Need for Speed: Carbon

 PC
User Score
7.5

Generally favorable reviews- based on 561 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 320 out of 561
  2. Mixed: 200 out of 561
  3. Negative: 41 out of 561
Buy Now
Buy on

Review this game

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. nyeven
    Mar 30, 2020
    4
    What starts as a pleasant introduction to a sequel to Most Wanted, in the ends turns into an annoying experience due to lack of features and a huge difficulty spike in the last race.

    I'm a huge Need for Speed fan. I've been playing it since Play Station 1 times. I loved Underground, Underground 2 and I loved the resurrection of cop chases in Most Wanted. I went into Carbon believing    What starts as a pleasant introduction to a sequel to Most Wanted, in the ends turns into an annoying experience due to lack of features and a huge difficulty spike in the last race.

    I'm a huge Need for Speed fan. I've been playing it since Play Station 1 times. I loved Underground, Underground 2 and I loved the resurrection of cop chases in Most Wanted.

    I went into Carbon believing it'll be at least as great as Most Wanted. Boy was I wrong. The crew member feature sounds good on paper, but it's horrible in practice. Here's a list of stupid things in Carbon:

    - The game that's based on customization and tuning of cars has a freaking limit to how many cars can you own!
    - Scout crew members were utterly useless because they'd always try to be first, but if they were too fast that would be overpowered. So expect you'll ram into your scout throughout the whole race if you're using it.
    - Switching to Hal to be able to autosculpt is horrendously annoying. It's mindblowing that some dev actually thought that was a good idea...
    - The menu controls and layouts are quite different than Most Wanted but there's no tutorial at the beginning.
    - Once you get used to drift races, the game is piss easy until you arrive at the last race. Have fun grinding it over 100 times because the difficulty spike is humorously sadistic.
    - What's the point of zone information appearing if that zone is in my control!? Good luck running away from cops while zone information takes 50% of your UI space.
    - The most fun moments of the game are cop chases, but at the beginning you get a crew member whose passive ability is to lower the heat after every race... Utterly retarded game design.
    - The only time when I got spiked was when I used a Pursuit Breaker. The game would enter a cinematic where you could see the Breaker destroying cop cars, but your car would be autocontrolled over spikes... Great job devs!

    I had a decent time playing this game for the first 95% of the playthrough but then all the stupid **** piles up and the horribly difficult last race was the last straw for me.

    I'd recommend avoiding this game.    … Expand
  2. modimagic
    Dec 3, 2017
    5
    Playing Need For Speed: Carbon after Underground 2 and Most Wanted was an underwhelming experience. I did not have as much fun as was expected. Now that I have completed it, I will never play it again.

    The graphics were worse than Underground 2 and Most Wanted. Palmont city is presented as a dark and dull place. Underground 2 was so well lit and colourful. Everyone had great    Playing Need For Speed: Carbon after Underground 2 and Most Wanted was an underwhelming experience. I did not have as much fun as was expected. Now that I have completed it, I will never play it again.

    The graphics were worse than Underground 2 and Most Wanted.
    Palmont city is presented as a dark and dull place. Underground 2 was so well lit and colourful.

    Everyone had great expectations from this game. I believe NFS: Carbon could have been a great game if developers Black Box had been given proper time to complete it and not rushed for release.

