Articles
By Spud Gun
Published: Mar. 18, 2007 2:59 PM
The Need for Speed series has its name carved in the echelons of gaming folk lore, and Need for Speed Carbon is the EA’s latest iteration in the series. So is this a vehicle that will make heads turn for all the right reasons?
All the action takes place in Palmont City, and it seems that you have a history there and have an uphill struggle to win back respect that you somehow lost while learning about why you left the city when you did. The premise for Need for Speed Carbon differs from its ‘Most Wanted’ predecessors police notoriety, you simply win races to win territory and money. With money you can buy new cars and upgrade existing ones to challenge other territories that have greater reward and progressively greater levels of difficulty. Territories are divided into zones, with gangs owning race locations within each zone. As you win a race, you displace a gang from that location of the zone and replace it with your own. If you win the majority of races in a given zone then you capture it. Likewise, you must also protect your zone from gangs that challenge you for territory. Should you choose to ignore the challenge (which you have the option to do) then the competing gang are awarded the race, and the location. Accept the challenge and win and you retain ownership.
A gang of one person is quite a sad thing, so you do get the opportunity to build up a gang of your own which occurs as you defeat other gangs. Crew members have unique skills and racing styles, and you can take a member of your crew into circuit races with you and by pressing the ‘Y’ button, call upon their services. In a race your wing man (or woman) has 1 of 3 roles, which are blocker, drafter or scout. A blocker shunts cars out of your way, a drafter allows you to draft them to gain extra speed and a scout will highlight shortcuts that you can use to gain valuable time and places. With the use of a wingman, tactics will be employed in the planning who you will use and when you use them as the in game pitch is that it can make the difference between winning and losing. In reality you will find that you will more often than not just race, old school, and not bother calling on your wing man as that can prove to be more of a distraction than anything else on certain circuits. As you progress through the single player campaign, you recruit more members to your gang. These same crew members also have skills that can help in the safe house. Mechanics can get discounts on parts while Fabricators can acquire unique autosculpt parts.
In NFSC, all cars are divided into 3 categories, exotic, turner and muscle. The purpose of each is self evident, and the handling changes from car type accordingly, and there is a plethora of licensed, real world cars that fall into each category for you to acquire. New cars can be bought with race winnings, and you can also upgrade your existing car which is where a lot of fun lies in NFS as there is a host of cosmetic and performance upgrades available to make your car look, sound and perform to you liking which will please Forza fans greatly. As you win races, you unlock various kits and upgrades. All these can be purchased and installed at your safe house. The depth of the customisation aspect in the game is very rewarding. If you find the default body parts aren’t doing your car justice, then the autosculpt feature will allow you to fabricate your own via a slider system. That said, the navigation down into (and back out of) tweaking the minute details of your car can be a little frustrating as it isn’t very intuitive.
There are multiple race types in NFSC, namely point-to-point sprint, circuit, speed trap, and drift. The drift race which is very similar to the cone challenges in PGR3 (without the cones). It is something that takes a lot of getting used to as the drift is completely exaggerated as if trucks loaded with Vaseline and butter had a massive spillage on the track. It is disappointing that a car should handle completely differently from one race type to another, and it almost negates the performance modification process for these race types. Another race type is Pursuit. Different zones have different heat ratings depending on your level of race activity in that zone. If you are free roaming or in circuit race and you attract the attention of the law, the will pursue you throughout the race and after it as well. You get rewarded for the duration of the pursuit and the number of cars wrecked in the pursuit. The police presence in NFSC seems more incidental when compared to its predecessor. It makes it a different game as a result, that does not necessarily make it better. Canyon racing is the final race type and is encountered when challenging gang bosses. This involves a standard 1 on 1 street race that advances to a 2 part canyon race if you win. The canyon race involves you pursuing the gang boss as closely as possible (and ideally overtaking them), and then switching places for the second leg. You can also free roam and drive around Palmont City to check it out, though there isn’t a lot of motivation to do this as there is precious little to do unless you are in a race, running from cops or visiting a dealership.
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