Common Sense Media Review
Mean, nasty street-car racing, not at its best.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 13+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Play
Parent and Kid Reviews
Based on 5 parent reviews
Based on 23 kid reviews
Kids say the game is engaging, featuring impressive graphics and a blend of police chases and customization options, but some content may not be suitable for younger audiences. While it's praised for its fun gameplay, there are critiques regarding its appropriateness for children, and some players believe newer installments in the franchise are better.
- fun gameplay
- graphics praised
- age appropriateness
- mixed reviews
Summarized with AI
Summarized with AI
What's It About?
In NEED FOR SPEED CARBON, players assume the role of a racer with a checkered past. The story challenges you to take over the fictional town of Palmont City one borough at a time (or defend what you've taken) by tweaking your car, picking the right wingman to mess with rival cars, and winning races against rival gangs. The focus is on arcade-style racing -- cars never get damaged and stay glued to the road -- but there's a strategic layer that makes the game feel deeper than your average racer. A new concept, \"wingmen,\" allow you to have a computer-controlled car help you win races by messing with rival cars (by blocking, bumping, or harassing them).
Is It Any Good?
The graphics are beautiful, offering a wide variety of city streets and twisting, turning canyons to race in. All races take place at night, which gets boring after a while, but the neon and headlight effects are often stunning -- particularly when you watch a replay of a race.
While the addition of wingmen is cool, their practical effect is that they make the game too easy: As a consequence, initially, moderately experienced racers will win most races. However, that winning streak will come to a screeching halt when faced with Boss races, intense competition where you can actually win territory, because those races are incredibly hard and frustrating. Need for Speed Carbon would have been a better game if the developers had found a happy medium between these two levels of racing difficulty.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about why safe driving is important and why people should never participate in street racing in real life. Parents might want to remind kids that this game has an unrealistic lack of consequences. Families might also want to discuss the racing car culture -- why does it have such a strong pull? Why do people have such loyalties to different types of cars?
Game Details
- Platforms : Xbox 360 , PlayStation 3 , PSP , Nintendo Wii , Nintendo DS , Windows , PlayStation 2 , Nintendo GameCube , Xbox , Game Boy Advance
- Pricing structure :
- Available online? : Available online
- Publisher : Electronic Arts
- Release date : December 5, 2006
- Genre : Racing
- ESRB rating :
- Last updated : October 9, 2025
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