Need for Speed Carbon
Posted November 29, 2006
Continuing the urban street theme of Need for Speed Most Wanted, NFS: Carbon is a moderately similar follow-up to last year's 360 launch title; yet the story behind NFS: Carbon makes me long for the cinematic masterpiece that is The Fast and the Furious. Taking an opposite turn from last year's NFS version, the plotline is overly predictable and almost a chore to watch unfold. Also, the game greatly reduces the focus on police evasion, which is one element of the story that's sorely missed. Without the fuzz as the obligatory bad guy, we are left with horrible street racer clichés as our only targets. 
The plot basically centers on a street racer looking to earn back the respect that was lost after running from a huge sting operation by the cops. Tahmoh Penikett (Battlestar Galactica) plays Darius, the financial backer that want to insert you back into the scene and his exotic girlfriend is played by Emmanuelle Vaugier (Smallville, Saw II, CSI: NY). Cross, from Most Wanted, also makes an appearance, but his role is severely limited on this go-around. By continuing to win races, the story eventually reveals how you were setup during the sting and who is to blame for it. Sadly, it takes all of two minutes to determine the culprit without even playing through the main story.
Gameplay:
Vastly more complex than Most Wanted, Carbon adds the element of gang territory competition; first made popular by GTA: San Andreas. There are four main territories to take over, each split into several smaller areas. Also, each area has two or three races to complete. The races vary between sprint, lap, checkpoint, speed-trap, and drift. Polishing off the majority of the races in an area will give you control of that specific section. Once all of the sections are under your control, a territory boss race will become available.
The boss races take the difficulty slider and essentially break it off. Unless your vehicle has had every performance upgrade, beating the boss's super car becomes an arduous chore. Most boss races are split into two sections, a sprint / lap race and a new addition of the NFS series best described as a canyon race. Basically, two racers careen down a steep, curvy mountaintop, the latter hoping to keep up with the first. The closer you can stick with the guy in front, the more points will be earned. Also, passing the first car for more than 10 seconds will offer up an automatic win. It's actually much easier to keep restarting the race with passing on your mind rather than playing through the race legitimately. The boss cars are just too fast to race normally. After the two boss races, the territory is awarded to you. Often, other racers will challenge the territory, but beating them back is fairly simple.
NFS: Carbon also introduces a new element to races with multiple cars in the form of an A.I. controlled teammate. There are three variants of teammates: scouts, drafters, and blockers. Scouts will scope out the hidden shortcuts on most tracks, drafters will allow for increased speed, and blockers will use their car to knock out the competition. I found the blockers to be the most advantageous and allowed me to win most races easily. Higher quality teammates become available to your racer as territories are overtaken. Also, teammates provide bonuses such as increased nitrous or higher payouts and they can be hired or fired via the safe house screen.
The Safe house screen also takes care of all car customization options. Beyond the obvious tuning performance increases, cars can also be designed very intricately. From dropping in a new racing engine to painting a choice logo on the hood of your ride, the seemingly endless options will delight ricers around the world. Cars have to be purchased via the car lots that populate the various territories. As new areas are opened up, a higher level of automobile is as well. The performance level of the cars is split into three tiers and folks have muscle, tuner, and exotic cars to choose from. The huge allotment of cars is fairly staggering when combined with the altering options.
Unfortunately, the game seems to be missing a few elements that made Most Wanted so entertaining. The first is a lack of emphasis on the police chases. For years, the most enjoyable portion of the Need for Speed series has been crazy police escapes. While the same structure is present in Carbon, the developer makes police chases more of a side quest rather than an integral portion of the gameplay. Secondly, they left out the greatest type of race since NFS: Underground incorporated it; Drag. The drag race with manual shift was vastly more absorbing than any other race type that's included in Carbon. It doesn't make any sense to leave out one of the most popular types of street races.
When the single player A.I. has run its course, you can try your hand at some multiplayer action via ranked and unranked games. Since the game is fairly popular, finding a match during peak hours is simple. Unfortunately, the game has massive latency issues which turn your matches into mush. Cars will lurch forward / backwards and invisibly crash into your ride. Finding a proper connection can become a rarity. Thankfully, the menu system allows for repeated races with that group when you do. Races vary from the same types found in the single player campaign, but the most popular type seems to be quick sprint races. Also, any customized car from the single player campaign can be used for online racing. Most players stick with the Tier 3 Lambo, but there are a variety of competitive automobiles with similar handling.