    I can only wonder what could have been...    … Expand
  3. Macmillan
    Aug 28, 2011
    7
    i like the concept of canyon racing.the way ea has detailed car visuals is also good.the bad thing is races are way too easy n cop chases arnt nessescary.rivals are very few too bt i must say scenary of palmount is good bt ea dosent utilised it in a good manner.it is a good game.bt most wanted is a lord of racing.
  4. Govin_Lock
    Nov 28, 2013
    7
    The graphic is as good as PS2 game, Has team race, good cars and challenging canyon duel. But the story is too short, more lack feature of pursuit and too easy for winning a race.
  5. mclure
    Aug 23, 2014
    10
    I liked it, it is more modern than Underground and newer than Most Wanted 1 but it is all during the night with a continuation from where NFS MW left off.
  6. alexkowert
    Aug 31, 2014
    3
    This game is less than nothing! Graphic details are obviously lover than in Most Wanted (2005) but the game is newer, what´s wrong guys? It´s like the, damn, new year, we must present every year a new need for speed, lets sell dat ****. Save your money and keep playing underground 1-2 or most wanted, former days, better days for nfs...
  7. Marick
    Sep 22, 2014
    7
    Yeah. Need for Speed ​​Carbon is a little different than other series. He is trying to bring more story / action than other titles in the series. Unfortunately, the story is not so good. The thing I liked most is that the new mechanics introduced in the 4 "bosses".
  8. 09Ymmit07
    Apr 28, 2016
    10
    This game is absolutely a gem of a game. I started playing it when I was 7, and I still play it now. The graphics were great for it's time, and are still acceptable. The story is great, full of characters but just enough to remember. The cop chases are fun, with good AI. The escaped-busted bar system is one of the most innovative ideas in the racing series. The drifting is made very easy,This game is absolutely a gem of a game. I started playing it when I was 7, and I still play it now. The graphics were great for it's time, and are still acceptable. The story is great, full of characters but just enough to remember. The cop chases are fun, with good AI. The escaped-busted bar system is one of the most innovative ideas in the racing series. The drifting is made very easy, but still enjoyable. I also really liked the idea of capturing territories and racing against the 4 main bosses. The game is quite easy for standards nowadays but gets harder along the way. There is a good variety of cars and customization. You can edit the parts you put on your car with Autosculpt, which I also like because it is another way to make your car more personal. If you liked Most Wanted you will most likely like this too. The map is big enough and nicely distributed. This game is so good, I give it a 10/10. One of the best games out there on the market.… Expand
  9. caligula_king
    Oct 3, 2015
    3
    SOBREVALORADO , aburrido y esto de hacer carreras con equipos no me gusto nada . El peor de la saga . Solo me duro 2 semanas ( lo vendí por segunda mano ) .
  10. BreakingAwesome
    May 13, 2016
    10
    Самая лучшая классическая гонка когда-либо сделанных. Физика машин явно лучше, чем в Мост Вантед. Очень обширная прокачка и тюнинг автомобиля. Всё идеально!
  11. GreenSkullRider
    Jan 29, 2017
    10
    Este fue el juego final de la saga Underground de la Need For Speed, Wow que magistral juego para la época fue este Carbono, La sensación de velocidad y los gráficos fue increíble para cuando salio a la venta. La historia de lo mas cañera, La posibilidad de escoger a nuestros aliados con los pro y los contras que eso significa, Plantilla de vehículos excelente. La música como todos los deEste fue el juego final de la saga Underground de la Need For Speed, Wow que magistral juego para la época fue este Carbono, La sensación de velocidad y los gráficos fue increíble para cuando salio a la venta. La historia de lo mas cañera, La posibilidad de escoger a nuestros aliados con los pro y los contras que eso significa, Plantilla de vehículos excelente. La música como todos los de la saga sublime. Perfecto… Expand
  12. shoma-
    Apr 4, 2021
    8
    Хорошая игра, графика не режет глаз, карбон не затянутый, проходится быстро. Тюнинг хороший, физика аркадная и приятная
  13. TTWR
    Apr 20, 2013
    10
    This is one of the best Need for Speed Games out. The story is realistic, and it tightened loose ends from the previous game, such as the autosculpt feature. The online play is set up good, and the amount of cars for the PC version is great. 10/10.
  14. pukkenr1
    Jul 27, 2013
    2
    worst nfs street racing game ever this game for those who dont have any driving skills graphics pure gameplay boring car's customization menu sux game for 10 YO babys...
  15. Dee383
    Apr 27, 2011
    4
    I Bought This Thinking It Would Be As Good As Need For Speed Most Wanted ... But The Storyline Was Boring . Graphics Poor ,, Gameplay Poor ........
  16. Boretobrine
    Nov 15, 2015
    10
    whats with all the negative reviews? i honestly don't get it, not to sound like a fanboy or anything, but this game is pretty damn awesome. first of all, customization is really good, however they did remove neon lights, but oh well. the paint styles are awesome (the styles look better on pc, because candy actually looks like candy paint, and chrome is a lot more reflect-ant on pc) andwhats with all the negative reviews? i honestly don't get it, not to sound like a fanboy or anything, but this game is pretty damn awesome. first of all, customization is really good, however they did remove neon lights, but oh well. the paint styles are awesome (the styles look better on pc, because candy actually looks like candy paint, and chrome is a lot more reflect-ant on pc) and also the body kits are great and u can manually sculpt different parts. the storyline is pretty awesome as well. its a sequel to most wanted (which you should stop praising because this game IS better and you are all just being a bunch of fanboys) and you pretty much return to palmont, your bmw gets wrecked, so you start from scratch and build your reputation up and gain more territory. Eventually you will fight one of the four bosses in the game and once he is defeated in a race, you will fight him in a canyon duel, which by the way is one of the most heart racing events in nfs history. and its just a great attempt. Sadly this was the last nfs game to have extreme customization and a good storyline, however it is fairly short, but it has really high replay value. Also, if you are bored, there are a ton of secrets and extra races to do, and you can even find hidden things by doing glitches (they are hard to do however because this isnt a very glitchy game) and its just a mess load of fun. there are still people making mods for the game as well. i still play this game to this day, and i hope the new nfs game comming out will be just as good.

