NFS Carbon: PC Review

NFS Carbon: PC Review

Navneet Prakash, Nov 13, 2006 1700 hrs IST

Don't just listen what your friends have to say about NFS Carbon; try it yourself. As for my take on the same, read on.

Innovative gameplay, Good presentation, Unlimited customizations, Great soundtracks.

Can get monotonous, Canyon duels can be frustrating, Really bad acting in the FMV sequences, Resource hungry.

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Gameplay

At the start of the game, you are asked to choose a car. You have three options; Muscle, Tuner, or Exoctic. Each car type has its own advantages and disadvantages. You have to select according to your preference.

We all loved "NFS: Most Wanted", it was an absolute delight to play. Well, luckily there are some common elements in this game as well. Like for example, the cop chases are somewhat similar to the original, down to the soundtrack. There are similar obstacles and Pursuit breakers. Similar ways to evade the cops, including the big trucks carrying logs, which you can hit to stop the cops. The cops, I might add, are not as abundant as NFS: MW, you would have wanted them to be, but they aren't.

But that's not the core gameplay, those are just elements similar to NFS: MW that help shape the full game. The real skill comes in the form of handling your car while driving around the canyons. That's where the real skill comes into picture; this isn't your regular NFS. Most of the race types are the traditional ones like Sprint, Drift, Checkpoint, and so on.

But this time around, many of the races revolve around canyons, like Drift for example. Not only do you have to make sure that you don't hit the walls and lose points, you will also have to avoid going downhill. This isn't as easy as collecting bounty and challenging rivals and wining their cars. Here, you have to win a duel against a rival in a canyon, and believe me that isn't easy at all. The race type is called Canyon Race and it's a two part race. It involves keeping minimum distance from the opponent while you follow him and keeping maximum distance when you are being followed. It's more intense than your regular races, but can get monotonous after a little while.

Well, the truly unique factor here is the crew and crew management. This time around while racing, you will have an ally, racing besides you. This gang member will not only race with you, he will race for you.

There are three different types of crew members, the Drafters, the Blockers, and the Scouts. Each serves different purpose and is essential to win a race. The Blocker will dash and take a rival, who is ahead of you. The Drafter will race in front of you at full speed, creating a channel of minimum air flow, allowing you to draft behind him, and gain speed. The third is the Scout; he will take you through shorter routes and help you save time. At a given time, only one crew member can accompany you; so, you have to decide which one suits your need better.

The crew members are controlled by you, by that I mean, you control their actions. They are just like NOS, they will activate over time, and you have to decide when to use them. You have to be careful as you can't use them too soon. You can recruit new members and fire old ones; it has a Football Manager type feel to it.

Not only are the races different, there is much more detail in customization as well. The much talked-about Autosculpt feature is pretty cool. It allows you to further customize your car, down to the last detail. For example, when you select a particular hood, you can further customize it by adding more depth to it, or say you choose Rims for your car, you can change the rims as well. That allows you to have a truly unique car, something that can't be replicated. There are tons of upgrades as well, ranging from engine, tuning, and tires.

When you select a component for your car, you have to further enhance it. When you select tires, you have to select if you want to add more Drfit or Grip to the tires. You will also have to choose RPM, torque for your car. Every last detail has been looked upon.

The problem with all this is that there is just too much put together. I mean change is good, but then it has to be gradual. But as I said earlier, it's a very subjective issue; I personally felt that the game is well-balanced.