Need for Speed: Carbon
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Need for Speed: Carbon is the latest installment in the Need for Speed series, and also borrowing the same engine as its predecessor. It was first shown in EA's montage at Nintendo's E³ 2006 conference and booth and was the cover story in the Game Informer magazine issue of July 2006. Carbon is the first in the Need for Speed series to be released for all next-generation consoles. Carbon features a selection of cars from its predecessors; with some omissions as well, but also incorporating many new additions including the Audi Le Mans Quattro, the Chrysler 300C SRT 8, Chevrolet's Chevelle SS and the Toyota MR2. Carbon features the Canadian actress and model Emmanuelle Vaugier as Nikki, the player's main source of help and ally in the Career storyline. The PSP, Nintendo DS, and Game Boy Advance versions of the game are called Need For Speed Carbon: Own the City. Need for Speed: Carbon debuted at number one on the UK All Format Gaming Chart on its first week of release, beating Konami's Pro Evolution Soccer 6.[1]
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[edit] Gameplay
Game play is based upon rival street racing clubs and teams. The player can pick specific street racers to be in their crew, who fall into 3 categories: Scouts, who can help find shortcuts throughout a track, Blockers who race alongside the player and target opposing cars during the race to knock them off course, and Drafters who create a "slipstream" for the player to follow during a race, which gives a significant speed boost. Although not included, there was also going to be a type of crew member called the Persuader (see Cut Features), but EA had programming issues with it. Also, each crew member will also have a second specialty, again divided into 3 categories: Beginning with Fabricators, who can enable you to modify certain parts of your car and enable "AutoSculpt" (a tool which allows the player to customize the modifications themselves), Mechanics who can give discount after winning races, and Fixers, who can reduce your wanted level after races, have extra cash and get traffic like large Trucks out of your way. The new city setting for Carbon, Palmont, is now divided up into territories owned by different racing "Crews". The player is able to win territories by successfully completing at least 2 races on that particular territory; rewards for winning a territory range from car parts and enhancements stores to unlocking new crew members and cars.
The game also features the return of drift racing, a mode that had been included in two previous installments Need For Speed: Underground and Need For Speed: Underground 2, but omitted from Carbon's predecessor, Most Wanted; and new style of race, Canyon Racing, based on Japanese Touge races. Canyon Races are divided into two parts. The player first gains points depending on how closely opponent's movements are followed down a mountain trail, and the second part involving points being deducted from your previous score by how closely the opponent manages to follow you. If the player manages to reach the bottom with points remaining, the player wins. Also, there are instant win situation (pass or pull far enough ahead of the opponent), and instant lose situations (be passed, fall behind, or crash through the guardrails and off the sheer drop that follows.)
The Need for Speed: Carbon Collector's Edition features 10 exclusive cars, 10 pre-tuned cars (out of the box), 6 new races, 3 unique challenge events, 10 unique vinyls and a Bonus DVD showing the making of Carbon and showcasing all the cars used in the game. The Collector's Edition also features alternate box art and metallic finish packaging.
There is also the ability now to upload one's in game screenshots to the Need for Speed website, complete with stats and modifications. Also, the PC, X360, and PS3 versions features an online only, "Be the Cop" racing mode, wherein the fastest player has to try and evade the others who are all police; once someone overtakes the fastest player they then become the hunted car.
[edit] Controls
Control of the actual game play varies on among the different consoles. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 control steering through the use of their joysticks, while acceleration and braking as well as other controls can be configured and mapped to the different buttons on the controllers.
The Wii lacks online game play, but you can use the Wii Remote in five different configurations:
- Holding the Wii remote flat to the ground and sideways, turning it like a steering wheel.
- Tilting the Nunchuk back and forth to steer and tilting the Wii Remote back and forth at a 45 degree angle to accelerate and brake.
- Tilting the Nunchuk back and forth to steer and holding down the Wii remote like a pedal to accelerate.
- Using the joy stick on the Nunchuk to steer and tilting the Wii Remote back and forth at a 45 degree angle to accelerate and brake.
