Is NFS Carbon a Worthy Sequel to the Legendary Most Wanted?
As a long-time Need for Speed fan who has eagerly played every franchise release since the mid-90s, I can definitively say Need for Speed: Carbon continues the Most Wanted legacy faithfully and spectacularly. Published a mere year after Most Wanted took the racing genre by storm, Carbon rocketed to sales success off the back of its esteemed predecessor.
Let‘s dive deeper into why this direct sequel manages to live up to the Most Wanted name and provide closure for fans:
Carbon Recaps and Continues the Most Wanted Story
The game opens with a cinematic that quickly establishes Carbon‘s links to the prior title – the player‘s BMW M3 GTR races past iconic imagery from Most Wanted as the narrator recaps our protagonist‘s triumph over the Blacklist. This sets up the jump to the new location of Palmont City nicely while retaining narrative continuity.
We see Most Wanted characters return alongside fresh faces:
- Mia, the player‘s Most Wanted love interest, is mentioned repeatedly in early cutscenes as someone waiting for your return.
- Disgraced ex-ally Rog resurfaces to challenge the player.
The rival racing crews of Palmont City resemble the Blacklist – they all want to take you down to enhance their reputation, just like Razor and his crew did previously.
The story of an unmatched racer thwarting crews of illegal street racers to dominate the locale clearly continues from Most Wanted into Carbon.
Shared Gameplay DNA Evolves the Most Wanted Foundation
In addition to narrative links, Carbon evolves Most Wanted‘s exhilarating racing and pursuit mechanics while retaining what made it so special:
| Gameplay Element | Most Wanted (2005) | Carbon (2006) |
|---|---|---|
| Open world city | Rockport City | Palmont City |
| Illegal street racing | Yes | Yes |
| Performance customization | Extensive visual/performance upgrades | Expanded options |
| Police chases | Core part of gameplay | Still integral but reduced role |
| Notorious rival crews | The Blacklist | Multiple gangs with factions |
The open world environments continue to impress, now with next-gen graphics on 7th gen consoles like Xbox 360. Customizing performance parameters or just pimping your rides remains a highlight.
The core visceral joy of tuner culture and high-speed cop evasion while tearing through city streets is still very much apparent and improved. Carbon does dial down police pursuits slightly to accommodate crew vs racer showdowns, but Most Wanted‘s exhilarating DNA persists.
Carbon Delivers Long-Awaited Closure to Most Wanted Plots
Need for Speed: Most Wanted‘s ending is quite open-ended – the player defeats the Blacklist Kingpin Razor, but we don‘t know what happens afterwards. Does the player‘s reign last? Do the cops crack down heavily now?
Carbon answers those lingering questions in climatic fashion. The final despondent cutscene shows us the protagonist leaving Rockport, setting up his emergence in Palmont‘s racing scene.
Most importantly, Carbon gives fans the satisfaction of avenging Razor‘s deception through Darius, the end boss with the menacing Audi Le Mans Quattro. After a mammoth multi-stage conflict, the player comes out on top – cementing their status as the undisputed best. Darius replacing Razor as the final challenge the player must overcome provides perfect closure.
The parallels are clear – Carbon settles unfinished business from Most Wanted, with the protagonist leaving no doubt they are the king of illegal street racing.
Commercial and Critical Success Validates Carbon‘s Place as a Worthy Successor
Developer EA Black Box created something special again with Carbon by retaining the best aspects of Most Wanted while providing welcome gameplay innovation like rival crew mechanics.
Carbon performed superbly sales-wise by shipping over 7 million copies according to VGChartz, demonstrating fan enthusiasm for this sequel:
| Game | Copies Sold |
|---|---|
| Need for Speed: Most Wanted (2005) | 16.29 million |
| Need for Speed: Carbon (2006) | 7.72 million |
Critics praised Carbon as well, with it earning an 80 MetaCritic score on Xbox 360 compared to Most Wanted‘s 83:
"It‘s not revolutionary, but it‘s a strong arcade racer." – IGN (8.2/10)
This commercial and critical validation cements Carbon‘s legitimacy as a sequel that retained the magic of Most Wanted‘s formula while expanding upon it.
In this longtime Need for Speed aficionado‘s opinion, Carbon is a fitting continuation that lives up to its Most Wanted lineage with aplomb both narratively and in racing gameplay. That conclusion seems borne out by its strong sales and reviews as the proper follow-up for one of the most beloved titles in racing history. I had an absolute blast slowly conquering Palmont City like I did with Rockport previously.
So for fans who wonder if they should play Carbon after enjoying Most Wanted, I enthusiastically say yes! You‘ll reunite with familiar faces, relive past glories, experience closure for the Blacklist story, and most importantly – feed your need for illegal street racing speed!
Did you play Need for Speed: Carbon back in the day? Share your thoughts on how it succeeded or failed as a sequel to Most Wanted in the comments.
