Scores:
Graphics: 80 / 100
Audio: 60 / 100
Gameplay: 90 / 100
Replay: 75 / 100
Overall: 80 / 100
Customization, replay, and Open End gameplay
Low:
Some control schemes SUCK, as does the music.
The shrill peeling of tires on asphalt at 123 MPH. The thrill of NOS on the outside of a turn. Even falling headfirst of a mountain, all things that you are never going to experience in real life. Yeah that's right, unless you are a real underground racer with a near unlimited budget, Need for Speed: Carbon is the closest thing you're going to get to the real deal. Be thankful though, as sitting in your underwear in your mother's basement is a lot safer than what your on screen avatar is going through.
NFS:Carbon, or just Carbon, is the best racing experience yet on the Wii. That's not saying much, as we haven't really had a solid racing game for the newest Nintendo console, that is, until now.
Carbon is just what you expect from the NFS series, and that's a good thing. We're used to fast races, being pursued by the local police and customizing you car, but Carbon does all three so well, and adding in a cruise mode really helps. This new mode allows you to free roam among the open-ended style of races, and lets you select your next race, with different styles like drift, which is really hard, sprint, and a few others.
Speaking of drifting, that is the hardest aspect of the game. I don't think it's natural for these cars to be able to move like this, I am sure the manufacturer's never intended for your car to fishtail from end to end for 10 minutes at a time. Besides being difficult, this mode is simply just annoying, but thankfully you don't have to complete many of these if you are good at the races, and damn it, I am pretty darn good at the races.
The game's customization is where it really shines. I don't understand the idea of unlocking vinyls and certain paint jobs, so I stuck with a pretty simple scheme, but the game teases you with tons of cool looking options. Performance was totally customizable as well, and there were too many options for me to study, but I did pretty well. This game goes even beyond that, with an open-ended system you can view the car lot at any time and buy MORE cars from a plethora of manufacturer's.
There are some confusing parts of this game. I never could get the performance options to work well on my second car, and I don't know why, although I suppose the manual might help, my rented copy was missing this.
The graphics, usually very understated on the Wii Console, were very crisp and clean, but only slightly better looking than the Gamecube game a few years back. The speed animations really work, and the slight shake you see, and feel, works great on the system. Overall you won't be disappointed unless you are a total graphics-whore, and if you are, I don't think you own a Wii anyway.
One last note about this game, the control scheme is whacked. They tell you when you first turn the game on that you need the nunchuk to control your car, which isn't entirely true. You can actually play the entire game, although you won't get far, with JUST the Wii-mote, tilting it side to side and using the A button for gas. This leaves MUCH to be desired however, since it's either all gas or none, and tilting the controller is tough controlling a monkey in a ball in Super Monkey Ball, let alone a fine piece of foreign engineering in one of these souped up cars.
I preferred to use method 5, and thank God this game had so many options, where the nunchuk was used to steer, and the Wii-mote as a pseudo gas pedal, giving twice as much control as the other way. For fun, claim you only have one nunchuk, and play against a friend and let him use only the Wii-Mote. No doubt you'll win everytime.
All in all, I give this one a solid 8 out of 10, or 4 out of 5, whatever makes you feel better at night. This is one with great repeat value, so it gets bonus points for that, and should be in any Wii owners library.
Gripping the steering wheel, cursing when you miss a turn, and painting your car to look like a red and black tiger? Yeah right man, we all know you still drive your parents mini-van. Get this game instead, save yourself a lot of cash'¦ but earn none of the chicks.
Tags: CARBON EA For Need Racing Speed: Sports Underground
