I have been playing the Need for Speed series since NFS: Hot Pursuit and I honestly believe that this is one of, if not the best of the Need for Speed series of games from EA Games. The demo of the game seems a bit lacking. One can only choose from among three cars, one from each of the categories available (Tuner, Exotic and Muscle) and can only race on three tracks (drift, race and canyon) but from what I saw in the demo and the various videos and screen shots that EA has released, the game is a strong contender for racing game of the year, IMHO. First the cars and the new way to customize known as autosculpt. This feature allows one to completely customize ones ride in various combinations allowing for not only thousands of combinations and customizations, but for hours spent on getting ones car to look "just right". This feature alone is a great departure from the previous NFS series games, where body parts were all "pre-fabbed" and some didn't even look like they could belong to some of the cars that they could be applied to.
Speaking of looks, the graphics of the game rate I would say on par with any of the best FPS games out there currently. On my system I was able to run up the graphics to nearly max and I must say, I was impressed with what I say. Granted I did not get quite XBOX 360 level graphics, but I was impressed with how scalable the games graphics engine was. The in game physics seemed at times to be a bit "off" almost arcade like at times, but this is nearly to be expected with a NFS series game. Which is why that aspect did not bother me in my gameplay. Of the three test cars in the demo, the obvious real life heaviest car, the muscle class Camaro SS was able to be whipped around the drift track and course like it weighed in game the same as the more nimble Exotic class Murcialgo and almost as agile as the Tuner class EVO.
In all I believe, IMHO, that NFS Carbon will be the top PC racing sim game of 2006. I can't wait to see what EA has up there sleeves for next time.
From the first Need for Speed, gamers were seduced by the idea of driving exotic cars at high speeds without dealing with the speed limits of real roads. Over the years, the concept hasn't changed much. The third install... Read Full Review
Since I'm a huge fan of the NFS Series, I went out and got this on day 1. This game is a total disappointment, first things first... the graphics are great and all, but what the heck happened to the realism? The cars tur... Read Full Review
