The atmosphere of Crabon is my absolute favourite. The canyons are such a vibe to race across and the ever present danger of falling to your death I love it.
Finally a justification for this game. I prefer this game over Most Wanted any day. The vibe, the ambiance, the music, gosh especially the menu and canyon music! Thank you for giving this game a chance! I’m sick of seeing Most Wanted on the pedestal all the time.
Agreed! Most Wanted was a great game but it's way too overrated for what it actually plays like, especially for the NPCs rubberbanding. Carbon was just better in every way.
@@TotallyNotASpy1 I feel the opposite to be honest. Most Wanted was something completely different from UG2, they went from no cops to a dynamic cop system which still can be considered top tier today. I think the blacklist as way of progression was one of the best progression approaches in the series. Although I freaking love Carbon (autosculpt, car types and the team territories concepts were incredible), it kinda leans from the success of Most Wanted, while the story is significantly shorter. The map of Palmont isn't much smaller than Rockport (it may be even bigger), but the limited amount of roads between each district in Palmont made the map feel more repetitive to me. Nevertheless, the fact that there are huge groups of people prefering Carbon over MW and vice versa, shows both games were amazing and had a lot of character. I personally don't think one of both is overrated, they are both still insanely fun for their unique quirks.
FYI, you don't need justification for having a preference. Both games are good in their own merits. Seeking validation from people online shouldn't take away from something you love.
The most wanted comparasion to this game is fair. What I think what happened is that this game was very ambitious and the yearly release meant that the game got cut short. This game is still fun but it does feel short, even without playing most wanted before. I recommend a mod called Carbon Battle Royale, it expands the game with new cars, events and a much longer playtime. If someone wants to play this game again then I absolutely recommend this mod.
Read this comment and thought, thanks for mentioning a mod that can enhance the exoerience, played both MW and Carbon when they came out and have downloaded them both several times and played through them over the years
My favourite NFS and one of my favourite videogames. Carbon's OST by Trevor Morris and Ekstrak is one of my favourite OSTs in any game. 8:48 This would've been a nice screenshot if the game was played at max settings. 15:03 NFS Carbon's cops do not deploy the chopper in pursuits. Also, if the game forced you to maintain a certain heat level before starting races, then the cops would've been more useful. NFSMW felt more like a car combat game than a proper racing game to me. 23:20 Same. 24:02 It has enough content, but they are not repetitive unlike MW where you can find the same race in reverse with extra lap while getting the same reward. Carbon would've been better if BB added more unique races. Most of the races were confined in the territory they took place in, I would've preferred some races that took place across multiple boss territories. Amazing video UltraViolet!
Carbon cops remove the chopper but they spawn more often and have higher rubber band compared to most wanted The crew territory in carbon is really bad and making the game short. I preferred if it was rating system for each crew, like doing drift or canyon race will increase rating for challenging Kenji, speedbreaker for Angie, checkpoint for wolf. So you can have more different type races (like drag) or probably use the highway more often in race and make the game little bit longer
Carbon has one problem: You don't earn the same amount when you replay a race. In Most wanted you could fill your garage with top tuned cars if you grinded old races after Razor was taken down. Here you earn 500 cr per replayed race. If you did one bad buy and wanted to buy another expensive car on that save: Tough luck. I really enjoyed playing Carbon and making cars. but the restrictions just made me annoyed.
been binging these videos like hell lately, you & serp both bring an analytical edge to racing game discussion i rarely see on this platform-- and i always wait a little bit to see your perspectives before i buy a new racer or maybe even discover an unplayed classic, just because i enjoy hearing you two's insight. there are very few channels that ill drop everything to watch a new upload for, but youre almost always one of them. edit: HOLY SHIT thank you for addressing the community whining about brake to drift not being "realistic" enough in a franchise where the SECOND GAME had its final track be a demented movie studio with dinosaurs, spaceships, and jumps that could turn your spine into spaghetti before you even got the chance to land. if "realism" is the problem, then need for speed isn't the franchise for you, end of story. nobody show r/needforspeed ridge racer they'll throw a fit
I have to add a second comment, because I really forgot how much I loved Carbon until I saw this video, and all my lost memories came back, the cars I built, the races I did, the special vehicles… sadly my copy broke, so I never got to re-experience it like I did U1, U2, MW, and PS. That game and that Audi LeMans Quattro (definitely not an R8 with concept headlights) are how I first saw the R8, I hadn’t been able to label a specific dream car until I saw it. I forgot just how much this game influenced me. I’m really glad I watched this video.
Absolutely phenomenal video mate! You are absolutely correct about it being so intensely reminiscent of its era, and that is honestly the part I am enjoying the most about playing through it now. Can’t wait to see what the next one is mate!
Great video, definitely brings me back. You're right about it being a one playthrough and done kind of game, I beat it pretty quickly on 360 around launch and probably never fired it up again but I am currently replaying Underground 1 and I'm about to go in order- got NFSU2, MW, and Carbon all ready to go on PC (originally played all but Carbon on Gamecube so the graphical improvements are so nice!) There really is something about the racing games from back then. I do enjoy the newer stuff but I will never NOT find myself going back to older games and consoles
Most Wanted Redux and Carbon Redux have brought me back to both of these games from my childhood. And being able to tweak cop limits and force max heat level to 10....its insane. The modding community is always hard at work making these games so much better than the vanilla versions.
Carbon was my first "new" racing game growing up and my 4th racing game ever, and the 2nd game that got me into cars (besides underground 2) and was the one that made sure I'd always love them. My first was crusin USA, then NFS hot pursuit 2, and then need for speed underground 2. Carbon was my favorite game for a long time until The Crew was released. (Rip) Now, nothing comes close.
6:33 the reason autosculpt is gone could also be because the manufacturers don't like it nowadays. We all know how shitty car manufacturers can be these days
I'd agree, but considering what Unbound gets away with due to its horrendous long tails and obnoxious kits from EA themselves not sure thats entirely the reason
I'm the dude who suggested the Carbon review on the nfs 2015 video and you can't imagine how happy I am you liked it! There's not enough words for me to express how much fun I've had and how much memories I've made with this game, it'll always have a special place in my heart. Great video UltraViolet!
