Anyone else excited about this title?

This is one of those rare titles that I will purchase as soon as it is released.

http://pc.ign.com/articles/718/718352p1.html

I'm interested in it, but I can also say I am sick, sick, sick to death of Boy-Racer games.....I'd much rather have a return to the diversity of earlier NFS games, where you raced supercars on cool tracks like Desert highways, New England back Roads, German Autobahns, etc, etc, etc.

EA is like some old guy in an office trying desperately to cash-in on whats "hip".....and its always like 5 years out of date when they get around to it. "Hey, Gangster Rap..we should make a game about Gangster Rap Racing!", etc, etc ;)

I wish they'd return to their roots of racing supercars on scenic roads against other supercars, with lots of branching tracks and shortcuts....

I'm interested in it, but I can also say I am sick, sick, sick to death of Boy-Racer games.....I'd much rather have a return to the diversity of earlier NFS games, where you raced supercars on cool tracks like Desert highways, New England back Roads, German Autobahns, etc, etc, etc.

EA is like some old guy in an office trying desperately to cash-in on whats "hip".....and its always like 5 years out of date when they get around to it. "Hey, Gangster Rap..we should make a game about Gangster Rap Racing!", etc, etc ;)

I wish they'd return to their roots of racing supercars on scenic roads against other supercars, with lots of branching tracks and shortcuts....

I don't disagree with some of what you say here, but Carbon looks like it will avoid many of the pitfalls that you discuss.

I'm not necessarily excited about the fact that it looks like they are going to all be night races though.

ive been a fan and have played every single one since the 1st one on PC. I canhonestly say, ive enjoyed every single one of them, and with acception to the first nfs, most wanted was probably my favorite. Ive been keepin up on this latest installment and think its gonna be great.

I am looking forward to it.....I don't like racing at night and I was turned off by this when Underground 2 came out (I did like the first Underground, but didn't want another just like it).....I loved MW and that was the first game I played on the system...........The openest of the game was great...........I hope Carbon is even better and I think it will be a bigger combination of the past few games............I don't know if there is day racing, but I can only hope........I will still get it though.............

NFS:Carbon, are they trying to say it's a carbon copy of the last one?

sorry, I'd rather wait for Forza 2 to come out later this year (November, I think)

porsche unleashed for the pc was their last GOOD game

ea has destroyed the NFS franchise

ea has destroyed the NFS franchise

Considering how long the franchise has been around, and considering how good Mosted Wanted is, I have to disagree with this statement.

Of course some in the series weren't quite as good, but overall I think they have done an excellent job of keeping things fresh.

NFS:Carbon, are they trying to say it's a carbon copy of the last one?

"Carbon" as in "Carbon Canyon".

If you read the article in Game Informer you will see that this is far from a copy of MW.

I don't disagree with some of what you say here, but Carbon looks like it will avoid many of the pitfalls that you discuss.
No, it looks like they haven't. It does look like a carbon copy of Underground and Most Wanted. It's perfectly all right if that's what you dig.

ea has destroyed the NFS franchise


most wanted is the best game in the series

i didnt like underground to much though

but NFS2 was my favorite before, i used to play that all the time on my PS1

Need for Speed SE for the Pc back in the days of friggin DOS. My favorite racer of all time. That was the best for me and almost cost me my engineering degree :( NFS2 was nothing more then bad car physics, and repetitive oval tracks, same goes for the next few games. Then the next best one was Porsche unleashed for the PC. NFSU was horrible , gimmicky and frustrating. NFSU2 was a little better and more fun for me but for some reason I lost interest quickly. Perhaps if brooke Burke was shown using FMV it would have lasted longer :) And NFS:MW lasted about 15mins for me as I thought it was another horrible gimmicky arcade'ish racer with bad car physics and bad frame rate.

NFS-MW plays like crap on my 360 and display. Every other game is fine.