- Using the joy stick on the Nunchuk to steer and holding down the Wii remote like a pedal to accelerate.
[edit] Plot outline
The prologue to the beginning of the Career Mode, starts out with the player driving down Carbon Canyon in their BMW M3 GTR, which the player won back from Razor (the antagonist in Need For Speed Most Wanted) in the final Blacklist race in Rockport. The story is recalled throughout the game with the use of FMV sequences, which are presented as "flashbacks". The first flashback recaps the player's last race before he left Palmont, driving Darius's Toyota Supra, in Palmont City (with Kenji, Angie, and Wolf racing against him). As the cars approached the finish, the Palmont PD ambush them and use some sort of EMP device to disable all the cars, apart from the player's. Nikki, the player's friend throughout the game, rushes to the car to drop off a bag containing the prize money. As she tries to pass the bag over to the player a 'cop' pulls her away, and the player makes his escape through an alley that is strangely blocked by Chrysler 300C after the player escapes. The player opens the sack only to find it is filled with paper, implying there were two bags, a decoy and a real one; and that they had been switched without Nikki realizing. As the flashback ends, Darius advises the player to leave the city with his car rather than face the heat. The subsequent introductory race involves Cross (the former Rockport Police Sergeant), who is now a bounty hunter, pursuing the player down a Canyon in his Chevrolet Corvette Z06, just as the player is about to drive away. Like the intro race in Most Wanted, this race ends abruptly, fading out as the player's car slams into a truck. The next cut scene shows the BMW M3 GTR totalled and cornered by Cross, who is all too happy to finally settle their old score from Rockport.
As Darius explains to the player now the main concern in Palmont is the current war for territories between rival Racing Crews. There are 4 dominant gangs ruling their respective areas of the city, three of them headed by the player's opponents during the race that fateful night the player left; as well as Darius's "Stacked Deck", along with several minor gangs. Darius recruits the player with the intention of using him to take over the city for "Stacked Deck", to return Darius's favor of saving him from arrest.
As the player progresses through Career Mode and proceeds to win more and more races, the player gains new territories and eventually wins complete control over a gang's entire district. After taking all the territories in one district, the boss of the district's dominant gang challenges the player to a series of 2 races: one on the streets of his or her respective district and the second in the canyons. If the player wins, they are awarded "Marker Cards" similar to those in Need for Speed: Most Wanted; the player can choose two out of a possible six cards, one of which maybe the pink slip to the defeated boss's car. After that, a member of the defeated crew will ask to meet the player, where he/she will then reveal their point-of-view of the night the player fled, giving clues to help the player make sense of the suspicious circumstances of his departure and offer to join your crew.
After the player defeats all three crew bosses, Darius offers to meet up with the player. Instead of congratulating him, he accuses the player of stealing the money that was dropped off in the player's car and asserts that the city is rightfully his own. He then has Cross, who was waiting for the player; arrest him. Next, Darius takes the player's car keys and hands them to Nikki, asking her to bring the player's car to his garage. However, Cross instead releases the player as Nikki tells him of a deal she made with Cross, before handing back the player's keys. She also helps the player connect his crew members' stories to reveal the true nature of the police intervention: Darius had set up the fateful race to allow him to become head of the Dominant "Crew" in Palmont and to drive the player out who was a threat to him. Part of Nikki's deal, includes her racing as part of your crew.
The player is then given access to Silverton, the final District the player has to conquer, controlled by Darius's "Stacked Deck". Here Darius is agitated by the player's dominance and recruits the three other major crew bosses to race against the player; part of the deal presumably, providing them with new cars as well. Once the player defeats of all of Silverton's territories, he is challenged to a series of 4 final races, the first two against all three of the other gang's bosses, the 3rd a street duel and the finale; a Canyon Duel with Darius.
After Darius is finally defeated, he grudgingly hands over the keys to his Audi. Darius then leaves without much left to say, but not before giving a final warning that "there's always someone out there who's faster than you are, and sooner or later they're going to catch up."
