Call them money making goblins or call them an evil corporation hell bent on overtaking the entire world, one thing’s for sure, EA sure know how to make racing games. Their Need for Speed series has dominated the racing genre for years with the occasional exception of a Burnout or a Midnight Club. For some reason, I totally lost touch with this series after NFSII SE, but their Underground Series pulled me right back and last year’s Need for Speed Most Wanted was one of the best NFS games I’ve ever played in a while. In fact, the game was so successful; EA managed to churn out yet another sequel in a matter of twelve months (they’re not called slave drivers for nothing). Enter Need for Speed Carbon, a game that expands on Most Wanted in certain departments, but falters in some as well.

Now a good storyline isn’t what this series is well known for, and keeping that tradition in mind, Carbon doesn’t disappoint. The plot in this game picks up from where Most Wanted ended with you entering Palmont City as the heat in Rockport got too hot to handle. Unfortunately, things don’t work out as planned and Cross (the cop from Most Wanted), who’s now a bounty hunter of sorts catches up with you at the beginning of the game determined to make your life miserable. Luckily (or unluckily) your old friend Darius comes in between to sort things out, but since he’s got a score to settle with you, he pays Cross off and has you working for him instead. You’re inducted into things by Nikki, played by Emmanuelle Vauiger (Saw II) and this serves as a tutorial of sorts to get you acquainted with all the new features Carbon packs (more on that very soon).

The story in Carbon unfolds is the same manner as Most Wanted did with real actors hamming it up in CG generated environments. Just like its predecessor, the actors in this game try way too hard to be bad asses and for some reason, Emmanuelle just isn’t as endearing as Josie Maron (I still dream of her...sigh).

Like I mentioned earlier, Carbon injects the series with a lot of new features, some of which you may like, while some, you may positively hate. As soon as the game starts up, you’re given the choice between three classes of cars; Muscle, Tuner and Exotic. Now I personally went with the Tuner as it handles the best (the game even lets you take them for a test drive to help you make that choice), but in case you feel you’ve made the wrong decision, don’t freak out; once you win a couple of races, you could always buy a new car with the money you just earned, and if that’s not enough, Carbon allows you to sell your cars as well.