    or even better!    … Expand
  17. XDavidX
    Nov 17, 2015
    10
    Need For Speed: Carbon is amazing game. For me all the things in this game is perfect. The story is also amazing. Still playing this. Buy this game now, its absolute worth to do this.
  18. kanefriessner
    Jul 11, 2012
    4
    This game is better than Most Wanted, but it has other big problems. The controlling is a bit better, but it's not good enough. The races are more exciting. In sprint or circuit there are 6 opposite racers (plus the ally). The negative in that part is that the AI is cheating again especially the ally racer. Mainly it's 95% chance that your ally win the race, if it's a pathfinder (eg. SAL).This game is better than Most Wanted, but it has other big problems. The controlling is a bit better, but it's not good enough. The races are more exciting. In sprint or circuit there are 6 opposite racers (plus the ally). The negative in that part is that the AI is cheating again especially the ally racer. Mainly it's 95% chance that your ally win the race, if it's a pathfinder (eg. SAL). The cops are more brutal than in Most Wanted, and that things not so helpful which are marked with triangles in the map. The story is really short but it's not too boring (as in Most Wanted or Underground). The selection of cars is little, really little. In the start you can only select from 3 cars. Then you haven't got enough money to buy a new (because you have to tuning your first car to win races with more money), except if you complete a race more then once. And yeah, there are not many races. In one territory, there are only 3 races. And how many territories are in the game? About 20. But in the first 5 territory, you can win those races in about 0.5 hour. In U1, U2 or MW the musics are great, the best part of the game. And now? Where are those metal and rock songs, huh? In this game, the musics are not the best part of the game, maybe the graphics are. Maybe.… Expand
  19. spartan-117
    Oct 2, 2010
    10
    For me the best NFS.Very awsome soundtrack races cars.I like even the bosses.Say hello to my little friend.
  20. JoseO
    Jan 4, 2010
    3
    no widescreen, i dont like the gameplay the graphics are bad, those are the main 3 aspects that made me not like this and some other new versions of NFS. To get it straight, for me i think the best NFS would be just either Most Wanted or Underground 2 with up to date graphics, less cartoonish and more real, with new and more parts, up to date cars, if possible real cities, or if not at no widescreen, i dont like the gameplay the graphics are bad, those are the main 3 aspects that made me not like this and some other new versions of NFS. To get it straight, for me i think the best NFS would be just either Most Wanted or Underground 2 with up to date graphics, less cartoonish and more real, with new and more parts, up to date cars, if possible real cities, or if not at least different cities and maybe 2 or more cities to choose from. This game has 1 thing i love, the fact that u can have your pieces to be longer or shorter, example: your rear bumper can be longer (closer to the floor) or shorter (further from the floor), the rims can be bigger or smaller and the tires can be wider or narrow. That new crew thing its good too, maybe with some mods would be good to keep it as an optional feature.… Expand
  21. DanielC.
    Jan 11, 2007
    2
    I got the demo of this and though, great! So I get the game finally and start playing. The new menu system is not very good or well rendered which at first, made me think it was going to be cheap. However, playing the demo the races were quite good and there "seemed" to be a large variety. When playing the full game I found that the new and improved drag races were few and far between. I I got the demo of this and though, great! So I get the game finally and start playing. The new menu system is not very good or well rendered which at first, made me think it was going to be cheap. However, playing the demo the races were quite good and there "seemed" to be a large variety. When playing the full game I found that the new and improved drag races were few and far between. I have only played about 5?! Most of the races were rubbish and nothing works properly. The graphics suck, the game play is worst and the lack of originallity. Even including the new duals and autp-sculpt system it is not changing direction at all. EA tried to make it somthing that no one wanted it to be. In my oppinion if they should change anything it should be the driving world, its far too boring compared to what we see in top of the line games. Forget autosculpt, its lack of scope and malubility makes it pointless to have and reducing the polygon count just for this doesn't help. I much prefere to just stick to the mod upgrades. Make the next game closer to Underground 1 and 2 with improved and more interesting worlds!… Expand
  22. BrianL.
    Jan 2, 2007
    3
    Just another NFS, please bring back MCO or sell it let the ones that loved this game play on.
  23. SteveO.
    Dec 22, 2006
    4
    Tired & repetitive. Done this 3 times before. Its time to drop the fast & furious style of gaming. Need for speed used to be a great series until it became a yearly update with nothing worth buying the next one for. Gameplay is very short and virtually the same as most wanted except its dark. The pointless mods are only a minor distraction from this and wingman, (WTF!) is that the best Tired & repetitive. Done this 3 times before. Its time to drop the fast & furious style of gaming. Need for speed used to be a great series until it became a yearly update with nothing worth buying the next one for. Gameplay is very short and virtually the same as most wanted except its dark. The pointless mods are only a minor distraction from this and wingman, (WTF!) is that the best they can come up with, not to mention an even lamer story than the last three(honestly). Thankfully the silly car rating has been dropped but again this shortens the game even more. They really need to shelve this series until they can come up with something new, these last 4 games are really below average and getting very stale. This feels more like an add on than a new game.… Expand
  24. Zee
    Feb 27, 2007
    10
    Need For Speed Has always been my favorite games of all time, This one was one of those NFS that blew me away! Tons of fun with crazy police after you crashin into stuff and the way you can feel free to design your car in a crazy way with flames, add nitro-boost, sweet rims, tint your windows, flash those neons under the car, and those crazy upgrades!! 10/10 for sure!!
  25. Stealthgear
    Dec 16, 2014
    7
    After Most Wanted came out, the Underground players were probably upset. Carbon is more like the last real Underground game, but because of the name Carbon, I don't think people knew what this game was about. Its like Underground, Juiced, and Midnight Club on top of the Most Wanted engine. The cop AI is not as good as Hot Pursuit 2 of course. The world map is also typical of Underground 2.After Most Wanted came out, the Underground players were probably upset. Carbon is more like the last real Underground game, but because of the name Carbon, I don't think people knew what this game was about. Its like Underground, Juiced, and Midnight Club on top of the Most Wanted engine. The cop AI is not as good as Hot Pursuit 2 of course. The world map is also typical of Underground 2. The races and challenges are exciting. All the graphics, including facial animations are great. The controls also work fine with joystick and keyboard. The sound on this game is stellar. The music is more electronic and I think they knew what type of person wanted this again. But what is this game really? Its like an Underground game with better graphics and a canyon race which is more exciting than normal. A lot of the cars are the same, but there are muscle cars and more german exotics. Its a better game than Underground 2. Its not like they reinvented anything here. So I think this deserves a 7, even though the presentation is excellent. This game was bound to get lost and forgotten with all the other racing games it is similar to. Yes its one of the best Underground style games. You start off with a slow car and its kind of the same gameplay with city tracks.… Expand
  26. morfil
    Nov 1, 2013
    8
    I thought overall the game was just a bit better than most wanted.

    The customization was better, allowing ride height to be changed and more performance customization details. Autosculpt was a great feature and also you can move the vinyls, skew, rotate, and change colors. I was disappointed though that many things in the game had to be unlocked by completing challenge series or    I thought overall the game was just a bit better than most wanted.

    The customization was better, allowing ride height to be changed and more performance customization details.

    Autosculpt was a great feature and also you can move the vinyls, skew, rotate, and change colors.

    I was disappointed though that many things in the game had to be unlocked by completing challenge series or reward cards, where in most wanted you had to beat bosses.

    Also, most wanted had a bigger focus on police pursuits which I thought was much better than carbon, where you didn't even need to engage in a single pursuit to finish the game (although sometimes you had no choice; they sometimes show up in the middle of races).

