Need For Speed : Carbon Demo

Well, finally downloaded it, so here's my first impressions!

Nice intro movie, with the cursory 'don't drive like this in real life' messsage, right at the beginning! Nice one, legalities over with, let's drive!

Looks as though it uses territories, similar to Saints Row, and the 'Carbon' reference is Carbon Canyon, where 'disputes' are settled! Stereotypical I know, but fits in nicely with the game.

Don't forget it's a game, not a driving simulator as is Forza, and that's disputable.....

Pressing the start button after the lengthy intro takes you immediately to the Car Selection Screen.

Good, no messing about with sub-menu's yet. In here you have 3 classes of cars.

Muscle, Exotic and Tuner.

There's only 3 cars initially. Muscle car is a Camaro SS. Exotic car is a Gallardo and the Tuner car is a Evo IX MR Edition.

There's Class info on each class and after selecting your Class, Car and Transmission (Manual or Auto), we're taken to the Autosculpt (TM) option. This is the modifying bit of the game.

The areas you can customise are Wheels, Front Bumper, Rear Bumper, Skirt, Hood, Exhaust Tips and finally Chop Top. All of which, apart from Chop Top, have a maximum of 9 'zones'.

Each has 'zone' attributes that can be amended. So if you want your spoiler to be higher, find the right 'zone' and increase using the slider.

Be warned, the 'zones' are numbered only, so it's trial and error until you memorise which numbered 'zone' does what. That's a little sloppy!

When you've messed about for a bit, pressing the start button gets you into the action.

Immediately a pop-up tells you that you have to win certain events to unlock a Duel race.

Familiar stuff so far, nothing jaw droppingly, pants wettingly amazing yet. Sorry, but this is a hi-def machine and 'next gen'.

Presentation is everything, particularly if you want the gamer to be immersed, and after all, isn't that why we play games? Sometimes, at least!

Two tracks available initially. Circuit Race or Drift Race in 'Scorpions' controlled 'turf'. Basic selection screen, very minimal and cartoon-like, if you get my meaning.

Each available race shows you in which area it is, length of race, number of laps and the Best Time recorded. So not only have you the game to beat, but there's a time record to be had! Increases replayablity, which is a good thing.

Music is a bland urban house'y sort of tune. Thankfully we have custom soundtracks to alleviate that problem.

Anyone else as sad as me and has soundtracks depending on which game you play, or is it just me?

Anyway, started up the race...here we go.....

Is that it? 1st on my first attempt? I know there should be a gradual learning curve, but don't lull us into a false sense of security. Make it a challenge from mission 1! We're not amateurs!

The handling is no Forza, or even Project Gotham Racing. Nice intro section before the race, nice touch.

Graphically, nothing you'd shout from the rooftops about, and on a standard TV, there's no hi-def to enjoy. So I'd say it's fairly standard graphically, at least what you'd expect on the 360.

You get stats, such as Top Speed, Average Speed, Time behind and number of traffic collisions.

You'll see pile ups in front of you that also have to be avoided with your vehicle, that frankly feels a little bit like driving/piloting a hovercraft! But that's par for the course in the Need For Speed Series.

It's certainly not even as accurate as Gotham, so if it's realism you're after, this isn't going to rock your boat. My advice, if this is the case, is that you wait for Forza 2 before shelling out on this.

A successful race means you 'Own' that track and receive a nice shiny silver star to prove it! Aw, nice! Hope that's not aimed at the kiddies and girlies out there!

Now, the 'Drift' race isn't a race. You have 2 laps to acquire more drift points than your competitors. This involves sending your car into as many powerslides as possible, and you gain 'drift points' the longer and fast you do your drifts. Boring! But, you need to do it in the game.

Remember getting Kudos points in Gotham for powersliding? Same thing, just less control! And watch the barriers, because if you hit them mid-slide, it's over buster!

Not too keen on this bit, but that's only because I don't powerslide normally in games.

Wahey! I am the new Powerslide King! 2nd attempt and I beat the required score. 59,956 points is enough to win, so continuing allows you to view your stats. Biggest Drift scorewise, Longest Drift, Average Score per drift and Average length of drift.

Imagine driving a Formula 1 car on ice, and that's how this feels. Good physics though!

Now I have done both races and finished 1st in both, this unlocks the Canyon Duel level. Ooh, I'm all excited!

Press 'A' to select and away we go!

A note for the uninitiated. Duel is not a flat out race, it's in two stages.

Stage 1 : Chase your opponent. The closer you are whilst following, the more points you get.
Stage 2 : Apponent chases you! The closer they are, the more points you lose.

You can win or lose by being 10 seconds in front, or behind, depending on which phase you are doing.

Instant loss if you run out of points to lose,go over the cliff or the chase car falls too far behind.

This should be fun, a novel scoring system. Means you have to maintain your skills in both phases. Nice touch!

After you've completed stage one, where you are following, a cut scene moves you to stage 2. Now you are in the lead and have to make sure you keep him off your tail, better than you did in the first stage.

Just before the start, the game shows how many points you got and gives you a breather before stage 2.

Right we're off again......

Phew, had 9,000 pts left. 1st attempt, no problem. You will need to be able to powerslide in this game, and if you are able to cope with the floaty steering, you'll be fine.

Usual stats screen is available after the duel. Right, what's next....

The screen zooms out and show you the area you have unlocked, and that's it!

So the demo is over. What an anticlimax.

Well it's OK, but it's no Forza or even Gotham, so if you want a racer that has some degree of realism, this is not for you.

However, if you are a fan of the series, there's nothing new here, but enough to keep you happy.