While the recent press event held at EA’s Chicago office might have focused more on the new Def Jam title, I managed to drag myself away from the beautiful hip hop fighting game to spend some quality time with the PS3 version of Need for Speed: Carbon.

Now, I’m not too familiar with the NFS series, but just diving into the game was as simple as could be. The demo included options such as pimping out my ride, drift and lap racing, and by far one of the most enjoyable game modes, out running the ׂ-0”, coppers to me and you. Tricking out your car with the new Autosculpt technology couldn’t be any easier. You have the ability to customize anything from your rims, to the front and back ends, to the spoiler in the back. You can then take your custom car to the available game modes. Of course, there was the option to partake in your standard street race. Here you and one of your crew can take over new street territory by defeating your rivals in a race. During a race, you can command members of your crew to act aggressively on your foes, giving you the opportunity to take the lead.

There were other options to choose from like drift and canyon racing, but what I was really interested in was a good old-fashioned police chase. The concept is quite simple; you pick a car and then proceed to out run an entire squadron of police. Well, I guess it’s not that simple, as the cops will take any means necessary to stop you. They’ll try to box you in, spin you out, and even set up a cop car barricade. If you manage to keep a considerably large distance between you and them, congratulations, the coast is clear.

While only a few tracks were selectable from the main game, they still provided me with enough of an insight as to what the final game will provide for gamers. What that experience will be however, doesn’t exactly paint a perfect picture.

I’ll get the bad impressions out of the way first. NFS Carbon comes out in a matter of days for Xbox 360 and current gen systems, with the PS3 version following a few weeks later with the launch of the system. Now these next gen systems are supposed to immerse the player in an unprecedented graphical experience, right? So why am I walking away from Carbon feeling like the level of graphical achievement just wasn’t there? The graphics had a very rough feeling to them with jagged polygons and pixilated textures around every corner. My editor Patrick Evans even commented that the cars almost seemed to sport a cell-shaded look. I asked the on site rep if what I was playing was a finished version of the game, and luckily the answer was no. Still, there are only a few weeks before PS3 launches, wouldn’t EA want to show me a more refined version of the game? While there may be more time to tighten everything up before the game ships, three weeks is a small amount of time to make any big changes. Let’s just hope that the Carbon team can pull it off.

Another issue I ran across, which may in part be my lack of experience with the series, were that the controls felt incredibly loose. I mean, I’ve played my share of racing games, but I found myself practically doing donuts while going around corners. I even observed other journalists slip and slide across the pavement as they struggled to gain control of their cars. The EA rep explained to me that the PS3 version of the game would utilize the motion sensitivity of the controller to help with the turning, but the feature was turned down for this particular demo. Why this was is beyond me. If the feature had been running at full strength it might have made my experience with the game somewhat smoother, but it is encouraging to know that such a feature in fact exists in the control scheme.

Fear not though, this game still promises to deliver a true next gen racing experience. The overall presentation of the game is fantastic and appears to offer some very high replay value. Despite the lack of graphical polish, Carbon still manages to wow with impressive visuals. The cracks on the pavement look great as you’re flying by at 100 mph and the streetlights all feature effective motion blur. The looks of the cars themselves are perhaps the highlight of the game. They all feature great detail in their bodywork and your surrounding area reflects beautifully and accurately off of their surfaces. Unfortunately, due to the loud nature of the event, I was barely able to make out any of the game’s soundtrack, which will hopefully remain face paced like the game itself.

I have no doubts that Need for Speed: Carbon will be another fine addition to an already established series. I just pray that EA cleans up the graphics and controls for the PS3 version before its launch. Otherwise, prepare for an intense next gen racer that packs plenty of action and replay value sure to satisfy any gamer's hunger.

By Ryan Schultz
CCC Freelance Writer