[edit] Car Customization
Carbon allows for a considerably larger number of car customization options than the previous game in Most Wanted. The new AutoSculpt feature allows you to take stock after market parts such as spoilers and rims, and shape and mould them to your liking, adding and defining little touches, such as shape, contours, size, etc. It also allows you to layer as many vinyls as you like, which was previously not possible in Most Wanted; and pick from an enormous amount of colors, different paint types for your car, vinyls, rims and other various accessories. There is also the option to tune the performance for your cars by tweaking performance parts like Turbochargers for example, to have more or less Torque or Horsepower; or choosing between Wheels that have very good grip or very good drift characteristics. All the performance tuning options have their advantages and disadvantages however; i.e. Nitrous Oxide systems that have a high velocity provide a quick surge of high power but have much less capacity. This allows for a much greater variation in performance among the same or similar cars.
[edit] Characters
There are several main characters that the player encounters during the game, some of these character's can eventually become part of the player's own street racing "Crew":
| Name | Casted by | Voice by | Car(s) | Boss of | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nikki | Emmanuelle Vaugier | Emmanuelle Vaugier | Ford GT | - | The player's ex-girlfriend who is on your side for most of the game and reveals much of the back story to you. She becomes a selectable crew member as a "Drafter" later in the game. |
| Darius | Tahmoh Penikett | Tahmoh Penikett | Audi Le Mans Quattro | Stacked Deck | The game's chief antagonist and boss of "Stacked Deck", whom you end up racing in the final canyon duel to control all of Palmont. Although he helped you escape in the beginning, he reveals his hidden agenda as you capture territories and as the game progresses. |
| Cross | Dean McKenzie | Dean McKenzie | Chevrolet Corvette Z06 | - | The former Police Sergeant of the Rockport Police Department who lost his job after failing to stop you from escaping Rockport in NFS: MW. Currently works as a bounty hunter bringing street racers such as yourself to justice, however his hidden agenda in the storyline is never made clear and although he is tipped off by Darius as to your whereabouts, Nikki manages to somehow secretly call him off after making a deal, and you escape from him once more. |
| Angie | Danielle Kremeniuk | Danielle Kremeniuk | 1969 Dodge Charger R/T 2006 Dodge Challenger Concept |
21st Street | She's the Boss of a gang called "21st Street" located in the Kempton District; prefers muscle cars. |
| Kenji | Ken Kirby | Ken Kirby Archie Kao |
Mazda RX-7 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX |
Bushido | He's the Boss of a gang called "Bushido" located in the Downtown Palmont District; prefers tuner cars. |
| Wolf | Shaw Madson | Shaw Madson | Aston Martin DB9 Lamborghini Murcielago |
TFk | He's the Boss of a gang called "TFK" located in the Fortuna District; prefers exotic cars. |
Note that the three crew bosses have two cars listed, the first is their primary car which they use earlier in the Career Mode against the player when he races for control of their respective Districts, and can be won by the player after capturing all of their territory. The second can only be seen after the player defeats all of the above crew bosses and unlocks the final district, Silverton. They then proceed to work for Darius, trying to bring you down under his orders and race against the player. Their final cars have new "Stacked Deck" paint jobs, with vinyl designs similar to that of their former crews. Their racing and handling AI has also somewhat markedly improved from the player's previous encounters with them.