The Canyons and the Music Themes pretty much carried this game and are easily the best parts as well. I've never played this game before. But I can confidently say that this game definitely had an impact on video games and the community as a whole. When it comes to gaming, I used to play on this one modded server from GTA 5 FiveM way before Rockstar removed all the irl cars and what not. Back when the server was popping there was these custom maps that everyone would play on. One of them was literally the Canyon Routes from Carbon. There would be tons of players on it everyday either just drifting, racing, or chilling, it was so fun. And whenever I would look up other custom modded maps in racing games on UA-cam. Modded Canyon Routes would usually show up in a couple of videos across multiple games. That's how much of an impact the Canyons had from Carbon. I do find it interesting how both Most Wanted and Carbon have their own different storylines, progression, and gameplay. Most Wanted is basically just you vs everybody. Racers or cops you didn't care, you wanted to take everybody down and you wanted all the smoke. Carbon is all about building a crew, taking over territories, car culture, and exploring the city/night life. I was always interested in seeing someone combine two different atmospheres into one game. Since Most Wanted and Carbon have two different settings. I'm curious to see if someone could combine both the You vs Everybody and Building a Crew type of stories/gameplays into one game. It might not work well, but I feel like if its done right it could possibly become one of the best racing games out there at least in my opinion. And man I miss Autosculpt. I knew it was in Prosteet but I didn't know Carbon had it too. It was probably one of the best things that the classic NFS games had to offer. Really gave customization a whole new look and different meaning just like you said. Don't know why they removed that. They removed a lot of old features honestly. I wish they brought it back because that was one of my favorite things from back in the day. Anyways Great Video Man!
Such a beautyful review for Carbon here, from you. All you sayed is so true. And seeing the review I can't help but wonder if we ever see a game like carbon that captures the canyon duel atmosphere as great as carbon did. Heck I even rember that I, when younger went deep into the mysterie of the location of the city, considering where most wanted was and the skyboxes with other citys in sight. Truely love the atmosphere that was there to this day.
Great video! I feel the same way about a lot of games from this era now; they’re almost *more* fun in 2024 because they’d never get made in 2024. They were a little off-beat and cringe-worthy then, but now it’s just a vibe.
I more then once yelled at my screen while playing this game when one of my so called helpers ruined my race again..😂 In the PS3 era I overlooked one game for years. Ridge Racer Unbounded is a very good game not to be missed.👍🏻
Actually I'd rather play modded Carbon and Most Wanted than the new Forza's or Crew, I hate when we just started the game and they bombarded us with events, race, gigs, clothes, houses, I mean JESUS, talk about shoving things down our throat. I JUST WANT TO RACE.
Carbon is probably my favourite from aesthetic alone, nothing replicates the dark vibe also 8:50 finally someone recognises this to me theres no crime with brake to drift (i like hot pursuit, mw 2012 and rivals handling) but ghost handling is so bad it makes everyone blame the system
Carbon is supposed to be underground 3 but they mixed in with most wanted, and the map similiar to underground 2 (kenji turf is first area, long highway, wolf turf is second area, darius turf is third area mixed with casino, and angie turf is the last two area).
I adored that there were heat levels per zone and it made child me petrified when i had to go into a heat 5 area. Of course it doesnt do that much but i like the idea
I have such a soft spot for Carbon. First game I played in the series after renting it from a Blockbuster back then, and beating the game on multiple occasions. Even if the thing is rushed and quarter baked, I love it for its vibe and ideas. The crews based around car classes and the territories, the different tiers/classes and how they all handle. It feels shorter on the surface versus MW but I come back to this one more than MW.
I might not be the norm but I personally love Carbon compare to all the other blackbox era games. I already played the game 4 times from start to finish including the challenge sesries. I love the vibe, and the fun factor. yeah is not long but everything you do have a purpose. Zero grind needed and its satisfying. I think for me is better then Most Wanted.
I disagree that they don't hold up They do hold up They're racing games that literally anyone can enjoy to this day, outside of graphic whores that only care about visual fidelity (but with RTX Remix even those can be satisfied) NFS2015 for instance isn't fun. Even though I love its corny cutscenes and its gorgeous graphics, the gameplay just isn't fun and doesn't hold up. And I can say the same for a lot of other NFS games that came out in the past 10 years. Forza Horizon 5 is gorgeous. The cars control well. But it's soulless. Empty. If anything, Most Wanted and Carbon (and a lot of the other Blackbox era games) hold up better now than they did on release. NFS ProStreet to this day is legitimately one of the only racing games that truly understood car culture
I love both games but something about carbon has always made me like it better. 1. My type of taste. 2. Car culture. 3. Rich suburban cities/Map. 4. Canyon. 5. Soundtrack. 6. Night time cycle.
20:43 as an aside, you can do each zone in any order. you can even do them all at the same time although that also means a lot of driving between zones.
I actually tired to remake canyon runs in my early racing game tinkering. turns out those are pretty hard to do well. if the tracks are too hard they are just frustrating (my first thought might have been to ditch all walls). too easy and it feels like the threat isn't there. as for speed trap races, those work best when the player has a certain degree of freedom to strategize. although again, it's a nail it or not good binary to getting it right.
There is only one thing that I criticize about this game. The car rewarding system. Some cars are a pain to unlock and if you're a console player there are cars that cannot be obtained,like the Lexus which can only be used in a challenge series. Reward cards are disappointing because let's be honest we all wanted to drive those cars in career mode,and we could only use those in quick races. When you beat Darius he doesn't even hand you over his Audi even though the cutscene makes you think otherwise😅. Besides that,I think it's a pretty valid game,too much cut content though. Unless you mod it,it's not a better game than most wanted at least in my opinion. Most wanted was also more charming in the way that it wasn't always night,and had a better career mode overall
I love to see more racing game youtubers having race max pro as a sponsor. For a mobile game, its great. Im glad the devs are getting recognized for it.