I've always been a big NFS fan, but it will take a great demo to get me back on board.

sorry, I'd rather wait for Forza 2 to come out later this year (November, I think)




Exactly, EA is garbage because they remove features, Laggy servers, Average graphics, dont support system link. I even think they are using rumble less and less. Fight night for example. They are going to ruin gaming eventually.



I only buy EA used if i have to. :mad:

I wish they'd return to their roots of racing supercars on scenic roads against other supercars, with lots of branching tracks and shortcuts....

Couldn't agree with you more. Need for Speed Hot Pursuit 2 on the PS2 is my favorite console NFS game, the underground games keep getting less and less interesting to me. Most Wanted felt like more of the same and I will likely skip Carbon.

The Road Rash series is dead and Need for Speed is not much fun anymore. Whats next?

Nobody forget the fact that EA kills their gaming servers so you can't even play Underground 2 etc. on Live or even the PC anymore.

Nobody forget the fact that EA kills their gaming servers so you can't even play Underground 2 etc. on Live or even the PC anymore.

Really? What the hell is up with that?

http://www.ea.com/information.jsp

I find it odd they're shutting down Undergound 2 already when it's only still one game before the current one.

Ridiculous.

Agreed, I bought a copy of Underground 2 for xbox only a few months ago....obviously I haven't put much time into it, but now I'll never get to try out the live functionality. Thats BS.

They may as well put on the package "Supports LIVE! (for the next 24 months, tops)."

I just started playing Most Wanted (mostly since I bought it at launch, but never once played it..just ripped the cello off last weekend).....its fun, but its not "can't put the controller down, can't wait to unlock next car/race" fun like it was in HP2....because in this game you have to waste so much time racking up wanted points to unlock the next batch of cars, etc....I hate a game that makes me do repetitive tasks to advance. Let me race races, let me unlock new cars, etc, etc.

And yet....I know...I'll buy Carbon. Racing games are one of the vices I have on game systems..for some reason, i am compelled to give them all a once-over.

Agreed, I bought a copy of Underground 2 for xbox only a few months ago....obviously I haven't put much time into it, but now I'll never get to try out the live functionality. Thats BS.

They may as well put on the package "Supports LIVE! (for the next 24 months, tops)."

I just started playing Most Wanted (mostly since I bought it at launch, but never once played it..just ripped the cello off last weekend).....its fun, but its not "can't put the controller down, can't wait to unlock next car/race" fun like it was in HP2....because in this game you have to waste so much time racking up wanted points to unlock the next batch of cars, etc....I hate a game that makes me do repetitive tasks to advance. Let me race races, let me unlock new cars, etc, etc.

And yet....I know...I'll buy Carbon. Racing games are one of the vices I have on game systems..for some reason, i am compelled to give them all a once-over.

I'm pretty close to the same way. Racing is where its at for me. Not just cars, basically racing of any type. MotoGP is excellent.

GOOD GOD ROB, that home theater is amazing!! i love the colors.

I'll second that...sweet HT room.

Now the weakest link is your projector :)

$20,000 HT room.
$1400 projector!

THATS JUST WRONG!

(jk....as long as you enjoy it thats all that matters!) Nice work.

As for racing games, I currently get my "fill" with the games I already have...I saw Ridge Racer is now $20 bucks, which means I'll be buying it. Unless its a must-have-now title, and there havn't been any recently, I'm trying to wait until I see some sales...Test Drive will be my next buy-at-launch game....can't resist.

I'm going to be building a racing cockpit this Christmas out of the Microsoft wheel, pvc pipe, and some kind of bucket seat.

I'll second that...sweet HT room.

Now the weakest link is your projector :)

$20,000 HT room.
$1400 projector!

THATS JUST WRONG!

(jk....as long as you enjoy it thats all that matters!) Nice work.

As for racing games, I currently get my "fill" with the games I already have...I saw Ridge Racer is now $20 bucks, which means I'll be buying it. Unless its a must-have-now title, and there havn't been any recently, I'm trying to wait until I see some sales...Test Drive will be my next buy-at-launch game....can't resist.

