Electronic Arts' Need for Speed is a racing series seemingly in perpetual pursuit of self discovery. Unlike other racing mainstays such as Burnout or Gran Turismo, which have over the course of several years carved out their own niche and slowly built upon established design paradigms, Need for Speed has consistently reinvented itself with each subsequent version, more so in recent years. More than anything, this has made the franchise, which arguably peaked in 1999 with High Stakes and has been chasing its tail ever since, something of a hit and miss in terms of fan approval. That said, 2005's Need for Speed: Most Wanted was a surprising breath of fresh air, thanks in part to its vast stretches of open road, cop chases, and gorgeous visuals. The series' latest incarnation, simply subtitled Carbon, continues with the franchise's predisposition for change by stepping away from the old-school grit found in Most Wanted in favor of the neon glow and vehicle customization of the underground racing scene. The game also introduces a number of new elements, such as fairly simplified team mechanics and boss races that take the action from the open road and into the dangerous curves of Carbon Canyon, where a wrong turn can send you spilling over the rails and off the side of the mountain. However, none of these radically change what was already a competent racer in Most Wanted, and thus Carbon is somewhat victimized by EA's incessant need to revisit sequels long before they are warranted.

Picking up the ridiculously cliché narrative where Most Wanted left off, Carbon begins as you blaze a path to Palmont City, all the while detailing a flashback concerning the reason behind your presence in the previous game's burg of Rockport. It isn't long before you find yourself back amongst your former friends, and the game then spends the next few hours spinning a rather predictable tale of woe and betrayal amidst some reasonably entertaining racing.

The story can be largely ignored, as it's chiefly in place merely to string together the races with each territory's governing thug, but at the same time don't be surprised if you find yourself at least moderately entertained by what EA Canada has put together. However, at least part of the enjoyment comes from the game's painfully wooden acting, which like a train wreck, begs to be watched in spite of the ensuing verbal carnage. Plus, it helps that the game is without question very easy on the eyes, as Carbon marks the return of Most Wanted's juxtaposition of shiny cars and live actors for a style that has become the new hallmark of Need for Speed.

Unfortunately, the game's presentation does take a hit in that it is portrayed entirely under the veil of night, meaning that the lovely dusk and early morning sunrises that punctuated Most Wanted are nowhere to be found here. In fact, the focus on night driving gives the game's presentation an almost depressing, dull quality that was otherwise absent from the series' previous entry. Sure, the moonlit backdrop may make sense in the face of the game's underground narrative, but that doesn't make it any more welcome. Interestingly, Carbon actually looks a little cleaner on the Xbox 360 as compared to the version for the PlayStation 3, especially concerning a number of the textures which look a bit dull on Sony's newest console. The PlayStation 3 is also sans the Xbox 360's photo mode (which allows you to stop the action in order to take a shot of your car from any angle), which while not back breaking, is still a bit odd.

And speaking of unwelcome, one of Carbon's most dubious additions is that of teammates, essentially wingmen drivers who attempt to watch your back in a given race. These additional drivers come in three distinct varieties - blockers, drafters and scouts - and each serve a different purpose in your pursuit of victory. Blockers are essentially your defense men, allowing you to single out enemies in a race and press Y to have them taken out. Drafters, on the other hand, specialize in letting you take advantage of the draft left in their wake when activated, giving you a boost of added speed. Scouts are the one type that do not need to activated, as they instead patrol the track and notify you of hidden shortcuts. Unfortunately, these teammates seldom are needed, and more often than not simply get in the way. Even blockers, certainly the most useful of the trio, are rarely necessary to succeed in the lion's share of the game's numerous challenges.

The crux of the game's single player campaign hinges on winning the respect of your former friends by racing through and securing ownership the game's various territories. The game's map is divided up into various areas, each controlled by rival racing gangs, and as races are won and lost, different gangs each exchange ownership of the various tracts of land. Of course, it is up to you to unify the territories under your own banner, and to do this you'll have to race through a number of challenges, and finally take down each gang's boss. These boss races are Carbon's one truly fantastic contribution to the racing genre, as the confrontations result in epic cat-and-mouse chases through dangerous canyon roads filled with pitfalls that can cut your racing career short. While the bulk of the game's racing can prove to be fairly easy over time, these gutsy encounters always up the ante with a welcome challenge.

Of course, taking the game online only adds to Carbon's appeal, as well as its shelf life. Unfortunately, this sort of fun is only available to players who have made the leap to the next-gen, as online play has been noticeably omitted from both the PlayStation 2 and Xbox versions of the game. One of the most fun online modes is the knockout mode, which like other racers sees the player in last place at the conclusion of each lap dropped from the race. However, the rub here is that instead of knocking out the lagging racer completely, he or she is transformed into a cop. It's pretty entertaining to see the lone racer during the last lap trying desperately to outmaneuver several newly reincarnated cops as they try to stop him or her from reaching the end. A few other online specific modes exist as well, and while the frame rate does drop a bit when several players are going at it on the same screen, overall online racing in Carbon is a fluid, entertaining affair.

All said, Need for Speed: Carbon is a fun game that continues to build upon EA's long running racing series. That said, it really is no better that what players were given in Most Wanted just a dozen months earlier. Far from being revolutionary, and just shy of even being considered an evolution of the series, Carbon exists in that dubious realm of being simply a largely unnecessary annual update. There's fun to be had, and those looking for yet another racing game have an option in what EA has put together here, just don't expect to be floored by what is essentially just a rehashing of ideas we've all seen before.

Score: 83%

Nov 25, 2006 | 0 comments
Jason Dobson