Here's something to look forward to at month's end: Need For Speed Carbon is set for its official release for all major consoles all across the country. And by the look of things, this is a game you will really want to get your hands on, even if you haven't played the last two NFS titles (Most Wanted and Underground 2).


Need For Speed has always been about the cars, and this year's edition is set to take your simulated street racing experience to a whole new level. NFS Carbon ups the ante up even further with an even more expansive environment than NFS Most Wanted's, added car-customization tweaks that give way to more creative and stylistic freedom than NFS Underground 2, along with some exciting new features - canyon racing, racing crews, and car-class affiliations.

NFS Carbon's open-world in-game environment is set to be even bigger this year. Reportedly based on Carbon Canyon, California, Need For Speed Carbon puts you squarely back into the world of blacklist, pink-slip racing as you drive through the massive city locations and challenge other crews for supremacy and control over their territory. Unlike the one on one racing against the blacklist in Most Wanted, this time you take on entire crews a they defend their hood and try to take your ride with it. You aren't alone on this one, however, as the game now allows you to recruit a crew of your own. Each crew member brings to the table their own unique abilities that you can call on to give you a heads up over the competition as the game progresses. During races, you've got blockers, scouts/pathfinders, and drafters. Blockers race beside you as they pick the competition off or slow them down, scouts/pathfinders guide you through the course, and drafters help you slipstream for an extra boost in speed. Off the races, mechanics and fabricators help you mod and trick your ride out, and fixers/influencers help with contacts and take the heat off your back. Put your crew together and take on competition. Win, and you take over their hood, gain some rep, and maybe even pink slips to new, sweet rides along the way.

Obviously, this crew-based set-up puts a new twist on things, as your gaming experience is determined just as much by the type of car you use as the people you assemble around you. Car types are divided into three classes – tuner, muscle and exotics. Each class has its own strengths and weaknesses, and the rival crew's turf are designed to play to their crew's strengths. For example, tuner car areas will put a premium on handling, while muscle car areas will favor powerful, straight line speed.

Boss fights feature another new addition to the game – canyon races. Canyon races pit you against the crew's leader in a two-stage race downhill race. The first stage has you following the boss down to the bottom of the hill. The closer you stick to the boss all the way to the finish line, the more points you rack up in your favor. The second turns things around, with you in the lead as you try to put your foot down and smoke the competition. Points are taken away every time the boss gets within a certain proximity, and the goal is to get through with some of the points that you earned from sticking to the boss in the earlier rounds still intact. Sounds like an interesting concept, and is something you might want to try out as soon as you get your hands on a copy of the game.

The game also brings back drift racing, a feature that was left out in the transition from NFS Underground 2 to NFS Most Wanted. There might be variations, however, and it might take on more of the likes recently seen in The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift.

Yet another new feature in NFS Carbon is auto sculpting, a new customization method that allows you to freely morph the elements of your ride just the way you like it via sliders and the controller's analog sticks. This should allow your car to really stand out and give you a more unique, custom car feel than ever before. The freedom granted unto you by the game might be dependent on the mechanic and fabricator skills of your crew, so that should only add to the incentive of getting the best for your team.

Instead of being just another beefed-up version of the current generation consoles, such as the Xbox and PS 2,
NFS Carbon was designed with the next-generation gaming consoles in mind, such as the Xbox 360, PS 3 and Nintendo Wii. This should ensure awesome graphics and better quality audio, basically a step up from its predecessors.

Overall, NFS Carbon is set to be a mind-blowing game. Certainly a game than any driving and gaming fan would enjoy. Release dates are set for the start of next month for all major consoles. So if you haven't yet, you might want to check the store nearest you and reserve a copy today.