Hey! My Dwin TV3 was $10,500.00 retail when I bought it!

But thanks for the comments re the HT.

Let me know what you think of Ridge Racer. I almost picked it up a few times, but haven't done so yet. For $20, now may be a good time.

I enjoy it on my PSP from time to time, and I played the free demo on the 360 enough times to justify picking it up. For $20 its a no brainer, i'll get $20 worth of thrills out of it...

But...you gotta like..or, at least, tolerate the Ridge Racer style of gameplay....

I enjoy it on my PSP from time to time, and I played the free demo on the 360 enough times to justify picking it up. For $20 its a no brainer, i'll get $20 worth of thrills out of it...

But...you gotta like..or, at least, tolerate the Ridge Racer style of gameplay....

Where are you seeing it for $20?

Its an official price drop. EB, Gamestop, Circuit City, Best Buy.

I credit Cheapassgamer.com for the heads up.

Its an official price drop. EB, Gamestop, Circuit City, Best Buy.

I credit Cheapassgamer.com for the heads up.

I just bookmarked that site. Thanks!

Ridge Racer was $40 at EBgames a little more than a week ago. Glad I didn't buy it then! :eek:

Addendum- thanks to cheapassgamer.com, I just ordered a 12 month subscription to Xbox live for $35.82 via Amazon! Not bad.

I have always enjoyed the NFS games... but when i found out I HAD to be a ricer in Underground, I decided it was time for me to leave NFS for a while. I've played MW on both PC and PS2 and admit that I really enjoyed it, especially the corvette chases. I haven't seen much on "Carbon" so I can't really believe that I'll spend another $50-60 on this installment unless something amazing is released to change my mind between now and then.

I too have always enjoyed the NFS games. Granted, I haven't LOVED any of them since HP2, but I have enjoyed the racing. Driving only at night in Underground bugged me however, half of the fun of driving is being able to see the scenery as you fly by it :)

My disconnect comes with the goofy hip-hop and nu-metal laden car culture that NFS has been trying to sell us lately, taking a perfectly good looking car and ruining it with gaudy graphics and the like. Thats kinda...well...I must be too old to think a Fuscia and Green car is supposed to look..err..."hot". Admittedly slapping a body kit on a fairly ordinary car is ok (say, your average Dodge Neon or VW Golf..)....but when you start putting body kids on lamborghini's and such, to me thats heresy!

"Congratulations...you've turned your car into a Jolly Rancher" :)

I saw the video for CARBON on a 360 download, as to how the customization can be done, and it looks pretty cool. Instead of body kits and mods, its all about actually deforming the car..chopping the roof, modifying the hood, fenders, they even showed adjusting the depth of the custom wheels and how to customize them......to truly make your ride custom.

At first I used to be down on the ricers....but then I realized something..take away the lame pop-culture aspect of it, and these were good, solidly built cars...ruined by 18 year old kids who dont know any better..."Yo check out my phat WING I just put on my Celica! Its good for 20 more horsepower!", etc, etc

:)

It's amazing how opinions on these games vary so greatly. Example: Burnout Revenge is very highly rated by the mags and others here. Why? I don't get it. Half the game is trying to intentionally crash your car and cause as much damage as possible, and then blowing yourself up at the end. Yeah, that's cool. :rolleyes:

Now I did play online, and that was a lot more fun than playing the career mode. Still, it seems this is a highly overrated title.

Well burnout isn't a racing game, its an action game disguised as a racing game...and its definately a love it or hate it kind of thing.

I *hate* Burnout online....because online, its *just* a racing game.....rarely if ever do you
see your opponents close to you, and if you do, its just a matter of who gets the slam in first..then they're gone and you never see em again unless they, themselves crash. So to me, when its just a racing game, its no fun......keep the turbo floored, avoid the traffic and track hazards, and hope you get to the finish line first.

