Nothing new about this race

Let me start my review of "Need for Speed Carbon" by saying there is nothing particularly bad about it.\nYes, the FMV cutscenes are ridiculously cheesy and completely unnecessary, but they're also easily skipped over and don't really get in the way of things.\nThe tuning and street racing is solid, but that is also my biggest complaint: There's very little difference between the racing in this game and that of "Need for Speed Underground" which came out three years ago.\nDrag racing is out but it's been replaced with tight "canyon duel" races with bosses and extremely finicky drift races (which were actually the easiest part of the past few "Need for Speed" games). The trade-off is negligible. Canyon races are a decent addition to the series while the new drift courses will have you pulling your hair out as much as the most frustrating drag races.\nAlso new to this edition is the use of a partner during races who will give you speed boosts or take out other racers. Sometimes, this comes in handy, but a lot of the time, he's not really necessary or rarely, gets in the way.\nMuch like the rest of the game, the neon-heavy graphics (which are little above average for a 360 game) and hip-hop soundtrack are what we've come to expect from the series, and little more. None of the songs will have you hitting the mute button, but they won't exactly have you tapping your toes either.\nOverall, the few new features in "Need for Speed Carbon" make it feel more like an expansion pack than a new game, but since it's building on an already great formula that's not as bad as you might think.\nIf you're a big fan of the NFS series like me or never played one before, this is an addicting title. Otherwise you might want to wait for a price drop or next year's inevitable sequel.