I like and appreciate your positive analysis, you highlight and put into words what I really like about the game, even some things I didn’t realize myself, that being said I still agree more with the more critical analysis the likes of Raycevik. As a kid when MW came out in 2005 I didn't have it for myself, only loosely got to play it, but I did have Carbon and I really liked it. But now years later after actively playing through the series, there’s no denying that Carbon as an overall package is less cohesive than the previous titles. Carbons color filter lets through even less color than MW, the repetitive gameplay structure is made worse by the obviously cut back story and unrefined mechanics, the graphic style and audio of the game is ironically what stands out the most to me and doesn’t feel dated. It’s unfortunate because I know if Blackbox had a little more time, Carbon would feel like a proper successor and evolution over Most Wanted same way Underground 2 was to 1, the Battle Royale mod proves that, as does Undercover which seemed to share its development with Carbon. I personally don't like MW as much as others do, after the first 2 Undergrounds it feels more like a car combat game than a racing game, made worse nowadays with the realization of how stupid and overpowered the cops are, but the execution of the new style and gameplay mechanics was tightly knit. Carbon tries to combine what made both great, add some new features on top of that and ultimately fails to make any of them shine. Just like Raycevik put it, it's a very enjoyable but also very frustrating title because of the acknowledgment of how much potential it has and what it could have been.
Need for speed undercover for the Wii is what got me into the series, and it seems almost all customization and police mechanics were ripped from carbon or vice versa, as even the police car models are identical
This was my first ever nfs game, man was i spoiled, also you forgot one point in the in game content, and that is the challenges, you could use the cars unlocked there in single race mode or split screen mode in consoles.... you could play with a fire truck with NOS and an SUV. Also the split screen is some of the must fun i've had in any multiplayer game.
Btw for some reason when you start the game it always defaults it to medium graphics (at least on the one i downloaded and apparently yours too). So it's a pain in the ass but i suggest changing them to max anytime you open the game and turn on v-sync
I love carbon it was the first video game I ever played. Love the video, I was 10 and all of the canyon races were so hard i would avoid. Now I just want to find a physical copy for pc and download the super cool mods that have come out for it.
I played MW a ton. Almost beat the game with every car as soon as the respective car was unlocked (so 32 runs or however many there were in the Car Lot). When Carbon came out, I was thrilled. Continuing story line, keeping the live action cutscenes, returning Drift (!!) and of course that beautiful Le Mans Quattro. Then, I played it. First run, great fun.....until the Checkpoint Races. Tollbooth but worse. Why are these here in terms of story? The cops? Nerfed into oblivion. Spike strips are not an instant finisher anymore. Bounty is worthless. They became an annoyance, not an obstacle. The challenge series? Some neat ideas but very lack luster overall. The challenge tokens? Great idea, shame half of the unlocks didn't work for Gamecube. I remember getting that 1 million Bank challenge done and being so annoyed. Do you know how LONG it takes to get 1 million? Now some positives. Wingman were great. Cars reacting differently were great. Being able to tune everything including the body kits?Faaaannnnntastic. Overall, MW is the better game, but Carbon has some very good improvements.
While trying to mod NFS most wanted, I ran into this game. I thought it looked really cool so I installed it to sort of experience a police chase in the nighttime aesthetic. What I received instead might be genuinely one of the most mixed game experience of all time. There is no point when I play this game where it feels "mid", the game is either painfully unfun or relatively enjoyable. I enjoyed the new cars and all, but goddam, the bosses were some of the least fun I've had in any game, ever. Especially Darius. The canyon races are just not fun, but Darius is actually hard so the suffering is prolonged. I also hate how the game doesn't force you to do police chases, instead doubling down on races. The thing I liked about most wanted was that it didn't have an insane amount of races, but the races it did have were somewhat fun, not infuriating for the most part, and small in numbers. The real gold being the police chases of course. Carbon instead just makes you do stale boring ass races for 6 hours straight, some shitty bosses, and rarely does it actually force you into a police chase. The police chases are so infrequent that throughout the entire game, I only got to condition 2 ONCE, as I would always buy a new car before the heat ever even piled on. The only thing this game has going for it is the visuals. Thats it. And honestly, the visuals are enough to sell me on the game. But no, this game would not have made the same splash that most wanted made. This game makes me want to tear my teeth out and not in the way of "Its fun because its difficult", ITS NOT DIFFICULT so it gets annoying because you only end up losing a race because of some bullshit civilian doing a stupid turn or YOUR OWN CREWMATE (FUCK YOU NIKKI) BRAKE CHECKING YOU. The fight against Darius was not fun, it wasnt satisfying and the 15 minutes of unskippable credits afterwards sure as hell didn't help. On one positive note that isnt the graphics or the cars, I like that shortcuts in races aren't highlighted on the minimap, I always hated that in most wanted. Now you have to actually either react or know what to expect. 5/10 only reason its saved from anything lower is because the police chases are just a copy of most wanted with better graphics.
Honestly even though didn’t get to play NFS Carbon’s story I’m just glad I was born when racing games or games in general are made with true passion and even playing them including this game Spoilers of the video: Honestly I agree with that Hot take
While I liked carbon, I like the game after carbon pro Street instead. As it's festival environment and progression in the story was just better then carbon.
I remember having this on psp and not having a memory card would put it in rest to be able to come back and play, almost 100% the game and came back to someone had played a different game, you know the rest smh
2 things I hate about Carbon is night time only mode and canyon drifting ,Most wanted is and always will be a perfect game ,maybe only little bit less of Motion blur would be better
I enjoyed Carbon, but the problem is that Carbon felt and looked like a video game. Also, there was no need for cops. In MW, it felt like that was ME in the game.
It's so fucking stupid that people literally said that Carbon was the last good NFS game lmao. It started back in the days where Black Box used to dominate racing games back then such as the Underground series and the OG Most Wanted. Now look, Carbon has it's flaws, but it's not the last great NFS game. So fucking dumb that they literally said that. Prostreet was underrated because many people we're mad about the results that EA and Black Box made because they went on to make Undercover but didn't even polish the game yet until it's final release, making the franchise going to it's downfall, especially Shift. Hot Pursuit 2010 literally saved the franchise from falling apart because it was a love letter to the old Hot Pursuit games back in the 90's.