But single player was another one of those great games that just sucked me in. Now, I am talking about the racing parts. I hate the "cause as much damage crash" games....to me, those just weren't fun, I wanted to do flaming 180 degree powerslides while avoiding buses and slamming competetors into oncoming traffic. Dats FUN :)

Well burnout isn't a racing game, its an action game disguised as a racing game...and its definately a love it or hate it kind of thing.

I *hate* Burnout online....because online, its *just* a racing game.....rarely if ever do you
see your opponents close to you, and if you do, its just a matter of who gets the slam in first..then they're gone and you never see em again unless they, themselves crash. So to me, when its just a racing game, its no fun......keep the turbo floored, avoid the traffic and track hazards, and hope you get to the finish line first.

But single player was another one of those great games that just sucked me in. Now, I am talking about the racing parts. I hate the "cause as much damage crash" games....to me, those just weren't fun, I wanted to do flaming 180 degree powerslides while avoiding buses and slamming competetors into oncoming traffic. Dats FUN :)

But online seemed pretty intense (at least for the small portion of the race when you were actually within site of your competitors, which, as you said, isn't long).

I completely agree about Burnout NOT being a racing game. The single player has too many of the stupid "crash in just the right spot and blow yourself up at the end" segments that drive me crazy, and definitely have prevented me from being "sucked in". Add to this the fact that it is extremely easy to work your way up to the next level ("fearless" etc) there isn't much to keep me interested. NFS MW is much better in this regard.

most wanted is the best game in the series

i didnt like underground to much though

but NFS2 was my favorite before, i used to play that all the time on my PS1
Ok, I guess I'll put in my $.02.

<rant>
I've played every NFS game since the very first one. What the hell has EA done? I thought that the one with the damage modeling that actually affected your car's handling and performance was the best one in the entire series. Don't remember which one it was though... it's sitting in my room somewhere. As far as I remember, they only did that once though. That has been my main complaint with every other NFS ever released: no damage. Don't even bring up the "damage" option in MW... That was an absolute joke. Drive 200mph into an oncoming car or a wall, and you might get a scratch on your front bumper. WTF is that?! I think you could lose your side mirrors in both of the underground games, but that was it. Whatever, they aren't even trying. Surely I'm not the only one who want to see more realistic damage?

Secondly, where did the physics go? The game has never been about Gran Turismo-like physics, but they used to be a lot better, IMO. Why does hitting the nitro during a slide straighten your car out? Why can I run into traffic with very little consequence? Why can't I run into any traffic during a drag race, but the computer can? I've seen the computer run right into an 18 wheeler during a drag race, and just bounce off and then catch back up to me!

Which brings me to my third point: tone the rubber-banding way down, or have an option to turn it off completely!!! If I race well, the computer should not be able to magically catch up to me after the race is %90 over! And that's all I have to say about that .

Lastly, make the basics of the game more realistic. What was with the white lines flying off the back of your car in MW? Please. Why is nitros treated like a warp-speed button? Nitro raises the octane of the injected fuel mixture to keep the engine from detonating at high compression ratios. That's it. It does not magically push you back into your seat and blur your vision. Upgrading from a dry shot to a wet shot or direct port injection does not give you more nitro. Bigger nitro bottles give you more, regardless of injection method. Another knock against MW: since when did a lambo come from the factory with a turbo? Since when does the stage of a turbo determine both quicker acceleration and higher top speed? Why does a "stage 3" turbo kit cost over 70 grand?! All of the prices for parts were totally outrageous... Give me a break. Oh, and the police do not have unlimited resources, helicopters do not try to push you off the road, and you cannot drive through a freakin' gas station pump and live to tell the tail.

There are many other little things that have come to my attention in the course of playing the NFS games, but these are definately the main ones. FPS, racing, and Burnout are the only games I ever play, and I must say that the NFS games have become increasingly dissappointing with every iteration.
</rant>
Thank you for your time =P

Oh, and I probably will buy Carbon, not when it releases though. Just because I buy almost every racing game that is released. Like underground 2 however, I may not even play it all the way through.

