by  StarJet
from Panadura, , Sri Lanka | Feb 12, 2008 |
Overview :
Thanks to EA releasing PSP versions of NFS which are totally different from their console counterparts since Underground "Rivals", what would have been just known as NFS Carbon for PSP, got the tag line "Own The City". This game is basically what EA thought would be good as the console versions of NFS Carbon. But was it?
Story :
As usual with NFS storylines, the character we represent has no identity. He assumes the role of the person with the name we give at the beginning of the game. The game begins with the main character trying to beat his brother Michael (called "Mick" most of the time within the game) in a heated race. Suddenly, a big vehicle pops out of nowhere and both cars crash, killing Mick and making our identity-less friend lose his memory. The accident seems to be a suspicious set-up, and the guy who has now lost his memory sets off to unveil the mystery.
Graphics :
If somebody says "OMG! Teh graphiks of Carbon OTC sukzz!", shoot him/her. NFS Carbon OTC, in my opinion, has the best graphics ever seen on a PSP racing game. (With just a teensy little flaw. I'll come to that flaw later in this review. ) If you want to know how good, I can give you one statement. It looks just like the PC/PS2 versions of Underground 2. The only difference is that OTC doesn't have anti-aliasing. But we can't blame EA for it as the PSP doesn't have anti-aliasing capabilities as far as I know. The car detail, the road textures and the world detail are designed quite well. The graphical quality/appeal of this game itself is a reason to get it. If you are in need of a game with awesome graphics, Carbon OTC won't fail you.
Gameplay :
The main game modes are Career, Quick Race and Multiplayer. The career involves you competing in various race events all over the city. Speaking of the city, here comes one of the biggest faults of Carbon OTC. The city which is named as "Coast City" has the exact same map layout of "Rockport" of NFS Most Wanted. This has angered a lot of gamers who have noticed this. Really, why couldn't EA plot up a new layout, or at least use part of the actual Carbon map layout?
The gameplay, too, doesn't resemble the console versions of NFS Carbon, but resembles NFS Most Wanted to a great degree. Also, the speedbreaker feature that was in NFS Most Wanted 5-1-0 is not present in this game. (For people who don't know what speedbreaker is, speedbreaker is a feature that let's you slow down gameplay for a few seconds in order to take a sharp turn safely. It's also really helpful in dodging cops.)
The only actual NFS Carbon feature we see in this game is the ability to have a crew of your own. This crew can contain a brawler who crashes into other opponents on your command, a drafter who comes in front of you so that you can gain more speed by drafting behind, and an assassin who knocks another car out completely for a few seconds. (Ooh, scary! ) But not to worry, your opponents don't have these offensive crew members.
It seems that they have even attempted to implement the "Road Rage" event of the Burnout series, but all I can say is, it's an epic failure. Basically, you cruise around the city and find an opponent. When you get near one, press Up on the D-Pad to challenge him. Then, more cars will spawn and you have to achieve a target number of takedowns before the timer becomes zero. The failure of this mode lies with the presentation of it. Unlike in Burnout where you actually see the cars being damaged and then you see them blowing up, in this case, there's a health bar above each car, and when it reaches zero, the car just vanishes off the surface of the map. Quite unappealing, in my opinion.
Then again, there are some cool modes such as Delivery, and Escape as well. Both these events are based on territory aquisitions. When enemy racer gangs control certain areas of the map, the Delivery mode gives you something (I don't know what ) to be delivered to an exact point in the heart of enemy territory before the timer runs out. There's a catch : Racers from enemy gangs will attempt to ensure that you don't reach your target. Then there's the opposite of it : Escape. The race begins with you in the heart of enemy territory. A safe place is shown on the map and you're instructed to drive to that place before the timer runs out, avoiding the enemy cars that try to pin you to the wall.
Then there are cop chases. This is completely an optional thing, and most people who play Carbon OTC don't even know that there are cop chases in the game. That is because, cops are disabled in all races. It's very difficult to come across cops even in free roam mode. The teensy graphic flaw I told you about before, too, comes in cop chases. That flaw is the design of the cop vehicles itself. There are no cop cars. Only "rhinos" from Most Wanted. But the flaw is, the rhinos look like crap. They have some sort of straight edges, and frankly look like rounded match boxes. The cop chases are the same as NFS Most Wanted, except for the fact that the rounded match boxes have health bars above them.
Extras :
This game features the excellent soundtrack of NFS Carbon console versions. Filled with great tracks like "Gary Numan - Are Friends Electric?", "Dynamite MC - Bounce", "Dynamite MC - After Party" and "Lady Sovereign - Love Me Or Hate Me", this soundtrack puts you into the racing spirit. Even if you didn't want to listen to them, you can still enjoy music by playing the music files in /MUSIC/ folder of your PSP with the Carbon OTC music player.
Why many people say NFS Carbon OTC sucks :
This is mainly because people compared this game with the console versions of NFS Carbon. This game has no Car Classes, or Autosculpt, or Canyon Races, people tend to think that it sucks. But frankly, it doesn't suck that much. Look at it as a game of its own, and you will see that it's not bad at all.
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