Another desolate creature who somehow manages to exist in this world, but fails to stay in the hunt....
Another desolate creature who somehow manages to exist in this world, but fails to stay in the hunt. (Net has gone horribly slow these days, so may not be able to be too active around here)
Member since:06.05.2007
Reviews:44
Members who trust:18
Need For Speed series has been something which I never dared to miss. My desire was to write on Most Wanted, but there didn't exist a topic for the PC version. I had been taking the NFS challenges on right from the beginning, and it has now reached Carbon, and the street racing of the previous series continues in this one. NFS Most Wanted is still prefered by me over all the other available titles, and Carbon just gives me a chance to have a race at the night. But for everything else, I prefer Most Wanted. As we have seen throughout the history of NFS, almost all the titles have lived upto the hype, and so has Carbon, but for the first time, NFS asks for an external graphics card.
REQUIREMENTS Windows XP/2000 Intel Pentium 4 1.7GHz or higher 64MB DirectX 9.0c compatible video card NVIDIA Geforce4 Ti/ATI Radeon 8500 or higher Supported chipsets required 512MB RAM DirectX compatible sound card 5.3 GB of HD space 8X or faster DVD Drive Keyboard and Mouse
ANOTHER ONE FROM EA Here comes Electronic Arts with another NFS game. Once again, you will have to race to gain fame and cash as well as to own a number of territories which are controlled by a number of rival gangs. These territories can be won by winning a number of races, but these gangs may challenge you
again to win those territories back. There will also be boss battles, where you are to go against the leader of the gang to gain control of that territory completely. Just like the other NFS games, the rules are simple, race and win.
The new addition to the game is that you will be able to appoint some crew members in the game for some cash. But you will be able to use only one of them in each of the races. They will help you throughout the game, in finding shortcuts to win the game and blocking your opponents. Another option is Drafting in which they can help you to speed up by following them. But they will be effective only upto an extent, and you will have to manage the rest of the race all by yourself and your nitros. But still Carbon is not that hard a game, as long as there is no confusion created by these crew members.
SOME GOOD AND BAD NEWS The good news for the NFS gamers will be the return of the Drift racing which was missing from Most Wanted. This was the one reason which could have rated that one lower. This mode of racing involves sliding with the car without hitting the walls to gain points. The one with the most points after a certain number of laps, will be the winner. This was one of my favourite game modes, and my least favourite game mode will be the latest adition to the game, called Canyon racing.
These Canyon races can result in sudden endings because of the regular crashes down the canyon. It involves the player following the opponent first without falling behind, and then vice versa, and consider the points scored by keeping close to the leading vehicle. But if the following vehicle manages to overtake the leader it will result in an instant win for the overtaker, or instant win for the leader if the following vehicle falls too far behind.
The Drag race is eliminated from this version, even after so much success in the previous versions, and it was one game mode which required lots of concentration, and perfect timing for those shifting of the gears. I wonder if any other mode can be as quick and as interesting as this one had been in Most Wanted. But Carbon has managed to have a number of game modes of previous versions here, and they haven't undergone any evolution. Carbon has even taken over the speedbreaker effect to slow down the action from its predecessor, but I don't think that the option fits a racing game much.
The Circuit racing which involves racing for a number of laps, and Sprint which involves racing frrom a point to another point, are the two simplest of game modes. There is also the checkpoint mode to go through a number of checkpoints in a certain amount of time. The speedtrap involves being the fastest at certain points, but your score will be reduced if you are too slow to finish. Race Wars is another type of Circuit races to take part in this version. There are the cops after you almost all the time, and your chance to get busted comes again.
A FEW MORE TO ADD The car customization still exists in the game with the factors like engine, transmission, suspension, tires etc, and there are some of the most stylish cars to choose from, and to modify them. The unlocking of cars is considerably slow though. The use of police cars, SUVs and trucks to race from the quick race menu is quite interesting. As there is still no damage factor added, the user can just keep modifying and no repair. All the statistics will be stored this time, and the wins and losses record is always kept in the game to be accessed from the menu. This means that winning has just become more essential in the game to keep some better records.
The actor models used in the game remains impressive. This makes some good cutscenes through out the game, but I hate having too many flashbacks. They have changed the lead girl once again, but I prefered the previous one all the time. The graphics of the game is fantastic as one would expect, but in this case too, I prefer Most Wanted. The dark environment of the game doesn't make the game better, and there will be some areas where you won't be able to see the road clearly. This can be quite frustrating in those Canyon races, where one wrong move can end the game. The night factor makes this one look like racing at night in Most Wanted. The soundtracks are rocking and so are those sound effects.
Carbon is a very exciting way to spend your leisure time, but the game really lacks innovation. There is not much variation from Most Wanted, and the people who buy a new graphics card just for this game, will be disappointed. The game does keep the gamer engaged, but mose patience will be needed, and be prepared for the experience of driving in the darkness. I am rather confued if I should be recommending this game, but the NFS fans won't be able to avoid this one. Anyways, here is another game which could have been much better, and I am hoping for a big evolution in the NFS series next time. But I have managed to take some better screenshots from the game this time.
THANKS FOR DROPPING BY :-)
Pictures of Need for Speed: Carbon (PC)
Carbon1
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Advantages: Novel twists on some racing genres (if you haven't played NFS Most Wanted), good to unwind, decent soundtrack Disadvantages: Can be frustrating, you need a decent machine to really enjoy it, gets samey after a while
Advantages: cool music, graphics, effects, tunable cars, many modes and race type, user friendly Disadvantages: simple line of story, rapid map of another NFS, rather difficult to gain money.
Advantages: cool music, graphics, effects, tunable cars, many modes and race type, user friendly Disadvantages: simple line of story, rapid map of another NFS, rather difficult to gain money.
Advantages: Novel twists on some racing genres (if you haven't played NFS Most Wanted), good to unwind, decent soundtrack Disadvantages: Can be frustrating, you need a decent machine to really enjoy it, gets samey after a while
very helpful by (100%):