As the game progresses, the player can select the following people to be a crew member; however the player can only hire 3 crew members at a time, and only one active crew member can participate with the player in a race. Since the player can only hire 3 members at a time, it allows for some planning and strategy as to the outcome of races. For example, if some extra cash was needed and the player didn't want attract extra police attention in the territory he was racing in; a combination of at least one Mechanic and Fixer would allow for some extra cash and less heat from the police. While every crew member has a unique skill and specialty, they also reveal to the player a piece of the storyline, recalling what they specifically remember from the mysterious night the player left Palmont in the beginning:
| Name | Casted by | Voice by | Car(s) | Roles | Skills | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colin | Steve Lawlor | Steve Lawlor | Tier 1: Alfa Romeo Brera Tier 2: Porsche Cayman S Tier 3: Porsche Carrera GT |
Drafter | Fabricator | Ranking member of Wolf's TFK before his defeat. He reveals to the player that he knows what the thief who switched the money bag looked like. Uses Exotics. |
| Neville | Chris Gauthier | Chris Gauthier Brian Scolaro |
Matches Player's STARTING class
Tuner: Tier 1: Mazda Mazdaspeed 3 Muscle: Tier 1: Chrysler 300C Exotic: Tier 1: Alfa Romeo Brera |
Blocker | Fixer | Your first crew member, portrayed as an awkward, obese, typical social loser; albeit a formidable Blocker, he uses cars in the same class as the player. |
| Nikki | Emmanuelle Vaugier | Emmanuelle Vaugier | Ford GT | Drafter | Mechanic | The last person to join your crew. She only uses a Ford GT, and is available after you start racing against Darius in Silverton. See above table in the table for more info. |
| Sal | Elias Toufexis | Elias Toufexis Josh Keaton |
Matches Player's STARTING class
Tuner: Tier 1: Mazda RX-8 Muscle: Tier 1:Chevrolet Camaro SS Exotic: Tier 1: Mercedes-Benz CLK-500 |
Scout | Fabricator | Sal is a scout,which means he tells you where the alleys are and helps you find the shortest way to the finish line. The second racer to join your crew, a young, experienced driver, he is interested by your former "reputation". He uses cars in the same class as the player. |
| Samson | Noah Danby | Noah Danby Joe May |
Tier 1: Chevrolet Camaro SS Tier 2:Dodge Charger R/T Tier 3: Plymouth Hemi `Cuda |
Blocker | Fixer | A member of Angie's "21st Street" Crew before her defeat. The only former crew member to not fly his respective crew's colors, he explains that the driver of the Chrysler 300C that aided your escape in the beginning has a badge on his belt. He favors Muscle Cars. |
| Yumi | Melody | Melody Kim Mai Guest |
Tier 1: Mazda RX-8 Tier 2: Mitsubishi Eclipse GT Tier 3: Subaru Impreza WRX STi |
Scout | Mechanic | Formerly a member(possibly second-in-command)to Kenji's "Bushido" before his defeat. Yumi explains she had tuned into the Palmont Police Radio frequency during your escape and explains that the ensuing chaos was all set and planned from the start. Uses Tuners. |
| Crew Member Name | Main Ability / Sub | Race Bonus | Career Bonus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colin | Drafter / Fabricator | Longer Draftstream when active | Enables AutoSculpt Spoilers, Exhaust Tips, Wheels and Chop top (Muscle Cars only) |
| Neville | Block / Fixer | Zone Heat doesn't increase after the race | +$200 add to winnings |
| Nikki | Drafter / Mechanic | Speedbreaker and NOS get an extra 50% | Car Purchase get an 10% Discount |
| Sal | Scout / Fabricator | Zone Heat is reduced after winning | Enables AutoSculpt Body Kits, Hoods and Roof Scoops |
| Samson | Blocker / Fixer | 10% of winnings is added to total winnings | Controlled Zones draw less cop attention |
| Yumi | Scout / Mechanic | NOS get a 25% boost | Performance Parts Purchase will get a 10% Discount |
Other miscellaneous people include:
| Name | Casted by |
|---|---|
| Stunt Nikki | Silje Halvorsen |
| David | David Footman |
| Flag Girls | Cheryl Dee Chung Heather Johnson |
[edit] Crews
- Bushido
- a Tuner Crew led by "Kenji", they control the Downtown District of Palmont.
- T.F.K.
- an Exotic Crew led by "Wolf" who race in the Fortuna District.
- 21st Street
- a Muscle Crew led by "Angie", who controls the Kempton District.
- Stacked Deck
- the most powerful crew in Palmont the player must race against, with a variety of Exotic, Tuner and Muscle cars of tier 3 origin; led by Darius in the Silverton District.
