Need for Speed Carbon is a great street racer that'll keep you occupied for hours on end.
Graphics: 9
Sure, this ain't next-gen, but who cares? The graphics in this game are truly sapping out as much graphical prowess the Xbox can give, and that's a good thing. The cars look absolutely beautiful, the environments are dark, gloomy, and at the same time, welcoming. Even onlookers and race starters look great, although some uneven textures here and there prevent the game from looking truly amazing.
Sound: 9
A mainly underground soundtrack for one of the most renown franchises in racing that isn't named Gran Turismo? Hell yeah! But people like Pharrell, Lady Sovereign, and Wolfmother add a little mainstream to it all. The underground stuff alone is worth a listen. The cars sound great, but the ambeince and the voice acting could use a little work. Not much, mind you, but a little.
Gameplay: 9
Who needs a storyline? Well, the one in Carbon is actually pretty interesting. The guys and girls at EA have taken turf wars to another level, using cars and races as the means of control. Here's a quick overview of the storyline:
You're fresh off your dominance of Rockport and on your way back to Carbon City. But guess who's back? Cross! And he's got an even bigger chip on his shoulder and an even bigger score to settle with you. After a little controversy settles in that involves stolen money, you meet your ex-girlfriend, Nikki, who drives an AWESOME Ford GT.
You also meet your first crew member, Neville. Despite his physical looks, he's a deceiver - not only is his Mazda a good car, he's a good driver. Neville's a Blocker - he defends your position by taking out the other drivers for you. There are also Scouters, which go ahead of the pack to spot shortcuts for you, and Drafters, who let you draft them so the both of you can reach the front of the pack with ease.
The game actually plays very well. The cars aren't as hard to control out of the starting gate as they were in Most Wanted(with the exception of the Muscle cars). The new Wingman feature is easy to use - when it shows that you can use your Wingman's ability, press Y(or whatever the "Activate Wingman" button is for you - after all, there are 10 different control configurations). If it's a Scout, you'll notice two small trails of light emitting out of the back of their car. If it's a Drafter, their draft lines will be highlighted purple. If it's a Blocker, they'll simply go to work kicking ass.
The gameplay's difficulty, however, is another story, and why this ranks a 9. At first, the game will be relatively easy, but not so easy that it isn't fun. After the Bushido are defeated, though, the difficulty is cranked up. You better be prepared to race fast and hard, and you better have a fast car to do it with. Thankfully, you'll have plenty of cash on hand to buy all the performance parts you need.
The new drift-race mechanics are amazing and make drifting the single-best game mode there. Not only are there circuit drifting tracks, there are also downhill drifting tracks with DESTRUCTIBLE OUTER BARRIERS. Which means if your drifts are too far out to the outside of the track, you'll be plummeting sideways to your carnageous doom. Still, drifting in the game is just plain fun and will be the highlight of any party.
Overall, the gameplay is great. Customization is amazing thanks to the inclusion of the Autosculpt system, which allows you to tune every aspect of your car's appearance. And with a plethora of cars to choose from, the possibilities are almost endless.
Replay Value: 8
For the original Xbox version, the crippler is no Xbox Live - it's only on 360. What a rip-off, eh? Thankfully, the Reward Card system, Autosculpting all the cars, and split-screen multiplayer, not to mention the Challenge Series of races and what-not, will more than enough make up for it. There's plenty to do in this game.
Need for Speed Carbon is a very fun game to play, but the level of difficulty and absence of original Xbox-enabled online bring this game down from complete awesome-ness. Still, it's a blast to play and should at least be tried by those willing to do so.