Need for Speed Carbon
EA adds canyon drift racing to the free-roaming formula, but is it enough?
Published: November 28, 2006
I mentioned it before, but Carbon doesn't look especially next-gen. Yes, the textures and vehicle detail of the current-gen versions of the game have been upgraded, and the game usually runs at something approaching 60 frames a second (it's often all over the place during more hectic races, however), but the same basic blur effect from previous games is in place and the sense of speed isn't really there until later in the game (even then, vehicles just feel more squirrelly rather than being especially speedy). No, speed lines coming off the back of the car don't help.
I'm not ripping on the graphics as a whole; they're certainly competent, but I was hoping for leap up in detail that was more than just hi-res textures and more damage on the cars (riding across the finish line with a cracked windshield and shattered windows with huge swatches of scratched-off paint is a nice touch, though). There are some subtle touches, like indicating objects that can be driven through to cause an opponent close behind you to be crushed or delayed. Much was made of the whole AutoSculpt feature, which allows you to tweak different pre-set parts of a body kit. It allows for a near-infinite number of combinations, but for me it was something I really only dabbled in for at most an hour before I just went with the basic aftermarket parts. The fact that the game supports that level of tweaking is a plus, but in races you won't really see it save for the most dramatic of changes.
The audio, however, is a little more even. The soundtrack, built from a heavy rock and electronica (especially that electro stuff the kids are wild about) background, enjoys layering crunchy guitars atop thick, multi-sequenced beats. While participating in boss duels in the cayons, you'll only get vaguely Eastern-themed percussion solos with a smattering of blared flutes and some light chants. During any police pursuits, there's near-constant chatter back and forth between dispatch and the cops chasing you, and it's all done very, very well indeed. Half of the fun is just hearing the clipped back-and-forth between your pursuers and the folks updating your position.
The effect is likely what EA was shooting for: you feel like you're playing through one of those semi-vapid Hollywood driving action flicks, and when injected into the back channels thanks to some solid Dolby Digital separation (though the rear channels were lacking on some things, like approaching cars), the roar of the game's muscle, tuner and exotic engines sound absolutely fantastic. They're alternately throaty, whispery and audibly high-performance, helping to cement the basic driving philosophies of the three car types perfectly.
Carbon doesn't rewrite the formula. For that to happen, we'll likely have to wait at least one more game while EA starts really digging into next-gen development. What's there, though, is something they excel at: creating a fun game that bottles the core enjoyment found in previous entries while offering more of the same and teasing with just a few new options. Is it enough to ask another $50-60 for? If you're a fan of the series, yeah, absolutely; this is the best execution of the ideas that were first introduced in Underground, and so long as you didn't hate those games or have gotten burned out, this is a solid, if slightly underwhelming entry into the series.