[edit] Minor crews
- Inferno
- A minor and weak Muscle Car crew that can be found in some parts of Fortuna.
- Los Colibries
- A minor crew with muscle Cars that control a small part of Downtown.
- Scorpios
- A slightly more powerful crew that favors tuner Cars, that can be found in Kempton and are led by a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX.
- Kings
- The weakest of the minor crews, they are found in the Downtown District and only challenge in the player in a few races; and are subsequently completely defeated. They drive all types of cars.
- Rotor 4
- Another minor crew which drive tuner vehicles that can be found in the Fortuna District.
- Black Hearts
- A small group, who are mainly in Kempton District. Prefers exotic cars
[edit] Official cars
The cars in Need for Speed: Carbon are divided into three categories:
Tuner Cars: Their strongest point is handling, with decent acceleration but slower top speed. They consist of Japanese cars and mainstream European models.
- 2003 Infiniti G35 - Image ***
- 2001 Lexus IS300 (bonus car)# - Image
- 2007 Mazda3 MPS - Image
- 1999 Mazda RX-7 - Image
- 2003 Mazda RX-8 - Image
- 1999 Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX (bonus car) - Image
- 2006 Mitsubishi Eclipse GT - Image
- 2006 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX MR Edition - Image
- 1992 Nissan 240SX ** -
- 2006 Nissan 350Z - Image
- 1999 Nissan Skyline R34 GT-R - Image
- 2005 Renault Clio V6 - Image
- 2006 Subaru Impreza WRX STi -
- 1986 Toyota Corolla GT-S (bonus car) - Image
- 1993 Toyota MR2 (bonus car)# - Image
- 1998 Toyota Supra - Image
- 2006 Volkswagen Golf R32 - Image
Muscle Cars: Their strongest point is acceleration and have decent top speed. Their handling is also poor though, and such cars are prone to sliding. Most cars are from American companies.
- 2006 Chevrolet Camaro Concept (bonus car) ** -
- 1967 Chevrolet Camaro SS - Image
- 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS (bonus car) - Image
- 2006 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 - Image
- 2006 Chrysler 300C SRT8 - Image
- 1971 Dodge Challenger R/T* - Image
- 2006 Dodge Challenger Concept - Image
- 1969 Dodge Charger R/T - Image
- 2006 Dodge Charger SRT-8 -
- 2006 Dodge Viper SRT-10 Coupe -
- 2006 Ford Mustang GT - Image
- 1970 Plymouth Hemi Cuda - Image
- 1969 Plymouth Road Runner (bonus car) - Image
- 2006 Pontiac GTO (bonus car), (police car) - Image
- 1967 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 - Image
- 2007 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 (bonus car) - Image
- 2005 Vauxhall Monaro VXR - Image
Exotic Cars: Their strongest point is their top speed, and are the most balanced, performance-wise, of the car classes. Most cars are from European companies.
- 2006 Alfa Romeo Brera - Image
- 2004 Aston Martin DB9 -
- 2003 Audi Le Mans Quattro (bonus car) - Image
- 2003 BMW M3 GTR (bonus car) - Image
- 2005 Ford GT - Image
- 2007 Jaguar XK ** -
- 2006 Koenigsegg CCX (bonus car) ** -
- 2004 Lamborghini Gallardo - Image
- 2004 Lamborghini Murcielago - Image
- 2007 Lamborghini Murcielago LP640 (bonus car) -
- 2004 Lotus Elise - Image
- 2006 Lotus Europa S (bonus car)# -
- 2005 Mercedes-Benz CLK500 - Image
- 2005 Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG - Image
- 2004 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren - Image
- 2006 Pagani Zonda F (bonus car) -
- 2004 Porsche Carrera GT - Image
- 2006 Porsche Cayman S - Image
- 2007 Porsche 911 Turbo - Image ***
- 2006 Porsche 911 GT3 RS (bonus car)# - Image
*Exclusive to EA Downloader NFS: Carbon Collectors Edition
**Exclusive to NFS: Carbon Collectors Edition
***Accidentally locked cars that were meant to be available
#only playable in Challenge Series
The official site only lists 46 vehicles, 3 of those being special police cars.[2][3]
[edit] Cut Features
This is a list of some of the features that were originally intended to be a part of Carbon but were cut either due to time restraints, changes in design or difficulty of implementation:
- A police helicopter that fired vehicle EMP disablers (much like the movie 2 Fast 2 Furious) was supposed to join Police Pursuits in the game at Heat Level 3, but was cut due to the complexity of mapping paths in the air.
