Nevertheless, EA keeps cranking out the series, and by the number of sales year after year, until the masses are sick of customization and drifting, I guess we will have to love it or leave it. Thankfully, EA is trying to at least satisfy the best of both worlds with engaging and white-knuckle racing complete with cop chases, tied in with the ability to modify your car. While not a departure from the Most Wanted idea, there are enough new features and unique presentation changes to merit a purchase to the die-hard racing or NFS fans out there.

Visually the game's presentation is new and takes on a very Sin City look, especially in the cut scenes, which are actually presented and acted by real on screen people. Some scenes actually take me back to the comical visions of the FMV on the Sega CD, but I guess you cannot blame EA for trying to get away from everything being CGI. Next time guys, try hiring some big name actors if you plan to incorporate them into the storyline and if you intend to draw us in. In game, the racing engine returns to the night urban skylines filled with streetlamps, city lights, and the glorious feeling of seclusion. Running at a solid 30 FPS, gamers will feel that sense of speed without worrying about slowdown or frame rate stuttering muddying up the experience. Autosculpt, a morphing engine that allows each car to look unique and to tune your car the way you desire, wonderfully designs the cars. You'll even see paint chipping, scratching and damage to your cars to bring a bit of authenticity to the game. What's more the game looks great on the current gen consoles, but to really get where EA is trying to take this franchise, you have to see it running on the 360 (or I'm sure identically on the PS3). A new GPS system allows you to find locales, races, and destination points along with pointers on how to get there. It is also on this map where you will find which territories are for the taking as the city is yours if you are game enough to take it.

Audio is one of the game's biggest showcases with authentic engine sounds, muffler roars, and nitrous spewing that will be a cascade of audio splendor for any racing fan's ear. Yes, you still have to deal with EA Trax (unless you have custom soundtracks), and yes the voice acting is hokey and very community theater-like, but the meat of the game sounds terrific and that is where you'll be spending most of you time, so no worries.

NFS Carbon handles much as you would expect, fast and furious (did I actually use that line?). The A.I. is aggressive and very rubber band like, so do not expect to hold on to any leads for a great deal of time, especially in the later races where one slip up can cause YOU the races, but not the CPU. This will satisfy those gamers who like their races close, but not so realistic. A build your crew option has been added to allow you to choose your crew members and use their skills on the road and in the garage to help you win races and customize cars. When it comes to handling, it all depends on the style of vehicle you are comfortable with as the three classes handle quite differently. You have Tuner, Import, and Muscle cars that will appeal uniquely to each individual. I prefer the Import cars as they stick to the road and have high acceleration. If you win by drifting, you may want a tuner car, as these are the cars that will offer the most options for tricking out your ride. Muscle cars are for the aggressive, get out of my way Sunday driver kind of folk who take no prisoners and care even less about their car's bodywork. With over 50 licensed cars, import and domestic, you should be able to find a handful of cars that will help you to be king of the road offline and online.

Speaking of online, you can compete in eight man races that spread into a various amount of online modes. At the time of this review, all the kinks were worked out on EA's end on their servers, so the games were virtually lag free and a lot of fun. One big advantage online that owners of next gen and PC version will experience is the option to take your tricked out ride online and show it off to the masses.

Need for Speed: Carbon is not a direct sequel to NFS: Most Wanted, but you could have fooled me with the tremendous amounts of similarities both games have. Which leaves me wondering will I run out of gas on the series before EA does? I guess in the end it will be the masses who decide the fate of the series. I just hope we some great and new innovations in future installments now that they will have two next generation platforms to develop for. There is indeed enough newness for a purchase, but I hope now that EA will be able to focus strictly on next gen from this point we see substantial upgrade and changes to next year's NFS title. As is, if you are a fan, you have this by now and most likely have conquered it. Casual gamers will cling to the ease of pick up and play, and hardcore gamers will love the customization options. There is enough to please everyone, but don't expect to be wowed by anything new or revolutionary, yet it still doesn't take away from the fact this is a solid racing game and will give many gamers the satisfaction for their need for speed.