I undermine carbon because the wingmen system barely works, you only ever want to use scout because they can win for you, since the other ones always miss or have very weak effect
I yhink in the entirety of nfs carbon i like the map and i like the story is streamlined. I am not as much driving around through the sme highway as in underground 2 but also there is not so much grind like in mw2005 and it looks way better than mw2005 idk it's fun but short but fun epecially when you get it right now for free
I played through and finished Carbon and used a cheat engine to unlock everything including the bonus cars and add more money in the game since its stingy when it comes payouts in races
Carbon is my Personal Favourite NFS game, Most Wanted being second While MW has much better driving and Cop Chases, I just loved the Carbon aesthetic, the level of customisation, the Canyon races that where heavily inspired by Japanese Togue racing and most of all the characters. in MW I found myself only hating Razor, which is fine he’s the big bad, but in Carbon, you’re gunning for 3 different people who make you hate them with various cutscenes texts etc And then there’s the twist and you gotta do your thing one more time, winner takes all style (which you obv win) I just love it, great way to end a multi game story Oh, and if you use the Evo 9 with drift focused tires, there’s only 3 or 4 corners in the whole game where you actually have to brake😂😂😂
8:55 realism in NFS is one of the most dumb excuses i've seen in my whole life, no exaggeration. It's as nonsensical as trying to criticize an italian-themed restaurant for not having sushi. Even more stupid is trying to say that something is superior for being closer to a whole other category of racing games. If you want realistic handling in Hot Pursuit or Carbon, try it yourself just to see it. Does not feel good to play in this map? It's not because the game wasn't made to suit this handling, no way it would be, right fellow TrUe NeEd fOr SpEeD FaNs?
@@not_kjb yeah totally. Some examples of my gripes with games are: Carbon, despite being one of my favorite NFS games, is very short and could have benefited from tying itself less from its predecessor Most Wanted was a solid basis for Carbon and World, but both cops and customization were underbaked when compared to Hot Pursuit 2, Underground 2 or even Underground Every game since (and including) 2015 had lots of potential, but the handling focuses way too much on drift, the story aspects are way too short and way too cheesy, even when compared to Most Wanted Rivals is one of the best NFS games of all times in a technical sense, and another game in contention for my favorite, but the story is majorly bare bones (specially when it was supposed to make the things more intense), the upgrading system is not great and could have been removed if they'd balanced the difficulty a little more around the stock cars The Run could have been great, but they decided to cut a lot of things in favor of... cutscenes with Jack literally doing nothing but looking into women *And some ideas for a new game:* Creative artstyle (and going all-out on it this time) Making a different handling model instead of trying to make the current one more grippy Either adding or removing whole categories of cars to make the progression feel greater or the theme more pronounced (like an Underground style of shitboxes going into sports models or a Rivals style of entry-level sports cars going to hypercars) Either making a good story or not making one at all Making a soundtrack with a more pronounced thematic purpose Making a more dense open world, instead of a bigger one. And by dense, it's not in visual greatness, but in driving greatness, not exactly open, but packed full of crazy, downright unreal areas and even some visual set pieces if it doesn't affect the driving part of the map Maybe a return of team mechanics, with more emphasis on the turf wars aspect and management of the crew, like in Street Supremacy Maybe basing the map off of a different country. Like a Need For Speed in Germany, Italy, China, Canada, England, you name it A return of the pursuit tech
It's go time! Download Race Max Pro now app.adjust.com/1bxk57p2 and put the pedal to the metal.
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how did you race darius with a CXX hmmmm?
@@wydua2049 he probably used a mod
@@wydua2049 modded
honestly better than i expected
The atmosphere of Crabon is my absolute favourite. The canyons are such a vibe to race across and the ever present danger of falling to your death I love it.
Crabon XD
Cabron 👍
I love crabon
nfs cabron
Especially with all the San Juan mysteries
Finally a justification for this game. I prefer this game over Most Wanted any day. The vibe, the ambiance, the music, gosh especially the menu and canyon music! Thank you for giving this game a chance! I’m sick of seeing Most Wanted on the pedestal all the time.
Agreed! Most Wanted was a great game but it's way too overrated for what it actually plays like, especially for the NPCs rubberbanding. Carbon was just better in every way.
@@TotallyNotASpy1 I feel the opposite to be honest. Most Wanted was something completely different from UG2, they went from no cops to a dynamic cop system which still can be considered top tier today. I think the blacklist as way of progression was one of the best progression approaches in the series. Although I freaking love Carbon (autosculpt, car types and the team territories concepts were incredible), it kinda leans from the success of Most Wanted, while the story is significantly shorter. The map of Palmont isn't much smaller than Rockport (it may be even bigger), but the limited amount of roads between each district in Palmont made the map feel more repetitive to me.
Nevertheless, the fact that there are huge groups of people prefering Carbon over MW and vice versa, shows both games were amazing and had a lot of character. I personally don't think one of both is overrated, they are both still insanely fun for their unique quirks.
Ironically I play Carbon for the pursuits despite MW having more pursuit soundtrack and a more wide open map
@@xoiDROCKioxits that music carbon had. Could never beat it
FYI, you don't need justification for having a preference. Both games are good in their own merits. Seeking validation from people online shouldn't take away from something you love.
The most wanted comparasion to this game is fair. What I think what happened is that this game was very ambitious and the yearly release meant that the game got cut short. This game is still fun but it does feel short, even without playing most wanted before.
I recommend a mod called Carbon Battle Royale, it expands the game with new cars, events and a much longer playtime. If someone wants to play this game again then I absolutely recommend this mod.
Read this comment and thought, thanks for mentioning a mod that can enhance the exoerience, played both MW and Carbon when they came out and have downloaded them both several times and played through them over the years
Carbon: Battle Royale was the best thing that happened to Carbon; such a shame the original gane want like that.
I actually prefer Carbon over MW.
Same
same
Same
Same
I think it’s a preference of what you grew up with. I personally love MW 2005 too much to say carbon is better, but I do appreciate the game a lot
game is short, but its fine, it doesn't out stay its welcome, it tells us what it wants to tell us, and then its over
RIP CHRIS GAUTHIER
RIP legend 🫡
My favourite NFS and one of my favourite videogames.
