Can we really improve a software from one year to another? If the case did not arise with Need For Speed: Underground 2 identical to the pixel near NFS: Underground, the transition was much more important with Need For Speed: Most Wanted, not because it was the first title next gen' of the series but thanks to the great return of the forces of order and sets bathed in autumnal lighting. This last point does not seem to have sufficiently pleased Electronic Arts, which shifts the hours of play of Need For Speed: Carbon and offers us night runs in order to accentuate a little more the effects of lights, reflections on cars and roads. However, the publisher wanted to register this title directly after NFS: Most Wanted from a scriptwriting point of view. Our anonymous pilot returns to his hometown of Canyon Carbon, thinking to save himself from the run-ins with the police he had in Portrock. If the cops drop the case at the city borders, our driver will stir up the past as he disembarks at Canyon Carbon.
His adventures on the asphalt have led him to make a lot of enemies and the few friends he has left can be counted on the fingers of one hand. Among them, there is the beautiful Emmanuel Vaugier (Nikki) who lost her charm after her appearance in the film The House of The Dead 2. But that is not the debate. The short-skirted miss offers her from the outset to choose a car to replace her dented BMW M3. Exotic, Tuning or Muscle, the choice is important because each category of car has its qualities and its defects. Exemplary handling, bewildering top speed or controlled skids, you will have to decide. However, this selection will not affect the rest of the game because you can buy any Exotic, Tuning or Muscle car at any time.
Three is better!
The helping hand from Nikki, your ex-girlfriend, is an opportunity to discover the new intricacies of the game implemented in Need For Speed: Carbon. No more solo races, now you can recruit an entire team to support you during the challenges. There are three classes of teammates that you will hire. The first are the Blockers. As their name suggests, their job is to hinder the good behavior of your competitors in order to leave you the free field or to delay their progress thanks to sneaky block passings. The second category of gusses is Aspiros. Here, a car sticks in front of you, giving you the benefit of its suction. If at first glance, you do not have the impression that staying behind the blue beam of your colleagues makes you gain speed, you quickly notice that this technique proves to be crucial when you are faced with opponents reassembled and to their boosted cars. The third and last category of pilots is on the side of the scouts. Their taff is to show you the road to follow to sow your opponents by using shortcuts and the best trajectories possible.
Do not forget that all the members of your team, whose logo you will have renamed and modified beforehand, offer driving bonuses. From simply earning extra money to unlockable accessories to reducing the rate of police surveillance, it's up to you to make the right choice. If the Aspiros, Blockers and Scouts are particularly effective, they are not always available to you. It will be necessary to fill a team gauge before requesting their help by pressing Y. Once activated, it will decrease over time so a colleague who brings up the rear will lose precious seconds getting up the peloton before being able to use his charms. However, you can disable its help at any time. If they are super efficient in the race, they can be destabilizing. Thus a blocker will not hesitate to cut you under the nose to send your opponent flying or an Aspiro will brake in front of you when the gauge is empty causing you to lose your gained speed. Concerns therefore which unfortunately have their consequences on the race.
On track !
This case only arises during multiplayer runs, because in addition to sprints and circuits, Need For Speed: Carbon offers a wide variety of challenges. In addition to the very classic Time Trial and Drift, with for the latter a slightly disappointing ride, Electronic Arts has added the "Radar Race" mode. No need to draw it for you. The principle is to pass as quickly as possible in front of speed cameras in order to obtain the best cumulative speed at the end. But the biggest novelty of this episode is undoubtedly the "Canyon" races borrowed from The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift, the movie. There are four kinds and in all cases, an exit from the road and it's the guaranteed "Game Over". Better to have a perfect trajectory so as not to end up in the background. The easiest way to become familiar with this challenge is the Time Trial where you are alone to descend the slope. Descending the canyon alone is also part of the "Drift Canyon" mode where you must total as many points as possible by skidding in the turns and doubling your score thanks to your maximum speed or bonus zones. Next comes the classic "Canyon Race" with three opponents to race against. But the pinnacle is reached when you have to challenge an opponent in "Duel Canyon" mode. This test is played in two stages. First, you chase a driver and earn points by staying as close to their rear bumper as possible. Even better, if you manage to overtake it for a certain amount of time, you will automatically win the race before crossing the finish line. The second round is the opposite. This time, it is you who must drive as fast as possible in order to sow your pursuer. Whoever has the most points at the end of the round wins the game. But do not forget that any exit from the road is final.
Dumbass !
This canyon challenge is the culmination of Need For Speed: Carbon's "Career" mode. Like the previous opus, you will be entitled to the same staging with actors embedded in the game's graphic engine. We like it, or we don't like it. But all this little world is agitated in order to set up a gang war which divides Canyon Carbon. It's very fashionable lately and Electronic Arts is not going to deprive itself. By opening the "Exploration" menu, you will notice that the city is divided into zones, themselves colored in different ways. This is how you can watch the control of the territories of the different bands. To reverse the trend, you will have to win as many races as possible before a boss's ears get hot and he comes in person to challenge you in the canyon. Said like that, it sounds simple but there is one thing that we tend to forget: the police. As with Need For Speed: Most Wanted, law enforcement will interfere with your trials while you haven't crossed the finish line yet. Worse still, after winning or losing an event, the cops will chase you until you can get out of it.
And therein lies the difficulty of the challenge. The police follow you on the trail, round up teammates, crisscross the city and increase in aggressiveness so much so that the chases can last very long minutes before finding a way to flee. To do so, all means are good. You can use super control (X) which slows down the action and improves your driving for a moment. You also have the right to rush into certain destructible decorations which will form dams and when the gauge at the top of the screen switches from "Arrest / Evasion" to "Out of Range", you will have to make yourself very small and find hideouts where to hide. But the least we can say is that these situations last much longer than the races themselves and give Need For Speed: Carbon a little intensive side. This option is also available in multiplayer mode, fun!
iTunes
The big part of Need For Speed: Carbon is undoubtedly the car customization option. As usual, the developers of EA Black Box have worked to make the software even more complete than Need For Speed: Underground, Need For Speed: Underground 2 and Need For Speed: Most Wanted. From the bodywork to the engine, including the windows, the rims, the wheels, the paint or the exhaust, everything is customizable to make your car unique. But the tuning gains in depth thanks to Autosculpt technology for an unprecedented rendering. This option allows you to modify the different parts of your car as you see fit. Tilt, reduce, widen, move, all the parts are moldable and you can even add several layers of vinyl so that your box has a real personality. Nothing prevents you from putting flaming on the tribal and adding the logos of the manufacturers or a few numbers here or there. The only limit is your imagination. On the contrary, modifications to the engine, transmission, brakes, turbo or nitro will affect how your car reacts. It's up to you whether you prefer sudden acceleration, improved top speed, a car that hunts in the turns or sticks to the pavement. And inevitably after spending hours in your garage, driving changes between two visits to the mechanic.
But that doesn't prevent a few minor driving annoyances such as slightly heavy cars and especially objects that get stuck in front of your hood and drastically reduce your speed. No matter how much you do, you will have to wait for the trash can, the post or the road sign to clear your field of vision before regaining your acceleration. Now from a technical point of view, Need For Speed: Carbon is rather pretty without surprising us. If the graphics engine has gained in effects since Need For Speed: Most Wanted, the developers are making the task a little too easy by using and abusing the blur effect to simulate the feeling of speed. It works, but it gets boring after a while. But the game's first problem is its frame-rate concerns, which as always play their part and slow down the action for a few seconds before the whole thing regains its cruising speed.
