issue. They don't have a sleek feel that muscle enthusiasts enjoy. They all have a riceboy feel to them, which is exactly what we don't like.

Now, for my REAL issue with this game: Police chases.

They are too difficult. You will find yourself racing all over the town trying to escape. When you finally evade, another car appears out of nowhere. It gets old very fast, and most likely, you wont even want to play anymore after the first 2 chases. It's very repetitive aswell, which really cant be avoided, but still, it gets very frustrating when you cant escape, no matter what you try. The best thing to do when you start getting chased? Give up. Just stop. You cant get away, no matter what you do, so give up.

I miss the good old days when NFS was fun. High Stakes was, and in my opinion, will always be, a legend among the NFS series. You can pick it up very cheap these days, and I highly recommend it over this game. The chases are more fun, the cars are better, the races more fun, everything.

The bottom line is that this game just isn't worth the money. Its not at all realistic, fun, and lacks replay value. Go with a better game, please.

Its one of the better need for speed games that ive played...very customizable cars and lots of tracks to play... The online is okay but probably could have been put togethor a little better. Not a game to use only for online play... single player is what is focused on, but overall 5/5

DON'T BUY THIS GAME... no if's ands or buts about it... you're wasting your money if you buy the PC version. The game constantly crashes once you get beyond a certain point in the game and although EA has released patches for the game, they refuse to fix the crash problems - if you look at the forums on the EA site you'll see that countless people have problems running this game on XP (Vista users MUST run the game in Windows 98 compatibility mode to even get the game to load past the opening credits). Save your money and buy a non-EA PC game - EA may be top notch on consoles, but their PC games, almost without exception, are buggy, inferior copies of their console counterparts.

This game was satisfying for me. While the story lacks, that's no problem because you buy this game to race, not to be immersed in a storyline.

There are some good varied race types, and the police chases make things interesting sometimes if you're looking for a change of pace. However, when you're challenged by another crew for your territory, it's more of a nuisance. There are some good cars in here, enough to satisfy me, but the fact that you can't edit some of the cars (Carerra GT, Audi Quattro, etc) is annoying.

The "Challenge Series" adds quite a bit of replay value, as does the 3 paths in career mode (based on the type of car class you choose). Online play is a gimmick for me - the cars are shaky and it's just not all that fun.

Overall, I bought this game to race on my computer, and it does that pretty well.