Carbon's OST by Trevor Morris and Ekstrak is one of my favourite OSTs in any game.
8:48 This would've been a nice screenshot if the game was played at max settings.
15:03 NFS Carbon's cops do not deploy the chopper in pursuits. Also, if the game forced you to maintain a certain heat level before starting races, then the cops would've been more useful.
NFSMW felt more like a car combat game than a proper racing game to me.
23:20 Same.
24:02 It has enough content, but they are not repetitive unlike MW where you can find the same race in reverse with extra lap while getting the same reward.
Carbon would've been better if BB added more unique races. Most of the races were confined in the territory they took place in, I would've preferred some races that took place across multiple boss territories.
Amazing video UltraViolet!
Thanks man
Carbon cops remove the chopper but they spawn more often and have higher rubber band compared to most wanted
The crew territory in carbon is really bad and making the game short. I preferred if it was rating system for each crew, like doing drift or canyon race will increase rating for challenging Kenji, speedbreaker for Angie, checkpoint for wolf. So you can have more different type races (like drag) or probably use the highway more often in race and make the game little bit longer
Carbon was my 2nd NFS game! I did three playthroughs of it, 2 Tuner, 1 Exotic.
Only downside is the very short career.
Either short and perfect( the best) or long boring repetitive.
Carbon has one problem: You don't earn the same amount when you replay a race. In Most wanted you could fill your garage with top tuned cars if you grinded old races after Razor was taken down. Here you earn 500 cr per replayed race. If you did one bad buy and wanted to buy another expensive car on that save: Tough luck. I really enjoyed playing Carbon and making cars. but the restrictions just made me annoyed.
been binging these videos like hell lately, you & serp both bring an analytical edge to racing game discussion i rarely see on this platform-- and i always wait a little bit to see your perspectives before i buy a new racer or maybe even discover an unplayed classic, just because i enjoy hearing you two's insight. there are very few channels that ill drop everything to watch a new upload for, but youre almost always one of them.
edit: HOLY SHIT thank you for addressing the community whining about brake to drift not being "realistic" enough in a franchise where the SECOND GAME had its final track be a demented movie studio with dinosaurs, spaceships, and jumps that could turn your spine into spaghetti before you even got the chance to land. if "realism" is the problem, then need for speed isn't the franchise for you, end of story. nobody show r/needforspeed ridge racer they'll throw a fit
Hey thanks a lot man, love to hear that we can help
I have to add a second comment, because I really forgot how much I loved Carbon until I saw this video, and all my lost memories came back, the cars I built, the races I did, the special vehicles… sadly my copy broke, so I never got to re-experience it like I did U1, U2, MW, and PS. That game and that Audi LeMans Quattro (definitely not an R8 with concept headlights) are how I first saw the R8, I hadn’t been able to label a specific dream car until I saw it. I forgot just how much this game influenced me. I’m really glad I watched this video.
I absolute love the Need For Speed Review Series UltraViolet
Thanks man, glad to hear
@@UltraViolet_Moses you welcome
Absolutely phenomenal video mate! You are absolutely correct about it being so intensely reminiscent of its era, and that is honestly the part I am enjoying the most about playing through it now. Can’t wait to see what the next one is mate!
Cheers my man! Got another really special one for the next video
Great video, definitely brings me back. You're right about it being a one playthrough and done kind of game, I beat it pretty quickly on 360 around launch and probably never fired it up again but I am currently replaying Underground 1 and I'm about to go in order- got NFSU2, MW, and Carbon all ready to go on PC (originally played all but Carbon on Gamecube so the graphical improvements are so nice!)
There really is something about the racing games from back then. I do enjoy the newer stuff but I will never NOT find myself going back to older games and consoles
Most Wanted Redux and Carbon Redux have brought me back to both of these games from my childhood. And being able to tweak cop limits and force max heat level to 10....its insane. The modding community is always hard at work making these games so much better than the vanilla versions.
Same here!
Carbon was my first "new" racing game growing up and my 4th racing game ever, and the 2nd game that got me into cars (besides underground 2) and was the one that made sure I'd always love them. My first was crusin USA, then NFS hot pursuit 2, and then need for speed underground 2. Carbon was my favorite game for a long time until The Crew was released. (Rip) Now, nothing comes close.
Ive replayed it about 50 times.
Now I want to replay it again.
6:33
the reason autosculpt is gone could also be because the manufacturers don't like it nowadays. We all know how shitty car manufacturers can be these days
I'd agree, but considering what Unbound gets away with due to its horrendous long tails and obnoxious kits from EA themselves not sure thats entirely the reason
@@UltraViolet_Moses eh, fair enough, i was just guessing but yeah
I'm the dude who suggested the Carbon review on the nfs 2015 video and you can't imagine how happy I am you liked it! There's not enough words for me to express how much fun I've had and how much memories I've made with this game, it'll always have a special place in my heart.
Great video UltraViolet!
Eyyy thanks man!
The Canyons and the Music Themes pretty much carried this game and are easily the best parts as well. I've never played this game before. But I can confidently say that this game definitely had an impact on video games and the community as a whole. When it comes to gaming, I used to play on this one modded server from GTA 5 FiveM way before Rockstar removed all the irl cars and what not. Back when the server was popping there was these custom maps that everyone would play on. One of them was literally the Canyon Routes from Carbon. There would be tons of players on it everyday either just drifting, racing, or chilling, it was so fun. And whenever I would look up other custom modded maps in racing games on UA-cam. Modded Canyon Routes would usually show up in a couple of videos across multiple games. That's how much of an impact the Canyons had from Carbon.
I do find it interesting how both Most Wanted and Carbon have their own different storylines, progression, and gameplay. Most Wanted is basically just you vs everybody. Racers or cops you didn't care, you wanted to take everybody down and you wanted all the smoke. Carbon is all about building a crew, taking over territories, car culture, and exploring the city/night life. I was always interested in seeing someone combine two different atmospheres into one game. Since Most Wanted and Carbon have two different settings. I'm curious to see if someone could combine both the You vs Everybody and Building a Crew type of stories/gameplays into one game. It might not work well, but I feel like if its done right it could possibly become one of the best racing games out there at least in my opinion.
