A new city, same awesome cutscenes, annoying Canyon Duels, and the regular deal you've come to expect from NFS.
+Great graphics
+Cutscenes are AWESOME, still.
+Racing is just as GOOD as it always was.
+A load of real cars with pretty good diversity.
+Lots of customization options
+Cross is back!
The Bad:
-No need for cop chases
-Canyon Duels are straight up annoying
-Racing is just as good at it ALWAYS was.
The Ugly:
*Who would build a city like this..
*I'm glad digital Auto Zone will supply me with all these parts.
*Cross has conrows.
*Story is cheesy (which isn't necessarily a bad thing)
*That weird blue haired japanese girl..
Need for Speed as been around for a WHILE now. The main premise has always remained the same. Street racing, with expensive cars.
Need for Speed:Carbon leaves where the last game left off. You are escaping the last city, where it is daytime, all the time, and coming back to the old city where it is night time, all the time. The game starts off as just about all story based Need for Speed games started off. You start off with an awesome car, something happens to it, you chose from a small selection of not awesome cars, and start from the bottom.
Carbon has you taking on a few rival gangs, and taking over their turf, by racing them. You have the typical Sprints, Circuits, Speedtraps, Time Trials, and Drifts. Missing is the Drag Racing and knockout races, which they decided to take out.
New to Carbon is the ability to have a crew, though only one of them races with you. They can help you out by knocking other cars out of the way, giving you a draft, telling you where shortcuts are, ETC. And if they win, you win too.
Of course you can buy or win a bunch of different cars, ranging from fords, to toyotas, to Aston Martins. Customize them any way you want, and upgrade them.
As you progress you take on a few bosses, by doing what is called a canyon duel. Canyon duels aren't really races at all. You gain points by following closer behind yoru opponent. the closer you are, the more points you gain. Then your opponent has his/her turn to closely follow you and if their points are higher than yours, you lose, and you have to start from the beginning. A little annoying, and not as exciting as they could be. But certinly memorable.
Need For Speed: Carbon is a good enough title to warrent a purchase. Plainly, if you like Need for Speed, you'll like this game. It's more of the same.