Hey Thag, since you sound like a fan of racing games, which ones would you recommend for the 360 (I know that greatly limits the list)?

Hey Thag, since you sound like a fan of racing games, which ones would you recommend for the 360 (I know that greatly limits the list)?
Well, quite honestly, unless you're into the PGR series, NFS:MW is probably the best racer you can get for the 360 at this time, IMO. Sad but true, unfortunately.

Well, quite honestly, unless you're into the PGR series, NFS:MW is probably the best racer you can get for the 360 at this time, IMO. Sad but true, unfortunately.

From what I have seen, I agree. Unfortunately, I have already completed NFS:MW too, so not much incentive to keep playing.

I will probably continue with PGR for now, and keep messing around with Burnout Revenge.

PGR3 is probably the ultimate racing "Game" to me....its a perfect blend of simulation (all the cars feel, look and sound different) with that arcade edge that true simulation doesn't have. Its not a simulation, but its not NFS/Burnout either.....IMHO (and its a big one) a perfectly balanced game.

As for the NFS Rant, some I agree with (the absurd powersliding physics in MW, and the insane rubber-banding....driving a Supra with $80,000 in mods and being passed by a VW GOLF?)...but some I don't agree with (the pursuit-breakers or the issues with Nitrous). To me NFS shouldn't be a PGR3 clone, it should be its own game......and yes they have made large portions of the game obscenely simplistic.

Damage would be nice but we've known for years that Manufacturers do not want you coming up with creative ways to destroy their cars, and if you did, it would only be for show, NOT actually reduce your performance in any way....because then it would be one big pissing match. Whos car takes the least damage? Thats sure to generate an angry letter from some manufacturer....so then it would be generic damage modeling....(accumulate enough and lose your high-end speed, etc).

NFS is now clearly an arcade racer with the emphasis on flying down the road and *trying* not to hit anything, but only being marginally penalized if you do.

The last Need for Speed game I really liked was the one for the 3DO.

I'm way more interested in Forza. The NFS franchise just doesn't do it for me.

The last Need for Speed game I really liked was the one for the 3DO.

I'm way more interested in Forza. The NFS franchise just doesn't do it for me.

I remember playing Need For Speed on my brothers 3DO. I also remember playing a game called Putt Putt, but I won't go there :).

My favorite to date (can't remember the exact one) but I used to spend countless hours playing as a log (cheat code) or something crazy and playing tag with my friend.

The last Need for Speed game I really liked was the one for the 3DO.

I'm way more interested in Forza. The NFS franchise just doesn't do it for me.

Isn't Forza racing due to be released on the 360 in October?

I believe it is scheduled for Holiday 06. I will be a happy boy the day I get my hands on that game and the forced feedback wheel to go with it.

I believe it is scheduled for Holiday 06. I will be a happy boy the day I get my hands on that game and the forced feedback wheel to go with it.

Yeah, the wheel should be cool too. Forza 2 is obviously something I will pick up on release.

There have been very few games I have purchased at release so far for the 360. Forza 2 is a guaranteed. Although I couldn't get passed the damned vette vs viper challenge. That game very nearly made me smash a controller.

They have a preview clip of the "customize" feature in Forza 2 here: http://www.gamevideos.com/video/id/4752

So theres no car damage in NFS:MW, that sucks. I've been playing the Midnight Club series on the PS2, and was going to give NFS:MW a try since I finished the DUB edition. Maybe I won't bother with NFS:MW.

I would at least recommend a rental of NFS:MW. I thoroughly enjoyed it, despite some shortcomings.

Anyone else still playing this? I got hooked after renting it, so I bought a copy today. Should get to me on Tuesday. If anyone is still playing, I'd love to meet online for some racing.

Can anyone tell me how long it takes to level up online? I play a good number of races last night and I never even got to level 1. Do you score points if you come in last? :) Yeah, I suck still.

I have yet to try the wheel for the Need For Speed games. Anyone try that? I've just been doing regular controller so for. Its my understanding that the wheel is not very good for games like these, including Burnout.