- Customizable license plates. This feature could be unlocked in Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition. EA chose to cut it because they wouldn't be able to restrict what players would put on their license plates (eg. offensive/obscene words).
- Drifting races with computer players racing alongside the player; however programmers had difficulty in programming the AI to drift. This feature was included during drift races in Need for Speed: Underground 2.
- Rain during drift races.
- A fourth type of crew member: a "Persuader", who could cause traffic to block the player's opponents. This was cut due to programming difficulties.
- Traffic in Canyon Duel and Race Wars.
- Many UCAP (motion capture for facial expressions) scenes were cut due to the sheer amount of rendering power needed.
- 20 Car races were cut from previous-generation (i.e. PS2, Gamecube, and Xbox) console versions of Need for Speed: Carbon due to lack of processing power and ability to handle complex graphics and large races. These versions also do not show the faces of the drivers in their cars, when they talk to the player; instead returning to the "talking cars" cut-scenes from Need For Speed: Most Wanted.
- A flag girl (the girl in cut scenes before a race who flags the start) for Tuner races (currently there are only Muscle and Exotic flag girls in the game).
- Including the San Juan district as a fully-explorable starting area prior to Palmont, complete with Police AI. Cut due to complexity and size.
- The ability to adjust the Pitch of your car's suspension, making it slant downwards.
- The ability to get more than a 20x bonus multiplier on Drift races.
[edit] Trivia
- When a player is in pursuit Heat Level 5 or more in the challenge series, Cross's Z06 Corvette will appear; visually exactly the same as his pursuit Corvette from Rockport, down to the police department badge.
- The San Juan district is unaccessible by free roam. It is only used as a practice course in the beginning of the game (available in the Collectors Edition), or in Pursuit Tag.
- All the hotels and casinos in Silverton are spoofs of their real-life counterparts (e.g. the London hotel is a spoof of the New York, New York resort and casino, in Las Vegas.
- David Footman cameos as one of Darius' crew members in the intro scene. His name is used to take care of Cross.
- There's a deleted scene (viewable in the Collector's Edition bonus DVD) where Cross will back up into the player's BMW as an insult and will call him Romeo.
- The cop with the mustache in the arrest sequences is modeled off Neil Eskuri, the Senior Art Director for Need For Speed: Carbon
- Eskuri Plaza, in Kempton, was also named after Neil Eskuri. There is also an Eskuri Plaza (and Arena) in Bayview, in Underground 2.
- The only time EA Trax plays while you race is in Free Roam (in Career Mode) and Checkpoint Races. The songs, EA Trax plays while you race, depend on what type of class (of car) you are driving (Tuners=Electro; Muscles=Rock; Exotics=Hip-Hop/Grime).
- The logo for Stacked Deck includes two cards: an ace and an eight. In Texas hold 'em is sometimes called the dead man's hand. [1]
- At some places of the city, you can read many ads of Bell Canada in french.
- Own the City's map layout for the PSP is a bigger Rockport with modifications but omits the Camden Beach borough.
- The Mazda MX-5 is advertised throughout Palmont.
- The Police Interceptor, even upon unlock, is nowhere to be found in-game.
- The player has to defeat the 3 crew leaders Kenji, Angie and Wolf two times to unlock the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX, Lamborghini Murcielago and the Dodge Challenger concept.