EA must have taken offense to the negative press about the simplicity of garnering achievements in Most Wanted, because Carbon's achievement structure is hellishly time consuming. Just completing the game will only award a measly 50 points. The points are fairly evenly split between single player and multiplayer, although the majority of the 50 achievements are assigned to multiplayer tasks. Objectives such as collecting all the reward cards or finishing 100 online games will take hours upon hours to complete. EA's achievement structure is perhaps far too comprehensive for the casual gamer and unfortunately quite humdrum for the hardcore gamer to knock out.
Graphics:
Visually, Carbon attempts to capture the same storytelling style that made Most Wanted such a popular title; but fails for a few reasons. The artistic nuances that gave Most Wanted a unique flair are mostly absent from the backgrounds of the videos in Carbon. While the actors still appear to be half human / half character created, the surrounding environment is wholly bland and unappealing. The developer reduced the amount of colorful motion blur in the background which decreased the overall quality of those various movie scenes.
The in-game engine also suffers from an increase in the severity of Most Wanted's flaws. For instance, frame rate issues are much more prevalent in Carbon. Most races have a moderate amount of stuttering which causes a necessity for control compensation. I can forgive this problem in a launch title, but having more than a year to poke around with the hardware just alludes to the ineptitude of the developer. Additionally, the pop up issue is still very alive and well.
On the positive side, the game looks identical to NFS: Most Wanted. The environments are lush, colorful, and highly detailed. The amount of splintering particle effects that appears when tearing through a row of curve signs or smashing into a bus stop bench is wonderfully accurate. I also like the skid marks that remain on the road when circling around for a new lap.
Audio:
While the script could use some massive work, the voice acting is definitely top notch. Similar to Most Wanted, the actors and actresses apply the appropriate amount of emotion into their silly caricatures of urban thugs. Many of the sound effects have been recycled from Most Wanted, but that's perfectly fine. The directional effects are ever-present and allow for determining the location of enemy A.I. The musical soundtrack is average at best. The random mixture of hip-hop and techno music matches the theme of the game, but becomes slightly annoying down the line. I recommend utilization of custom soundtracks at some point.
Conclusion:
I'm sad to say Need for Speed: Carbon just isn't as pleasurable as last year's NFS: Most Wanted. While the sheer amount of content vastly outweighs Most Wanted, finishing the game requires a serious amount of patience and makes for an extremely boring ride. Achievements are a bit too ridiculous to chase after and the multiplayer is a nasty lag-fest of maximum proportions. Add in EA's moronic content pricing on Marketplace for Carbon and it's easy to realize the game isn't worth the trouble. With plenty of other great racers for the 360, like Test Drive Unlimited, Carbon deserves nothing more than a rental.
The plot basically centers on a street racer looking to earn back the respect that was lost after running from a huge sting operation by the cops. Tahmoh Penikett (Battlestar Galactica) plays Darius, the financial backer that want to insert you back into the scene and his exotic girlfriend is played by Emmanuelle Vaugier (Smallville, Saw II, CSI: NY). Cross, from Most Wanted, also makes an appearance, but his role is severely limited on this go-around. By continuing to win races, the story eventually reveals how you were setup during the sting and who is to blame for it. Sadly, it takes all of two minutes to determine the culprit without even playing through the main story.
Gameplay:
Vastly more complex than Most Wanted, Carbon adds the element of gang territory competition; first made popular by GTA: San Andreas. There are four main territories to take over, each split into several smaller areas. Also, each area has two or three races to complete. The races vary between sprint, lap, checkpoint, speed-trap, and drift. Polishing off the majority of the races in an area will give you control of that specific section. Once all of the sections are under your control, a territory boss race will become available.
The boss races take the difficulty slider and essentially break it off. Unless your vehicle has had every performance upgrade, beating the boss's super car becomes an arduous chore. Most boss races are split into two sections, a sprint / lap race and a new addition of the NFS series best described as a canyon race. Basically, two racers careen down a steep, curvy mountaintop, the latter hoping to keep up with the first. The closer you can stick with the guy in front, the more points will be earned. Also, passing the first car for more than 10 seconds will offer up an automatic win. It's actually much easier to keep restarting the race with passing on your mind rather than playing through the race legitimately. The boss cars are just too fast to race normally. After the two boss races, the territory is awarded to you. Often, other racers will challenge the territory, but beating them back is fairly simple.
NFS: Carbon also introduces a new element to races with multiple cars in the form of an A.I. controlled teammate. There are three variants of teammates: scouts, drafters, and blockers. Scouts will scope out the hidden shortcuts on most tracks, drafters will allow for increased speed, and blockers will use their car to knock out the competition. I found the blockers to be the most advantageous and allowed me to win most races easily. Higher quality teammates become available to your racer as territories are overtaken. Also, teammates provide bonuses such as increased nitrous or higher payouts and they can be hired or fired via the safe house screen.