    The ending was rather weak, but I won't give it away.    … Expand
  27. DreamStalker
    Jun 1, 2014
    8
    This was the first game i played in my life, it was the game of my childhood, I've played almost all the nfs, and this one is one of the bests, i have an extremely affection to this nfs it reminds me a lot of memories, it puts me very nostalgic. I just love it, now in the 2014, i want to have it again...
  28. dimike
    Jan 10, 2021
    8
    Graphics - ok
    Handling - ok
    Music - bad
    story - ok
    gameplay - good
    autosculpt - weird
  29. LuanGamer
    Jun 12, 2015
    10
    Por mim melhor need for speed , investiu muito mais muito bem na sua historia , carros tops , trilha sonora muito boa , e grafico realmente bom pra época , por mim rolava nfs carbon 2 '-'
  30. omar456321
    Feb 22, 2016
    9
    The game is very good:Pursuits are just like in NFSMW '05,races are fun,and having a crew is the best idea EA could ever have!
    The cars are awesome and unlocking is more.
    People say they liked NFSMW '05 but they didn't like Carbon because it has sh*tty graphics.But let's be serious,NFS Carbon has better graphics!
    Buy the game,I give it a 9!
  31. dlcatalin
    Jul 13, 2020
    1
    I'm going to give this game a solid ONE, just because the graphics are a bit cute. But that's it. This has to be the most horrible NFS game yet. Where do i start ? The cars float all over the place, they feel more like inflated baloons and the tires constantly make that screeching sound as if drifting ... but its CONSTANTLY. The cars have ZERO performance resemblance to the real lifeI'm going to give this game a solid ONE, just because the graphics are a bit cute. But that's it. This has to be the most horrible NFS game yet. Where do i start ? The cars float all over the place, they feel more like inflated baloons and the tires constantly make that screeching sound as if drifting ... but its CONSTANTLY. The cars have ZERO performance resemblance to the real life models. In the game my retard Scout in his potato VW Golf BEATS EVERYTHING in the game, he has like INTERSPACESTELLAR acceleration. The entire game is a joke, the other cars accelerate from 0 to 200 km/h in like 0.5 seconds, then after they get this huge lead ahead of you they either become impossible to beat or they brake for no reason so you pass them. Another thing is that my crew scout made me lose many races by getting in front of me and BREAK CHECKING me ... WHAT THE? He literally gets in front of me and BREAKS and i ram him and lose the race. He was supposed to help !!! Some races are so ...soo ....cheater and impossible that the only way to win is with my cheater Scout crew in his retarded Golf that accelerates from 0 to 300 km/h in 0,5 seconds and beats Lamborghinis, how else can i compete with the AI cars that also go from 0 to 300 km/h in 0,5 seconds ?! The entire game is a joke. It is tolerable until you get to the last zone ... but then it's straight cheater spam.… Expand
  32. Fatal1ty_43
    Jan 1, 2018
    0
    the schedule in a game the sediment, a plot isn't worked out, the last boss can't be won if you are an ordinary gamer!
  33. Luka1998010
    Jul 6, 2018
    10
    One of my personal favorites!
    The car list is awesome !
    Great storyline (sequel to the Underground series and MW)
    Nice customization
    Great job on the AI
    The map !
    Canyon drift and duels !
    Challenge series !
    Reward cards !
    Music !
    Everything is in place!
  34. KingJailson
    May 10, 2018
    10
    Meu segundo NFS favorito, até por que o jogo é bem semelhante do NFS Most Wanted (2005), o que me faz amar o NFS Carbon
  35. AlexeySoltan
    Oct 14, 2021
    7
    its nice but assistants are useless and canyon missions are boring and hard
  36. Moonknight64
    Feb 26, 2021
    9
    The game is in my opinion super underrated. To me, it like one of these games that are infinite replayable. The classsystem provides a cool challenge, the cars are all cool and the customisation is good. The drifts are terrible, but can be completly skipted, what by the way, every nfs game should do. Palmont City is very interesting and the story is the best we saw until this point. TheThe game is in my opinion super underrated. To me, it like one of these games that are infinite replayable. The classsystem provides a cool challenge, the cars are all cool and the customisation is good. The drifts are terrible, but can be completly skipted, what by the way, every nfs game should do. Palmont City is very interesting and the story is the best we saw until this point. The challenge series is very cool and quick races are very fun… Expand
  37. Samuel5000
    Feb 12, 2021
    8
    The game was great, races were pretty fun, only issue was the muscle cars & frustrating bosses as well.
  38. Izoeros
    Jun 5, 2022
    4
    qqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqq
  39. AdamK.
    Nov 13, 2006
    6
    Considering last years nfs took about two weeks of gaming this was a great disappointment as it was far to short and far too easy. There was no setting to make things harder. In Career mode I did not go through one roadblock during the whole career. It is a great game, but keep the users active for a while unless it is not value for money!
  40. AravindhanK.
    Feb 25, 2007
    9
    Awesome game... the career option is really great... your crew will be racing against other gangs to control the territory... really adrenaline pumpin... the types of races , circuit, checkpoint, sprint, speedtrack, drift , boss race all are awesome... a really worthy buy.
  41. SergeyA.
    Dec 24, 2006
    3
    The graphics are not exactly top of the line. The interface for modifications is getting more and more confusing, It seems to be less of a need for speed game and more of a product placement and movie career for wanna bes. Very disappointing.
  42. BestNoob
    May 7, 2020
    5
    Not as good as NFS:UG1 & NFS:UG2 or Most Wanted 2005 but still better than all the new titles.
  43. iddqd4
    Jan 20, 2018
    8
    Этот текст здесь для того что бы оценка отобразилась в моем профиле.
  44. SarifJKane
    Nov 18, 2019
    10
    Awesome Love it. little to short and so who has a lot of time. Absolutely fantastic atmosphere and style.
  45. Leptoi
    Jul 10, 2016
    7
    Have the same **** that the other games of nfs had , history its bad but if you like car games and some customization style , maybe you gonna like this . Just remember that there are better options
  46. Tigran
    Feb 2, 2018
    9
    This is one the best (probably the best) NFS games for me, I just really enjoy playing it even after so many years from its release. The night races, the music, the scripts, everything contributes to getting the Fast&Furious style racing fun. The story is very good, although a bit short, but you can dive into the challenges and drive all flavors of cars. The drifting and the cop challengesThis is one the best (probably the best) NFS games for me, I just really enjoy playing it even after so many years from its release. The night races, the music, the scripts, everything contributes to getting the Fast&Furious style racing fun. The story is very good, although a bit short, but you can dive into the challenges and drive all flavors of cars. The drifting and the cop challenges on high difficulty are the best parts for me.… Expand
  47. dandalis
    May 6, 2021
    6
    When i first played Carbon some years ago, i didnt enjoy it, i dont know what it was, but i just couldnt get around it, i thought it was a bad game, so back there and then i rage quit, which now me makes look back at my former self in shame. Though lately it started to bug me whether i was too harsh on the game or not, and recently i decided to give Carbon another go. While i still have myWhen i first played Carbon some years ago, i didnt enjoy it, i dont know what it was, but i just couldnt get around it, i thought it was a bad game, so back there and then i rage quit, which now me makes look back at my former self in shame. Though lately it started to bug me whether i was too harsh on the game or not, and recently i decided to give Carbon another go. While i still have my gripes with it, this time however i did manage to get a decent amount of enjoyment out of it and realise that previously it was mostly down to me not being up to snuff, not so much the game.

