Hitting every gaming console this holiday season is the highly-anticipated Need For Speed: Carbon from EA games. A new city, new tracks, and dozens of cars are what keeps this series alive and exciting.
Once the game is loaded, it's time to choose a car from one of three classes: Tuner, American Muscle, or Exotic. The game is packed with over 50 cars, each built with new physics so they all handle and function realistically. Need for Speed: Carbon also features the hot new "Autosculpt" feature that lets gamers design and transform their vehicles into the ultimate dream car.
Despite the coolness of the Autosculpt feature, the best new addition to the game is the ability to build the perfect racing crew. This is not to just add numbers to the team roster, but actual skilled racers with their own jobs can help even out the odds of landing you in the winner's circle. If other racers are getting in the way of victory, call out the "Blocker" to create the perfect distraction or even slow down opponents. For those tight races where first place is not certain, have your Scout roll on in and lead you to the short cuts on the track, and then punch it to the number one spot. Having an expert team member in the garage to outfit and tune race vehicles is also a great advantage on the tracks.
After building the race team, it's time to go out and take over the city, one neighborhood at a time. This takes not only excellent driving, but good overall strategy to find the best ways to dominate the scene. To gain final control over a city block, gamers must race the rival team leader, not on the familiar city streets, but right outside the city on the dark, winding roads of Carbon Canyon. It's here where team leaders can go head-to-head in the Canyon Duel, or really get on it with the new Drift mode. Gamers need steady nerve and a tight combo of skill and speed, because one wrong move and it's all over. Pick your team wisely, and then don't be afraid to go for it and drive all out for the top spot and collect your prizes.
Hot: Active race team members canyon racing, autosculpt feature
Not: Newbies could be shut out early on
Rating: 4 / 5