Need For Speed Carbon

Written by Troy Matsumiya  on September 25, 2006

First Impressions: Do you feel the need?

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Like its predecessor, the Xbox 360 is shaping up to be the console for race lovers thanks to games like the exquisite Project Gotham Racing 3 and Need For Speed: Most Wanted. Things will only get even better with the highly anticipated Forza Motorsport 2, but first up will be the next edition in EA's hugely popular franchise, Need For Speed: Carbon.

While Most Wanted was basically a port from current gen consoles, Carbon is being built as a next gen game right from the start, so the cars and environments will look even better than before with enhanced detail, lighting, shadow and reflection effects. It also means enhanced gameplay and cool new customization features.

The story will pick up from Most Wanted, where you will play as a blacklisted racer who returns to the city to clear your name. As before, the story will play out in video cutscenes which are directed by the same person who did Most Wanted. Sultry Canadian actress Emmanuelle Vaugier (who played Lex Luthor's conniving wife Dr. Helen Bryce in Smallville and also stars as Mia on Two and a Half Men) is Carbon's cover girl and plays Nikki, the hero's ex.

Your goal will be to take over the huge free-roaming city by beating rival race crews and increasing your rep. The city is divided into four primary territories, each of which is further divided into four or five sub-territories. You will have to take over more than 50% of the sub-territories in order to challenge a primary territory's boss. However, similar to Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, your enemies will try to recapture lost territories so you will have to defend your Сhoods or lose them. Race modes will include the standard Street race along with the return of Drift racing and the new Canyon Duel.

Drift racing has been tweaked from Underground to make drifting both easier and more challenging. Vehicle handling has been improved to help you better perform controlled drifts, but the point system has been revised so that you will only be able to rack up points in real drift situations Ц in other words, by drifting through corners instead of fishtailing around in the straights. You can also earn big points by sliding into corners at high speeds, sliding out your rear as far as you can without losing control, and by compiling consecutive drifts.

The interesting new two-stage Canyon Duel will only be available when you race against bosses. In the first stage, you will start behind your opponent and must stay as close to him as possible; the closer you get, the more points you earn. Once the race is over, you start all over again but this time with you in front while your opponent tries to keep up with you. Your goal in this second stage is to keep your distance since you will lose points the closer he gets. The racer with the most points at the end of the two stages wins. You can also win by pulling ahead of the lead car for at least 10 seconds, building a huge lead, or by taking the gentleman's route and force your opponent off the road to plummet screaming down the canyon.

Trying to take over an entire city by yourself can be a daunting task since there will be over 80 tracks you will have to conquer, so the new Crew system will lend a helping hand. You will build your crew as you take over territories; in turn, they will provide you with useful skills both on and off the track. Crew types are broken down into Blockers, Drafters and Scouts and will race with you as supporting teammates against rival crews. Blockers are exactly that Ц they will block enemy cars from passing them (sort of like the idiots who drive under the speed limit in the fast lane). Drafters drive in front of you to give you a speed boost, while Scouts zip ahead to find shortcuts for you. Your crew also helps you increase various car customization attributes and influence how others interact with you, especially the police. Speaking of which, the police will be more tightly integrated into the story as opposed to Most Wanted's separate cop/non-cop modes.

Not only will you have to win territories, but also earn top ranks in each of the three new car classes. The Exotic class consists of the uber-expensive dream supercars; the Muscle class will have you driving classic big-block iron; and the Tuner class consists of the requisite pumped-up imports. Each car will handle with unique physics appropriate to their class, which will be important to keep in mind because enemy crews will race on circuits that favor their class Ц so muscle car circuits will be relatively straight while tuner courses will have lots of sharp turns. There will be over 50 licensed vehicles including many favorites returning from Most Wanted. Classic car enthusiasts will be especially pleased to see the inclusion of models like the 1967 Shelby GT500, 1969 Dodge Charger R/T, 1970 Chevelle SS 454 and 1970 Plymouth Hemi Barracuda.

Of course, street racing isn't just about going fast Ц it's also about looking good. The car customization options have been enhanced with 90,000 paint combinations and the new ability to place the 900 decals anywhere on the car, not just in specific areas. Naturally, various performance upgrades will also be available to help you build the ride of your dreams.

But perhaps the coolest new feature is the Auto-Sculpting tool. Similar to other EA games where you can create your own customized character, this tool lets you use sliders to morph and modify the size and shape of up to 10 sections of your car, allowing you to do things like change the depth and angle of spoilers and even adjust the number of spokes on your wheels. Cool! The effect is cosmetic only but there are hints that future editions may let you use this tool to affect your car's performance too.

All racing games are at their best when you're blowing the doors off of friends, and Carbon will be no different. Although not much information has been released about the multiplayer mode yet, we do know that you will be able to compete in head-to-head, Canyon Duels and Crew races over Xbox Live.