    Playing Carbon made me kinda nostalgic, there's just something cool about mid-2000's gaming and culture that is reflected in the game. The game's story and characters are cheesy, but in a good way, they dont feel or look pretentiously cringe, like characters, writing sadly do in latest Need For Speed games. There's plenty of enjoyment in beating and shutting up the cocky bosses that Carbon throws at you. The car roster also manages to reflect the hottest newest, at the time, cars and classics that were trendy in 2006. I started out with the Chevy Camaro and didnt regret it, the car was challenging, but satisfying to race with. For an older game the cars are decently modeled, however it's the car sound design that stands out, as cars sound really damn sweet in Carbon.

    It's a shame that Black Box didnt include drag racing, since Carbon's a direct sequel to Most Wanted, but atleast they brought back drifting from Underground. Overall there's a healthy amount of variety in terms of race types, though 'Race Wars' could've offered more, since they are just glorified circuit races. 1 on 1 canyon races are by far the most intense and challenging, and require a much different driving style than the one you normally use. Canyon drift events also require some time to master them, but once you do, they're pretty gratifying if you pull of a good chain of drifts. The overall handling model can differ quite a lot car to car, muscle cars logically are a handful around the corners, while sports cars feel pretty planted, super cars require mastery of their speed. So while the model is arcady, it's still retaining a good amount of believability in how cars handle irl.

    As you progress through the campaign, acquiring money to buy new cars and upgrades is not an isssue, but once the campaign is over, if you want to continue to build your collection, getting money becomes a lame grind, as the payout for repeatedly winning races is just laughable. You also need to be conscious of what kind of cars you're buying during campaign, if you choose not so wisely, it'll be difficult or nigh impossible to win some races to drive the progression forwards, forcing you to buy a different car. The crew system can also introduce some headaches, on paper it's a cool idea, and at times it really pays off in the game, but when you get blocked, crashed into by your crew mate who's on a AI rubber banded power trip, your opinion on the whole thing suddenly can take a nose dive. Speaking of rubber banding, it's obnoxious to see how you pull off the perfect drive, only for your crew mate to rubber band like crazy and snub victory from you, you're on the same team yes, it doesnt matter if they or you win, but still, obnoxious.

    Visually Carbon still looks kinda fine for a 2006 game, i think it's the art style that helps with it, aswell as the night time setting of course, helping to mask the graphical shortcomings. It takes a bit of a hassle though to get it to run properly in 2021, needing a wide resolution, HUD fix, though it's pretty easy to do. But some minor visual glitches still remain, like the 'sculpt' lines being rendered off of the car's body while customizing it, aswell as i noticed some minor flickering during gameplay, but it's nothing that gets in the way of the overall experience.