[edit] Soundtrack
Much like the previous Need For Speed titles, the soundtrack features a variety of electronic, hip-hop, and rock music. The list of licensed tracks is as follows:
- Dynamite MC - "Bounce" & "After Party"
- Ekstrak feat. Know-1 - "Hard Drivers"
- Eagles of Death Metal - "(Don't Speak) I Came to Make a Bang"
- Every Move a Picture - "Signs of Life"
- Gary Numan/Tubeway Army - "Are "Friends" Electric"
- Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five - "Scorpio"
- Goldfrapp - "Ride a White Horse (Serge Santiago Remix)"
- Kyuss - "Hurricane"
- Lady Sovereign - "Love Me or Hate Me"
- Ladytron - "Sugar (Jagz Kooner Remix)" & "Fighting In Built Up Areas"
- Melody. - "Feel The Rush (Junkie XL Remix)"
- Metro Riots - "Thee Small Faces"
- Part 2 feat. Fallacy - "One of Dem Days (Remix)"
- Pharrell feat. Lauren - "Skateboard P presents: Show You How to Hustle"
- Priestess - "I Am the Night, Colour Me Black"
- Roots Manuva - "No Love"
- Spank Rock - "What It Look Like"
- Sway - "Hype Boys"
- The Bronx - "Around the Horn"
- The Presets - "Steamworks"
- The Vacation - "I'm No Good"
- Tiga - "Good As Gold"
- Tigarah - "Girl Fight (Mr. D Hyphy Mix)"
- Tomas Andersson - "Washing Up (Tiga Remix)"
- Valient Thorr - "Heatseeker"
- Vitalic - "My Friend Dario"
- Wolfmother - "Joker & the Thief"
- Yonderboi - "People Always Talk About the Weather (Junkie XL Remix)"
[edit] Critical Reception
Many magazines reviewed the game well. PCFormat gave it a score of 78%, saying that it was "engaging enough," but lacked innovation. IGN.com gave it a 7.9 and 8.2 for the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 versions respectively, out of 10 possible points.
"It's not revolutionary, it's not brilliant, but it's good, deep racing." said IGN.com
One criticism of the game is that it doesn't take a lot of time to beat. Gamespot noted that it only took them 7 hours to beat, hugely shorter than the gameplay time needed for its predecessor.
Another major criticism of Need for Speed: Carbon was that with its release, many of the anticipated cars such as the Porsche 911 Turbo and Ford Shelby Mustang GT500 were unaccessible in game. After much criticism from common Need for Speed forums such as NFSUnlimited.net and NFScars.net, EA's representative Smoothie later discussed this as a minor problem made during the late production of the game, and respectively, EA released packages of the locked cars available for download for $5.00 USD on the game's website.
It must also be noted that Carbon's road system has not been built to "Most Wanted" caliber, with far too many corners to provide a driving experience. Top speeds are not easily attained, with many of the roads resulting in awkward turns and corners.
[edit] Conflicts with Windows Vista
Currently, the PC version of the game has compatibility issues when playing under Windows Vista and crashes after the EA Logo screen.
According to EA's Website Support page,[4] they have not released any games that are supported under Windows Vista and suggest changing the compatibility mode to play EA games if necessary.
The game will load with both 32 bit and 64 bit editions of Windows Vista if you change compatibility to Windows 98. However, the game still crashes frequently.
Deleting or renaming the MOVIES folder, however, alleviates the problem. This has also been linked to the 1.3 upgrade patch.
[edit] References
- ^ "Christmas charts take shape" (2006-11-13). Retrieved on November 13, 2006.
- ^ Official Need for Speed website Accessed December 21, 2006
- ^ Official Need for Speed Car Library Accessed December 21, 2006
- ^ EA Customer Support Page Is my game supported on Windows Vista? Accessed December 21, 2006
[edit] External links
- Need for Speed: Carbon Home Page Official Site (US)
- Need for Speed: Carbon Home Page Official Site (Taiwan)
- Mazda RX7 - Need For Speed Carbon Feature
- Need for Speed: Carbon at MobyGames
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