PSP World

Need for Speed Carbon: Own the City

Another year, another Need for Speed and with EA claiming the number one Christmas spot for the past three years with this franchise, there's little doubt that they are confident that this will do the same. The game itself was originally developed by Distinctive Software of Canada in 1994 which was later acquired by EA who have certainly embraced the series producing over a dozen versions in little over a decade. What separates this from other racing games has always been surrounded with great debate is gaming circles and the question has to be asked 'will Carbon be EA's fourth number one?'

In order to shake thing up a little Carbon, or to give it its full title 'Own the City' actually has a plot and, while this tends to be a complete waste of time for your average shooter, it does actually have some connection with the gameplay here. Your main objective is to discover what happened to your brother who used to race for the Lucky 7 crew. Since his untimely death other crews have occupied various territories and it's up to you to win them back and get to the truth about your brother. You will find that the majority of the city is off limits to begin with. This is mostly connected to the game’s learning curve as the locked areas demand more powerful cars and greater driving skills all of which you'll acquire during the game. Once you enter an area you have to complete a given number of challenges before you can even meet the crew's leader and these range from a simple 'A to B' sprint to a Chase HQ inspired 'Takedown'. The nice thing here is that you can select the event you are strongest in and the order you wish to attack them.

In addition to this new 'Own the City' feature you'll also have the aid of a variety of 'wingmen' who can be called upon when you are losing sight of pole position. How useful they are varies however and while you can select two they are not available for all challenges. Our favorite was definitely the 'Brawler' who would simply take out your opposition by ramming them off the track but there were other, more subtle ones, available. A ‘Drafter’, for example, would appear out of nowhere and allow you to ride in their slipstream and so gain a much-needed boost whilst others would give a less significant and occasionally non-existent helping hand. The other major update here is the ability to 'free Roam' but as your only objective is to 'discover' secret boxes, outrun the rather dumb police or avoid the non-existent traffic this really is one for the Sunday driver. A multiplayer is also available, as is an online mode which EA almost destroy once again as you need to logon to their network with the useless virtual keyboard. Have they seen Outrun?

One thing most petrol heads are concerned about is the control system and, as with the gameplay, little has changed here with the cars’ physics still heavily leaning towards the arcade side of things. Once you've embraced this (and the now standard 'drift' technique) then you are likely to have a great deal of success regardless of which car you select. I mention this because the type of car you select makes no difference to the handling. The cars increase in speed and nitros available, thanks to the readily available upgrades, but they all still handle the same regardless of their size.

Unlike the previous outing the developers have opted for a less realistic style of visuals in the main game which is no doubt intended to complement the comic-book cut screens which are well designed and push the story along nicely. The racing area itself is vast and there is some notable change in the landscape between the various areas as opposed to the mindless repetition that plagues some racing games. The cars too have been well designed and small things such as the reflections, of passing lights on the roofs or smoke bellowing from the engines as you attempt to 'take them down' are nice touches.

As usual with a high profile EA title we are treated to their 'Trax' catalogue but unusually there are some 'oldies', some of which have two decades or so on the Rap tracks they sit alongside. If you don't happen to enjoy any of these though and you prefer to drive to your own soundtrack you can now load your tunes on the memory stick for use during the game. Everything else is present and correct from the various car noises and some voice over work from the various crews but the ability to play to your own soundtrack is definitely a feature which will appear in future Need for Speed releases.

In truth there's little new in this latest outing for the franchise but, if you enjoy racing around a well-designed city at breakneck speeds, that's no bad thing. The only real additions are the 'open city' mode and the inclusion of 'wingmen' to aid you in some of the more difficult races but that's it. You could argue that, with three consecutive number ones under their belt, EA had little incentive to alter the gameplay too much but for anyone who's bought the first three that's just what you'll be looking for in Carbon. Despite this, it is still a hugely enjoyable racer and it has got that 'just one more go' quality as you attempt to take over another territory. Like many others I was disappointed with Most Wanted abut Carbon is certainly on a par with the PSP version of Burnout and for that reason alone it's well worth a look.