    I'm glad that i gave Carbon another shot, it made me reappreacite it and realize that it's no where near being a bad game, and even though it's ways off from being my favorite NFS, Carbon's alright in my books now.    … Expand
  48. Axilley
    Jul 22, 2021
    8
    good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good legend nfs 3
  49. gold
    Jul 14, 2019
    8
    Игру можно описать так: не уравновешенная, атмосферная, 2 сложная игра в серии ( 1. по моему мнению; 2. это не значит что она реально сложная, это я описал словом "не уравновешенная", а значит что в некоторых моментах пытается показаться сложной.). Есть крутые нововведения. каст-сцен стало больше, чем в оригинале, так же и их качество на высоте. Годных песен я не нашёл совсем, но музыкаИгру можно описать так: не уравновешенная, атмосферная, 2 сложная игра в серии ( 1. по моему мнению; 2. это не значит что она реально сложная, это я описал словом "не уравновешенная", а значит что в некоторых моментах пытается показаться сложной.). Есть крутые нововведения. каст-сцен стало больше, чем в оригинале, так же и их качество на высоте. Годных песен я не нашёл совсем, но музыка работает на атмосферу. Хорошая часть.
    Итог: 8.756/10    … Expand
  50. RafaelBarrera
    Feb 21, 2019
    4
    It might be an unpopular opinion, bit it simply is not a good video game for me, this video game started the quality descent in Need for Speed video games. It abuses from police persecutions after the succeed of Need for Speed: Most Wanted. Need for Speed was a racing game, not a police persecution game.
  51. Hayter
    Nov 10, 2019
    6
    Есть у меня пара знакомых, которые превозносят эту игру до небес, но делают это неоправданно, не знаю, что ими движет, но лично я не могу оценить эту игру выше 6 баллов
  52. Amorph0us
    Jan 7, 2022
    7
    I am not sure how could can be a story related to cars, but I found this one ok. I mean it's something over nothing. Otherwise a great NFS experience and one of the best of the series.
  53. shkipermann
    Feb 25, 2023
    7
    {__/}
    ( • - •)
    /つ☕______________________________________________________________________
  54. vikingo12
    Dec 27, 2018
    10
    good graphic,gamemodes,dlc to mw 2005,the canyon gamemode is a new feature which fits the game so well
  55. rezo_21
    Sep 18, 2021
    7
    ====================IIIIIIIIII GAME SCORE : 68 IIIIIIIIII====================
  56. Cz3rw0ny
    Apr 5, 2021
    7
    Definitely not as good as Most Wanted. It had a totally altered aesthetics, but the feel and gameplay also felt odd. It deserves a 7 though.
  57. Nameless2131
    Feb 6, 2020
    7
    9/10 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  58. PrdPak
    Aug 19, 2020
    8
    The canyon racing mode was the main highlight of the game for me. The car handling feels snappy and responsive for a NFS game. The drifting mechanics are decent. The graphics look half-decent, the cars look a bit low quality, but the environment and the scenery are one of the best I've ever seen from a game of that era. I don't like racing games which put more emphasis on story thanThe canyon racing mode was the main highlight of the game for me. The car handling feels snappy and responsive for a NFS game. The drifting mechanics are decent. The graphics look half-decent, the cars look a bit low quality, but the environment and the scenery are one of the best I've ever seen from a game of that era. I don't like racing games which put more emphasis on story than gameplay, but the story in carbon is acceptable, its not great, but it's not bad as Payback. One thing I hate about the game is the police chases, once you finish a race, there is a 30% chance that you will get the police, and evading them is very hard. If a race lasts for about 3 minutes and you got the police on you in it, then you are going to spend the next 10 minutes evading the police. The game had its fair share of compatibility problems on PC, the HUD didn't fit on my screen. After trying several "fixes", which didn't work, I almost gave up on trying to get the HUD to fit on my display. The game released in 2006, and the PS2 version had widescreen support, but for some reason, PC lacked proper widescreen support.

    Overall, I give the game a solid 8 out of 10.    … Expand
  59. MaxmilianKohler
    Nov 8, 2019
    7
    Unskipable cut scenes.

    Options doesn't list all the key bindings so there are some you can't rebind. Too many cops in free roam mode. And it takes an excessively long time to lose them. To the point where I avoid it completely and just jump from race to race, which in my opinion isn't as enjoyable, but it's not fun driving endlessly trying to get away from the cops. The cops even    Unskipable cut scenes.

    Options doesn't list all the key bindings so there are some you can't rebind.

    Too many cops in free roam mode. And it takes an excessively long time to lose them. To the point where I avoid it completely and just jump from race to race, which in my opinion isn't as enjoyable, but it's not fun driving endlessly trying to get away from the cops.

    The cops even spot you and start chasing you during races and then continue to do so after the race. It takes forever to get away from them. This warrants a 2-3 star rating reduction. It's awful. At least you can restart the game to avoid the cop parts.

    Not a fan of the drifting implementation.

    You get a teammate, and they're really annoying. Both vocally and by getting in your way.

    The graphics are nice, and the driving is generally nice (except for the drifting). It's very arcady/unrealistic. Not necessarily a demerit, just a preference thing.

    The story & dialogue seems created by/for a 6 year old.    … Expand
  60. gsbastos
    Oct 1, 2019
    9
    My favorite nfs, the mechanics lacks, but customization and the continue of most wanted history are awsome!
  61. r03vg
    Apr 17, 2020
    6
    EA просто сделали довольно странный неудачный самоповтор. Новые фишки выглядят интересно лишь по началу и быстро наскучивают. Вся игра превратилась в какую-то клоунаду.
  62. SrCre
    Mar 10, 2020
    10
    [x] Perfect
    [ ] Awesome
    [ ] Good
    [ ] Good Bad
    [ ] Fail

    Não vejo necessidade em escrever um longo texto falando sobre um jogo, a nota é apenas um conselho para saber o quanto vale o jogo para sua vida.