And man I miss Autosculpt. I knew it was in Prosteet but I didn't know Carbon had it too. It was probably one of the best things that the classic NFS games had to offer. Really gave customization a whole new look and different meaning just like you said. Don't know why they removed that. They removed a lot of old features honestly. I wish they brought it back because that was one of my favorite things from back in the day.
Anyways Great Video Man!
Darling, arise from your slumber for Moses B has blessed the UA-cam landscape with another moving picture.
*Carbon needed its own sequel after Pro street dropped but we got undercover instead 😢 such a shame, carbon is a solid 8/10 Racing game for me*
idea: make a hardcore gamemode where if you fly off the cliff, you literally die and have to restart (or just lose that car entirely)
Having re-played Carbon recently, I found it funny how everybody's in-game 3D models were always squinting... despite being nighttime.
Such a beautyful review for Carbon here, from you. All you sayed is so true. And seeing the review I can't help but wonder if we ever see a game like carbon that captures the canyon duel atmosphere as great as carbon did.
Heck I even rember that I, when younger went deep into the mysterie of the location of the city, considering where most wanted was and the skyboxes with other citys in sight.
Truely love the atmosphere that was there to this day.
Great video! I feel the same way about a lot of games from this era now; they’re almost *more* fun in 2024 because they’d never get made in 2024. They were a little off-beat and cringe-worthy then, but now it’s just a vibe.
I actually went to go drink at my homie’s place and we started playing NFS Carbon and Tony Hawk 2 on his PS2. Almost felt like a kid again
I more then once yelled at my screen while playing this game when one of my so called helpers ruined my race again..😂
In the PS3 era I overlooked one game for years. Ridge Racer Unbounded is a very good game not to be missed.👍🏻
Actually I'd rather play modded Carbon and Most Wanted than the new Forza's or Crew, I hate when we just started the game and they bombarded us with events, race, gigs, clothes, houses, I mean JESUS, talk about shoving things down our throat. I JUST WANT TO RACE.
Carbon is probably my favourite from aesthetic alone, nothing replicates the dark vibe
also 8:50 finally someone recognises this
to me theres no crime with brake to drift (i like hot pursuit, mw 2012 and rivals handling) but ghost handling is so bad it makes everyone blame the system
The viper in this game is ridiculously OP
Yes. Same case for the Chevy Corvette C6 Z06.
Carbon is supposed to be underground 3 but they mixed in with most wanted, and the map similiar to underground 2 (kenji turf is first area, long highway, wolf turf is second area, darius turf is third area mixed with casino, and angie turf is the last two area).
I LOVE CARBON! Still having trouble finding it on PS3 or 360.
I adored that there were heat levels per zone and it made child me petrified when i had to go into a heat 5 area. Of course it doesnt do that much but i like the idea
i think zone heat levels affects cop spawnrate
Can't wait for Carbon online mod, it will be amazing !
I have such a soft spot for Carbon. First game I played in the series after renting it from a Blockbuster back then, and beating the game on multiple occasions. Even if the thing is rushed and quarter baked, I love it for its vibe and ideas. The crews based around car classes and the territories, the different tiers/classes and how they all handle. It feels shorter on the surface versus MW but I come back to this one more than MW.
I might not be the norm but I personally love Carbon compare to all the other blackbox era games. I already played the game 4 times from start to finish including the challenge sesries. I love the vibe, and the fun factor. yeah is not long but everything you do have a purpose. Zero grind needed and its satisfying. I think for me is better then Most Wanted.
I disagree that they don't hold up
They do hold up
They're racing games that literally anyone can enjoy to this day, outside of graphic whores that only care about visual fidelity (but with RTX Remix even those can be satisfied)
NFS2015 for instance isn't fun. Even though I love its corny cutscenes and its gorgeous graphics, the gameplay just isn't fun and doesn't hold up. And I can say the same for a lot of other NFS games that came out in the past 10 years.
Forza Horizon 5 is gorgeous. The cars control well. But it's soulless. Empty.
If anything, Most Wanted and Carbon (and a lot of the other Blackbox era games) hold up better now than they did on release. NFS ProStreet to this day is legitimately one of the only racing games that truly understood car culture
I love both games but something about carbon has always made me like it better.
1. My type of taste.
2. Car culture.
3. Rich suburban cities/Map.
4. Canyon.
5. Soundtrack.
6. Night time cycle.
I KNEW you were gonna drool at the canyon boss races! We know you too well Moses!
20:43 as an aside, you can do each zone in any order. you can even do them all at the same time although that also means a lot of driving between zones.
I actually tired to remake canyon runs in my early racing game tinkering. turns out those are pretty hard to do well.
if the tracks are too hard they are just frustrating (my first thought might have been to ditch all walls). too easy and it feels like the threat isn't there.
as for speed trap races, those work best when the player has a certain degree of freedom to strategize. although again, it's a nail it or not good binary to getting it right.
There is only one thing that I criticize about this game. The car rewarding system. Some cars are a pain to unlock and if you're a console player there are cars that cannot be obtained,like the Lexus which can only be used in a challenge series. Reward cards are disappointing because let's be honest we all wanted to drive those cars in career mode,and we could only use those in quick races. When you beat Darius he doesn't even hand you over his Audi even though the cutscene makes you think otherwise😅. Besides that,I think it's a pretty valid game,too much cut content though. Unless you mod it,it's not a better game than most wanted at least in my opinion. Most wanted was also more charming in the way that it wasn't always night,and had a better career mode overall
Elias Toufexis in 2006: UwU
Elias Toufexis in 2011: I never asked for this.
I love to see more racing game youtubers having race max pro as a sponsor. For a mobile game, its great. Im glad the devs are getting recognized for it.
I love that you don't compare nfs to other games thats why you earned my like
People say Most Wanted's the better one, but it's lacking the canyon, drift races and, most importantly, it's lacking Sal.
