The latest installation for EA's series of Need for Speed. Does it live up to its name?
Need for Speed: Carbon seems to be a mixture of EA's last two Need for Speed games, Underground 2 and Most Wanted. It contains much of Underground's customization, including the new Autoscuplt feature, and much of Most Wanted's pursuit aspects and cars.
Gameplay - 8/10
Need for Speed: Carbon plays like many other racers but has the special EA attribute of Speed Breaker which helps enjoy the game. The customization has been brought to a new level with the Autoscuplt feature which allows you to customize your car to a new level of precision. Free roam and challenges are very intriguing as well (especially if you get into a pursuit and move past heat three). Races include: Sprint, Circuit, Checkpoint, Speedtrap, Drift and a new style called Canyon. Canyon is where you race down a canyon against a boss and try to stay as close as possible to your opponent. Overall, gameplay hasn't been altered that much from game to game, but Carbon does contain some unique aspects.
Graphics - 8/10 Graphics seem to be the same as the Xbox 360 version of Most Wanted. Few tweaks here and there with lighting and reflection, but overall graphics remain the same. However, keep in mind that these graphics are still quite nice, and that is why the still receive an 8; there was just no huge improvement to make it receive a higher score.
Sound - 7/10
EA seems to have dropped in this section. The soundtrack that they picked up for this game was one that I was too fond of. The actual in-game sounds were good, except for the constant screech of tires even when going in a straight line; that tended to sort of annoy me at points.
Value - 8/10
Without rushing through and actually taking time to play the game, it took me about 15 hours to beat the game. While that is a pretty short time, I have to admit playing this game on Xbox Live! made it last about another 10-15 hours. There was nothing like showing off your personally customized car to other racers thanks to Autosculpt. Or to beat a loud mouth saying no one can beat them.
Reviewer's Tilt - 9/10
Despite the minor setbacks presented by this game, I really, REALLY enjoyed playing it. I feel that this game was a little under appreciated with the rating it got from Gamespot.