    I see no need to write a long text talking about a game, the note is just a piece of advice to know how much the game is worth in your life.
  63. ChesterField
    May 7, 2020
    7
    Not much innovation, if you played to the previous ones is very similar. Still a good game but this formula is getting old.
  64. Luisma
    Jun 23, 2020
    8
    This game has a lot of possibilities for car customization, especially with the Autosculpt section and adding a lot of vinyl layers to your car, the bad part comes with its history, since it is a bit short, but it is decent, A good point of this is that there is the return of the drift mode, with amazing physics that are controllable and also the canyons races are somewhat challenging.
  65. Saxon_ZXZ7
    Oct 30, 2020
    10
    this game really good i can give 8.0/10 nice atmosphere and story (BLACK BOX Please come back) For me best NFS it's Undeground 2
  66. FacuML
    Jun 15, 2023
    10
    NFSC es, de lejos, el MEJOR juego de carreras jamás hecho. Variedad de carreras, defensa y conquista de territorios callejeros, persecuciones policiales espectaculares, variedad de vehículos, versatilidad al momento de tunear, 3 clases de vehículos para escojer, nuevas mecánicas como tener una crew o las carreras del Cañón... Todo con una estética nocturna y neon que le dan el broche deNFSC es, de lejos, el MEJOR juego de carreras jamás hecho. Variedad de carreras, defensa y conquista de territorios callejeros, persecuciones policiales espectaculares, variedad de vehículos, versatilidad al momento de tunear, 3 clases de vehículos para escojer, nuevas mecánicas como tener una crew o las carreras del Cañón... Todo con una estética nocturna y neon que le dan el broche de oro. Carbon toma todo lo de su antecesor, Most Wanted (otra joya junto con la saga Underground), y lo lleva a un enfoque más oscuro.… Expand
  67. MrPajamas
    Mar 27, 2021
    7
    Need for Speed: Carbon builds on the great Most Wanted. Right at the beginning of the game, we get the opportunity to ride in the legendary BMW from the previous part. But as usual, we will lose it quickly this time as well. Underground 2 and Most Wanted were great and unfortunately I can't say this about Carbon. You ask why? What always struck me in the Need for Speed ​​series was theNeed for Speed: Carbon builds on the great Most Wanted. Right at the beginning of the game, we get the opportunity to ride in the legendary BMW from the previous part. But as usual, we will lose it quickly this time as well. Underground 2 and Most Wanted were great and unfortunately I can't say this about Carbon. You ask why? What always struck me in the Need for Speed ​​series was the graphics. EA just always had a beautiful visual and not that it was impossible to say about Carbon, but just what was it? The graphics here, although nice, just won't inspire you, as with the previous parts. I even thought that the previous Most Wanted looked better, but maybe that was just my opinion. In short, the game in graphics did not go much compared to previous parts. What's not bad, but purely I don't like it is the overall stylization of the game. Well OK. Stylization doesn't really. The menu and graphical interface is nice, but the city is so weird. Underground 2 immediately got me with its night city charm. Most Wanted with its daylight in the city, but Carbon somehow didn't interest me. The night city, although nice, is just kind of dead? Don't get me wrong. Maybe I'm the only one who sees it, but it just occurs to me that almost everything here is white. Underground 2 had a varied set of colors and so the city looked alive, but here everything is so white and I'm not a big fan of this style. Another thing is driving. Cars leave a line behind them or whatever it is. The control to the beginning compared to previous works is strange. So far I have not praised the game much and unfortunately the tuning will not save it. We can tune the cars well enough and I would say that maybe even better than with Most Wanted, but just like that, every car here won't make much of an impression, because those colors - what the hell are those colors? Again, this is my opinion, but in my opinion, all colors here are so dark, faded and simply indistinct overall. Such beautiful rich colors, which we had the opportunity to see in previous games here or at least I did not find and most importantly. The most terrible thing for me here was that I couldn't put my favorite neons on the car. Of course at Most Wanted, I understood when we had daylight, but here, where the night city returned, why didn't the developers give us the opportunity to put neons on our car? This just shows more that the whole game seemed to me to be kind of dead. All the lights in the city are white, and if I want my car to at least stand out with the light, I can't do it either. But now to the positive side of the game. The races, although harder to control or at least for me, are otherwise the same as before and even sometimes better in that, for example, my favorite drift returned to us. On the one hand, I didn't like it very much here, because, as I mentioned, it drifted quite badly because of the controls. The fact that it doesn't add much new is also not good for the game. We have the police here again, although the fact is that there are some gangs here, although I do not welcome this news very much and I was not very happy with it. So far, I've criticized the game quite a bit. You ask, is the game good at all? The answer is yes and I will now tell you why. Despite everything. Despite the dead city, worse control and nothing much new, the game continues with movies in the style of Most Wanted, and the story here, in my opinion, saves the game a lot. Once again, we'll see a Razor-style villain, or a pretty girl by the side, like Miu. Although the story recycles, it still works. What the game manages to be number one, however, is the soundtrack. The songs here are great and especially the one from the menu is just one of the best I've ever heard in the series. So in the end can I recommend this game to you? Although I think it's the fall of the series, because the previous episodes belonged to the golden era of Need for Speed ​​and the best racing games ever, even so, Need for Speed: Carbon is a good game saved by the soundtrack and the overall Most Wanted concept follows up. For me, a good game that I can recommend.… Expand
  68. referencia
    Dec 16, 2020
    5
    Chato é uma palavra fofa para descrever este jogo, diferente de seu antecessor que era divertido e frenético. Este jogo tem uma péssima imersão, péssimo mapa e uma história muito +ou-. Você não sente a velocidade de seu carro, tudo o que você faz no jogo é: Menu>mundo aberto>mapa>corrida>mundo aberto>garagem>mundo aberto>mapa>corrida.
    Não tem nada recompensante ao explorar esse mundo    Chato é uma palavra fofa para descrever este jogo, diferente de seu antecessor que era divertido e frenético. Este jogo tem uma péssima imersão, péssimo mapa e uma história muito +ou-. Você não sente a velocidade de seu carro, tudo o que você faz no jogo é: Menu>mundo aberto>mapa>corrida>mundo aberto>garagem>mundo aberto>mapa>corrida.
    Não tem nada recompensante ao explorar esse mundo totalmente morto, nem a policia é interessante, tudo parece sem graça e morto. Uma completa perda de tempo.    … Expand
  69. FRIST_008
    Jun 14, 2021
    9
    Моя любимая часть nfs. Тут появились некоторые способности машин, всё тот же отличный сюжет, и запутанный ночной город и тюнинг
  70. bar0yka
    Dec 14, 2022
    7
    hikayesi o kadar da iyi değil ve graafikleri biraz garip geldi most wanted dan sonra 7.5 - 8 verilir
  71. Gorbunov2004
    Jun 4, 2021
    2
    Это не игра а дополнение к NFS Most Wanted все машины в городе те же самые менты те же самые. Сюжет полная чушь, а гонка с главарём по каньону вообще самая тупая в серии. Музыка так же стала раз в 10 хуже её просто слушать невозможно такая она отвратительная.Это не игра а дополнение к NFS Most Wanted все машины в городе те же самые менты те же самые. Сюжет полная чушь, а гонка с главарём по каньону вообще самая тупая в серии. Музыка так же стала раз в 10 хуже её просто слушать невозможно такая она отвратительная.
  72. R-FIK
    May 1, 2022
    8
    After finished playing NFS Carbon, I think this is one of the most underrated NFS than the other previous series like NFS: MW 2005. It has unique features such as "Wingman", "Canyon Race", and "Autosculpt Modification", it has awesome soundtracks ( not EA Trax), and every boss cutscene is badass but it has short & cringy lines.