I like and appreciate your positive analysis, you highlight and put into words what I really like about the game, even some things I didn’t realize myself, that being said I still agree more with the more critical analysis the likes of Raycevik. As a kid when MW came out in 2005 I didn't have it for myself, only loosely got to play it, but I did have Carbon and I really liked it. But now years later after actively playing through the series, there’s no denying that Carbon as an overall package is less cohesive than the previous titles. Carbons color filter lets through even less color than MW, the repetitive gameplay structure is made worse by the obviously cut back story and unrefined mechanics, the graphic style and audio of the game is ironically what stands out the most to me and doesn’t feel dated. It’s unfortunate because I know if Blackbox had a little more time, Carbon would feel like a proper successor and evolution over Most Wanted same way Underground 2 was to 1, the Battle Royale mod proves that, as does Undercover which seemed to share its development with Carbon. I personally don't like MW as much as others do, after the first 2 Undergrounds it feels more like a car combat game than a racing game, made worse nowadays with the realization of how stupid and overpowered the cops are, but the execution of the new style and gameplay mechanics was tightly knit. Carbon tries to combine what made both great, add some new features on top of that and ultimately fails to make any of them shine. Just like Raycevik put it, it's a very enjoyable but also very frustrating title because of the acknowledgment of how much potential it has and what it could have been.
I agree with that, it's certainly still a game I love, but not quite as much as I do Most Wanted
Carbon, MW 2005 and Prostreet are 3 games that I play for hours everyday and still never get bored
Angies car is the best car to get early game cause you could clear almost every event
I agree with almost everything, but it's only 4-8 hours long and the police are just tedious
Without any doubt NFS MW and Carbon are timeless games and would continue to hold going forward.
Need for speed undercover for the Wii is what got me into the series, and it seems almost all customization and police mechanics were ripped from carbon or vice versa, as even the police car models are identical
Man RIP Neville
deserves a sub for that r/needforspeed joke alone
Carbon is my favorite out of all of them i remember playing on the GameCube and not being able to save my game
Hoping for ProStreet review next!
This was my first ever nfs game, man was i spoiled, also you forgot one point in the in game content, and that is the challenges, you could use the cars unlocked there in single race mode or split screen mode in consoles.... you could play with a fire truck with NOS and an SUV. Also the split screen is some of the must fun i've had in any multiplayer game.
Gold valley with the viper straight war speed drifting ❤❤😂😂
Is it just me or there are so many freeze frames in video?
my PC is on its way out lol
@@UltraViolet_Moses all good, great vid as always!
Btw for some reason when you start the game it always defaults it to medium graphics (at least on the one i downloaded and apparently yours too). So it's a pain in the ass but i suggest changing them to max anytime you open the game and turn on v-sync
Sad that Neville died man
NFS CARBON still amazing even 18 years after release. Even more than TC3 MOTORFEST or TDU SOLAR CROWN.
I love carbon it was the first video game I ever played. Love the video, I was 10 and all of the canyon races were so hard i would avoid. Now I just want to find a physical copy for pc and download the super cool mods that have come out for it.
4am upload go crazy. but great video!
😴
I played MW a ton. Almost beat the game with every car as soon as the respective car was unlocked (so 32 runs or however many there were in the Car Lot).
When Carbon came out, I was thrilled. Continuing story line, keeping the live action cutscenes, returning Drift (!!) and of course that beautiful Le Mans Quattro.
Then, I played it. First run, great fun.....until the Checkpoint Races. Tollbooth but worse. Why are these here in terms of story?
The cops? Nerfed into oblivion. Spike strips are not an instant finisher anymore. Bounty is worthless. They became an annoyance, not an obstacle.
The challenge series? Some neat ideas but very lack luster overall.
The challenge tokens? Great idea, shame half of the unlocks didn't work for Gamecube. I remember getting that 1 million Bank challenge done and being so annoyed. Do you know how LONG it takes to get 1 million?
Now some positives.
Wingman were great. Cars reacting differently were great. Being able to tune everything including the body kits?Faaaannnnntastic.
Overall, MW is the better game, but Carbon has some very good improvements.
They should bring back the old nfs games mainly underground most wanted and carbon im so lucky I had these games when I was a kid😊
While trying to mod NFS most wanted, I ran into this game. I thought it looked really cool so I installed it to sort of experience a police chase in the nighttime aesthetic. What I received instead might be genuinely one of the most mixed game experience of all time. There is no point when I play this game where it feels "mid", the game is either painfully unfun or relatively enjoyable. I enjoyed the new cars and all, but goddam, the bosses were some of the least fun I've had in any game, ever. Especially Darius. The canyon races are just not fun, but Darius is actually hard so the suffering is prolonged. I also hate how the game doesn't force you to do police chases, instead doubling down on races. The thing I liked about most wanted was that it didn't have an insane amount of races, but the races it did have were somewhat fun, not infuriating for the most part, and small in numbers. The real gold being the police chases of course. Carbon instead just makes you do stale boring ass races for 6 hours straight, some shitty bosses, and rarely does it actually force you into a police chase. The police chases are so infrequent that throughout the entire game, I only got to condition 2 ONCE, as I would always buy a new car before the heat ever even piled on. The only thing this game has going for it is the visuals. Thats it. And honestly, the visuals are enough to sell me on the game. But no, this game would not have made the same splash that most wanted made. This game makes me want to tear my teeth out and not in the way of "Its fun because its difficult", ITS NOT DIFFICULT so it gets annoying because you only end up losing a race because of some bullshit civilian doing a stupid turn or YOUR OWN CREWMATE (FUCK YOU NIKKI) BRAKE CHECKING YOU. The fight against Darius was not fun, it wasnt satisfying and the 15 minutes of unskippable credits afterwards sure as hell didn't help.
On one positive note that isnt the graphics or the cars, I like that shortcuts in races aren't highlighted on the minimap, I always hated that in most wanted. Now you have to actually either react or know what to expect.
5/10 only reason its saved from anything lower is because the police chases are just a copy of most wanted with better graphics.
ok the police can do pit maneuvers 6/10
Honestly even though didn’t get to play NFS Carbon’s story I’m just glad I was born when racing games or games in general are made with true passion and even playing them including this game Spoilers of the video:
Honestly I agree with that Hot take
next episode review the motorala net 10 verison in a short video as a joke
While I liked carbon, I like the game after carbon pro Street instead. As it's festival environment and progression in the story was just better then carbon.
