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Need for Speed Carbon
Generally favorable reviews
Based on 12 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 7 votes
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Game Info
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: EA Black Box
Genre(s): Racing, Driving
Players: 2
ESRB Rating: E10+ (Everyone 10 and Older)
Release Date: October 31, 2006
Summary
What starts in the city is settled in the canyons as Need for Speed Carbon immerses you into the world's most dangerous and adrenaline-filled form of street racing. You and your crew must race in an all-out war for the city, risking everything to take over your rivals' neighborhoods one block at a time. As the police turn up the heat, the battle ultimately shifts to Carbon Canyon, where territories and reputations can be lost on every perilous curve. Need for Speed Carbon delivers the next generation of customization giving you the power to design and tweak your crew's cars in every way using the ground-breaking new Autosculpt technology. Represent your car class, your crew, and your turf in Need for Speed Carbon, the next revolution in racing games. [Electronic Arts]
Also On Metacritic
GAMES: Need for Speed Most Wanted Need for Speed Underground Need for Speed Underground 2 Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit 2
Cheat Codes & Hints: Cheat Code Central GameSpot Hints & Cheats
Also On The Web: Official Website
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Cheat Code Central
The Canyon Duel and the returning Drift Race, which has been absent in recent years, are both exciting and engaging additions to the already impressive list of race types carried over from "Most Wanted."
Read Full Review >IGN
Need For Speed Carbon isn't a revolutionary game and it's far from a stinker. Instead, it's what EA does best: It creates pretty good games with lots of features.
Read Full Review >Game Informer
It’s one thing for the current-gen versions of this game to be not as visually compelling (such as the sense of speed not being as good), but it’s unfortunate that you only race against three other cars during typical challenges.
Read Full Review >Nintendo Power
You may think the Fast and the Furious scene is on its way out, but Need for Speed: Carbon assures you it's still fueling up. [Jan. 2007, p.106]
1UP
It refines previous ideas but lacks that big "wow" factor we've seen in the past. It's thoroughly, thoroughly competent and shouldn't be overlooked, but it really is "Need for Speed Again."
Read Full Review >GameSpot
Even though the wingman mechanics and canyon races don't quite pan out, it's still a stylish and enjoyable street racer.
Read Full Review >NGamer UK
It's still not meaty enough but Carbon throws some interesting new ideas at the series, adding breadth to a simple, easy but enjoyable racing experience. [Dec 2006, p.52]
Gamer 2.0
A solid racing game. It might have a few rough edges and frustrating spots, but overall it’s a fun game.
Read Full Review >Jolt Online Gaming UK
What the series needs is not useless gimmicks and badly rehashed game mechanics, but good, old-fashioned racing fun. We don’t need customisable bells and whistles; what gamers really want is a Need for Speed that uses its strengths, and doesn’t try to shoe-horn in its weaknesses for the sake of bullet points on a press release.
Read Full Review >GameBrink
A great addition to the series for fans and probably a decent rental for most. While things have been upgraded and new elements added on, it’s still NFS and it still gets repetitive and boring after a while. It’s like EA’s "Madden" of racing.
Read Full Review >GameSpy
While not all of the new additions to the series work completely -- the wingman concept is interesting, but could use some tweaking -- there are enough new ideas here to make the game feel fresh and show why NFS remains one of the top racing franchises for the system.
Read Full Review >Nintendojo
It's hard to say that EA is giving GameCube owners a favor with Carbon, they are a business after all, but it probably doesn't hurt.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this game is 7.8 (out of 10) based on 7 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Michael M. gave it a10:
This is one of the best need for speed games ever invented.