    But in all of that, there are some drawbacks. It has a    After finished playing NFS Carbon, I think this is one of the most underrated NFS than the other previous series like NFS: MW 2005. It has unique features such as "Wingman", "Canyon Race", and "Autosculpt Modification", it has awesome soundtracks ( not EA Trax), and every boss cutscene is badass but it has short & cringy lines.

    But in all of that, there are some drawbacks. It has a short duration of career completion, the story is not that good, it has weak racing a.i + no rubberband, only a few amount of canyon races, no more bounty target (like NFSMW 2005), and the race is kinda repetitive. Overall, this game is still fun to play.

    Sorry about my English is not that good.    … Expand
  73. GHOST17MAN
    May 10, 2021
    8
    Short Most Wanted at night with minimum police. It's can be good for new players, who don't know about Most Wanted, and for those, who want game on 3-4 days. But it has better story, than MW and more cutscenes.
  74. kndr
    May 18, 2021
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. It is like most wanted and ug2 combined. Which are one of the best nfs games ever.

    Canyon events are tense. Drift races are back and there are more customization options.

    Team members makes races harder and easier at the same time. They guarentee the win but can't stop getting in front of you.

    Traffic cars always drive to you. I think they are maniac.

    Bmw we got at the end of mw quickly gets wrecked and we can't use it in story mode anymore. The only way to use it is quick races.

    I loved mw and wanted more and carbon satisfied me.    … Expand
  75. defenz
    Aug 10, 2021
    8
    ⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
  76. DonldTrump_45Th
    Jan 26, 2023
    8
    Hello, this is a default review because i'm forced to use 75 characters. I'll edit this review in the future talking about the game, don't worry ;)

    My final rate is: 8
  77. Near_Void
    Nov 20, 2021
    10
    If you ever want to experience the height of NFS. then this is the one to play!

    Canyons are really fun

    Just a shame EA rushed Blackbox for this release.
  78. Omega212
    Nov 21, 2021
    8
    This is a really solid nfs game in my opinion. It's a good sequel to nfs mw and it has some cool new features like the territory acquisition. I really recommend this game if you like nfs games
  79. petrkozak13
    Dec 13, 2021
    7
    Not as good as Underground 2 or Most Wanted but Carbon is still pretty dope game.
  80. ErixKing
    Jul 2, 2023
    8
    La continuación que nunca llego a superar a su predecesor, pero aun asi un gran juego de la época dorada de NFS
  81. levoxyl
    Mar 17, 2023
    7
    great NFS game ,but as always they have a huge problem with the progress data saving. I already overdid my last data in a day , i am not doing it again. i know how to use my laptop so i am not dumb.
  82. chaisiijaa
    Mar 13, 2022
    9
    Game is amazing but the game is atleast 10 - 12 hours to beat the game but it's still a good game
  83. The_D4RknesS
    Jul 3, 2022
    9
    The graphics of this version to this day I think it's beautiful! The biggest problem with this game is the unbalanced difficulty and some police chases that the police never stop respawning, I already spent 1 hour and 40 minutes with her behind me and I without be able to evade or enter the cooldown
  84. AkifM2009
    Jul 20, 2022
    8
    This Game is Not a Most Wanted but it's enjoyable :) . Story is not very good but i think cinematics are better than Most Wanted. Graphics are good for a 2006 game. Idk why but i like carbon more than Most Wanted. But It's too short :(
  85. dr-kenobi
    Sep 7, 2022
    7
    Цілком гідний НФС. Не рівня мост вонтед, проте, гралось абсолютно адекватно
  86. putinzdohne
    Oct 7, 2022
    10
    This is a solid racing game that has evolved the need for speed series and just tightened and improved upon many of the things that were left unfurnished in the last game.
  87. xcale
    Mar 6, 2023
    10
    Another magnificient game from the golden era of Need For Speed. First time introduction of teammates with benefits :)

    Another masterpiece within the golden quartet of Need For Speed.
  88. Giero
    Jan 4, 2023
    8
    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  89. VeuxVIP
    Jan 25, 2023
    10
    there were small details that were not used correctly, but otherwise it was incredible, and many thanks to black box for destroying that stupid kit car
  90. wojtulace1
    Jan 30, 2023
    8
    The best Need for Speed game by far. And a huge mod is on the horizon that will improve the game in every aspect - NFSCO.
  91. imalynxcat
    Apr 1, 2023
    7
    As a racing games fan, I could not have fun while playing this game. Most wanted and Underground 2 which are old comparing to carbon are technically better games.
  92. Silv3rGT
    May 25, 2023
    10
    Admit it, Carbon is an amazing game. If Blackbox had a year to make this game, then it would have be the best the series has to offer.
  93. endergunayu
    Aug 25, 2023
    10
    My first race game . Insane graphics and story compare to it"s time .Jammer

Awards & Rankings

57
#57 Best PC Game of 2006
18
#18 Most Discussed PC Game of 2006
22
#22 Most Shared PC Game of 2006

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
78

Generally favorable reviews - based on 17 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 17
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 17
  3. Negative: 0 out of 17
  1. IGN
    82
    The drifting is an acquired taste (but it's good), the canyon duals are decent changes (though not great), and the crews...well, they suck. Of the myriad new features, the addition of muscle cars and the online functionality are the best.
    Read full review
  2. GameBrink
    80
    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 awhile. It’s like EA’s "Madden" of racing.
    Read full review
  3. GameSpot
    74
    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
See all critic reviews »