I remember having this on psp and not having a memory card would put it in rest to be able to come back and play, almost 100% the game and came back to someone had played a different game, you know the rest smh
2 things I hate about Carbon is night time only mode and canyon drifting ,Most wanted is and always will be a perfect game ,maybe only little bit less of Motion blur would be better
You should try against the charger in the canyon with another muscle, it is a bit more difficult.
I enjoyed Carbon, but the problem is that Carbon felt and looked like a video game. Also, there was no need for cops. In MW, it felt like that was ME in the game.
Your review and analysis writing skills are on point! 👌👌👌
Thank you!
Just found you from your Nier video so imagine my surprise hearing the sponsor music. You got a sub outta me.
The only thing about carbon i truly hate is how short the story felt. I just wish they had another boss or 2
It's so fucking stupid that people literally said that Carbon was the last good NFS game lmao. It started back in the days where Black Box used to dominate racing games back then such as the Underground series and the OG Most Wanted. Now look, Carbon has it's flaws, but it's not the last great NFS game. So fucking dumb that they literally said that.
Prostreet was underrated because many people we're mad about the results that EA and Black Box made because they went on to make Undercover but didn't even polish the game yet until it's final release, making the franchise going to it's downfall, especially Shift. Hot Pursuit 2010 literally saved the franchise from falling apart because it was a love letter to the old Hot Pursuit games back in the 90's.
i dont like when darius stole our balls
Great 👍 just like most wanted 👏👏
Thank you so much 😀
Hey I'm from Jamaica 🇯🇲 could do a review on blur the racing game
8:55 lmfao? Oh boy that was bold
I undermine carbon because the wingmen system barely works, you only ever want to use scout because they can win for you, since the other ones always miss or have very weak effect
NfS CARBON Looks Good Enough
I love the map
Cars Sound Amazing
The story is cool
SoundTracks are fantastic
So i like it
ay yo what happened to some of the carbon footage
My computers genuinely dying, had this issue for a while now
@@UltraViolet_Moses rip
correction : NFSC has a livery editor while NFSMW does not !
Sir, they both share the same livery/vinyl editor, your correction is not correct
I yhink in the entirety of nfs carbon i like the map and i like the story is streamlined. I am not as much driving around through the sme highway as in underground 2 but also there is not so much grind like in mw2005 and it looks way better than mw2005
idk it's fun but short
but fun
epecially when you get it right now for free
carbon >>>>>>>>>>>>>> mw easily
I think you have the title backwards frfr
How exactly did he play this considering that all PCS are digital now?
NFS CARBON RULES ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
I played through and finished Carbon and used a cheat engine to unlock everything including the bonus cars and add more money in the game since its stingy when it comes payouts in races
Carbon is my Personal Favourite NFS game, Most Wanted being second
While MW has much better driving and Cop Chases, I just loved the Carbon aesthetic, the level of customisation, the Canyon races that where heavily inspired by Japanese Togue racing and most of all the characters.
in MW I found myself only hating Razor, which is fine he’s the big bad, but in Carbon, you’re gunning for 3 different people who make you hate them with various cutscenes texts etc
And then there’s the twist and you gotta do your thing one more time, winner takes all style (which you obv win)
I just love it, great way to end a multi game story
Oh, and if you use the Evo 9 with drift focused tires, there’s only 3 or 4 corners in the whole game where you actually have to brake😂😂😂
How did you get the Koenissegg in Career Mode?
8:55 realism in NFS is one of the most dumb excuses i've seen in my whole life, no exaggeration. It's as nonsensical as trying to criticize an italian-themed restaurant for not having sushi. Even more stupid is trying to say that something is superior for being closer to a whole other category of racing games. If you want realistic handling in Hot Pursuit or Carbon, try it yourself just to see it. Does not feel good to play in this map? It's not because the game wasn't made to suit this handling, no way it would be, right fellow TrUe NeEd fOr SpEeD FaNs?
The current devs would really benefit from community input and I mean _competent_ input, not fanboy shilling.
@@not_kjb yeah totally. Some examples of my gripes with games are:
Carbon, despite being one of my favorite NFS games, is very short and could have benefited from tying itself less from its predecessor
Most Wanted was a solid basis for Carbon and World, but both cops and customization were underbaked when compared to Hot Pursuit 2, Underground 2 or even Underground
Every game since (and including) 2015 had lots of potential, but the handling focuses way too much on drift, the story aspects are way too short and way too cheesy, even when compared to Most Wanted
Rivals is one of the best NFS games of all times in a technical sense, and another game in contention for my favorite, but the story is majorly bare bones (specially when it was supposed to make the things more intense), the upgrading system is not great and could have been removed if they'd balanced the difficulty a little more around the stock cars
The Run could have been great, but they decided to cut a lot of things in favor of... cutscenes with Jack literally doing nothing but looking into women
*And some ideas for a new game:*
Creative artstyle (and going all-out on it this time)
Making a different handling model instead of trying to make the current one more grippy
Either adding or removing whole categories of cars to make the progression feel greater or the theme more pronounced (like an Underground style of shitboxes going into sports models or a Rivals style of entry-level sports cars going to hypercars)
Either making a good story or not making one at all
Making a soundtrack with a more pronounced thematic purpose
Making a more dense open world, instead of a bigger one. And by dense, it's not in visual greatness, but in driving greatness, not exactly open, but packed full of crazy, downright unreal areas and even some visual set pieces if it doesn't affect the driving part of the map
Maybe a return of team mechanics, with more emphasis on the turf wars aspect and management of the crew, like in Street Supremacy
Maybe basing the map off of a different country. Like a Need For Speed in Germany, Italy, China, Canada, England, you name it
A return of the pursuit tech
@@LotsOfToubleUsuallySerious take it back to the roots
I really don’t know what all I missed as I played/play the PS2 version. What all is different in the Xbox 360 gen?
My top 3:
NFS Underground 2
NFS Carbon.
NFS Most Wanted.
Carbon,MW2005 and U2 are the best😊
Yes