The Safe house screen also takes care of all car customization options. Beyond the obvious tuning performance increases, cars can also be designed very intricately. From dropping in a new racing engine to painting a choice logo on the hood of your ride, the seemingly endless options will delight ricers around the world. Cars have to be purchased via the car lots that populate the various territories. As new areas are opened up, a higher level of automobile is as well. The performance level of the cars is split into three tiers and folks have muscle, tuner, and exotic cars to choose from. The huge allotment of cars is fairly staggering when combined with the altering options.
Unfortunately, the game seems to be missing a few elements that made Most Wanted so entertaining. The first is a lack of emphasis on the police chases. For years, the most enjoyable portion of the Need for Speed series has been crazy police escapes. While the same structure is present in Carbon, the developer makes police chases more of a side quest rather than an integral portion of the gameplay. Secondly, they left out the greatest type of race since NFS: Underground incorporated it; Drag. The drag race with manual shift was vastly more absorbing than any other race type that's included in Carbon. It doesn't make any sense to leave out one of the most popular types of street races.
When the single player A.I. has run its course, you can try your hand at some multiplayer action via ranked and unranked games. Since the game is fairly popular, finding a match during peak hours is simple. Unfortunately, the game has massive latency issues which turn your matches into mush. Cars will lurch forward / backwards and invisibly crash into your ride. Finding a proper connection can become a rarity. Thankfully, the menu system allows for repeated races with that group when you do. Races vary from the same types found in the single player campaign, but the most popular type seems to be quick sprint races. Also, any customized car from the single player campaign can be used for online racing. Most players stick with the Tier 3 Lambo, but there are a variety of competitive automobiles with similar handling.
EA must have taken offense to the negative press about the simplicity of garnering achievements in Most Wanted, because Carbon's achievement structure is hellishly time consuming. Just completing the game will only award a measly 50 points. The points are fairly evenly split between single player and multiplayer, although the majority of the 50 achievements are assigned to multiplayer tasks. Objectives such as collecting all the reward cards or finishing 100 online games will take hours upon hours to complete. EA's achievement structure is perhaps far too comprehensive for the casual gamer and unfortunately quite humdrum for the hardcore gamer to knock out.
Graphics:
Visually, Carbon attempts to capture the same storytelling style that made Most Wanted such a popular title; but fails for a few reasons. The artistic nuances that gave Most Wanted a unique flair are mostly absent from the backgrounds of the videos in Carbon. While the actors still appear to be half human / half character created, the surrounding environment is wholly bland and unappealing. The developer reduced the amount of colorful motion blur in the background which decreased the overall quality of those various movie scenes.
The in-game engine also suffers from an increase in the severity of Most Wanted's flaws. For instance, frame rate issues are much more prevalent in Carbon. Most races have a moderate amount of stuttering which causes a necessity for control compensation. I can forgive this problem in a launch title, but having more than a year to poke around with the hardware just alludes to the ineptitude of the developer. Additionally, the pop up issue is still very alive and well.
On the positive side, the game looks identical to NFS: Most Wanted. The environments are lush, colorful, and highly detailed. The amount of splintering particle effects that appears when tearing through a row of curve signs or smashing into a bus stop bench is wonderfully accurate. I also like the skid marks that remain on the road when circling around for a new lap.
Audio:
While the script could use some massive work, the voice acting is definitely top notch. Similar to Most Wanted, the actors and actresses apply the appropriate amount of emotion into their silly caricatures of urban thugs. Many of the sound effects have been recycled from Most Wanted, but that's perfectly fine. The directional effects are ever-present and allow for determining the location of enemy A.I. The musical soundtrack is average at best. The random mixture of hip-hop and techno music matches the theme of the game, but becomes slightly annoying down the line. I recommend utilization of custom soundtracks at some point.
Conclusion:
I'm sad to say Need for Speed: Carbon just isn't as pleasurable as last year's NFS: Most Wanted. While the sheer amount of content vastly outweighs Most Wanted, finishing the game requires a serious amount of patience and makes for an extremely boring ride. Achievements are a bit too ridiculous to chase after and the multiplayer is a nasty lag-fest of maximum proportions. Add in EA's moronic content pricing on Marketplace for Carbon and it's easy to realize the game isn't worth the trouble. With plenty of other great racers for the 360, like Test Drive Unlimited, Carbon deserves nothing more than a rental.