Carbon Tips

Need for Speed™ Carbon is a tension-filled racer that provides as much white-knuckle exhilaration as you can handle. It never gives you a moment to breathe, yet it is still easily accessible for a casual gamer to pick up and play. The following tips should allow both first timers and veterans to feel immediately at ease.

Rubbing and racing.

Heavy Handling
A tender touch is required to control your car in Need for Speed Carbon. Because the vehicles offer such a heavy feel, you'll find that over-steering is a common problem, or worse, over-correcting.

Stay focused on sticking as close as possible
to the enemy and leave it at that.

Make either mistake and you'll find yourself planted in a wall or flying off a ridge and into the great unknown. Make sure you turn gently, rarely pushing the stick all the way to one side or the other. Also, begin to release the turn just before you reach the angle you want for the curve you're taking, as the car will continue to turn a bit even after you bring the wheel back to neutral.

Teammate Strategy
The ability to call on teammates during a circuit race is a powerful and helpful one, but it must be used wisely. The meter which allows you to do this will only be full a few times a race, so try using it right at the beginning to clear out an opponent that grabs an early lead, and once at the end to cement your victory.

Teammate Win
If you find yourself behind a teammate towards the end of the race, run interference for him instead of trying to take the lead. In circuit races, your team needs to win, it doesn't matter if the victory is personally yours or not. Cause a little mayhem instead, and ensure your team's victory.

Time to call in your backup.

Drifting
The drift races are all about subtle control as you create just enough lateral movement to start the drift, but not so much that you lose control. Find the sweet stop, and then hold the stick in that position, pushing it slightly towards the turn as the car begins to straighten out, or away from the turn if the car begins to spin.

But, as you might know from the title, speed is still essential. The faster you go, the more points you'll earn, and you'll also reach the next corner faster, enabling you to string your turns together into combos.

Combo Leeway
In order to really rack up point totals in the drift challenges, you must string a single drift around several corners in a row. If your drift stalls, however, don't give up. You have a few seconds to enter a new drift before you lose your combo.

Manual a Must
Like most racing games, using a manual transmission is highly recommended. It's more difficult, to be sure, but to be a racing master, you need the extra control it offers. Start with a manual at the beginning, and get the hang of it through the easier races. It will pay off when the races become more challenging and the competition gets harder.

Just stay close on the duels. No need to get crazy.

Boosting
Hitting the nitrous boost, like calling for teammate assistance, should be used only at the beginning and end of a race. Wait for a clean line right after the beginning, when you have a clear path, and let it rip to take an early lead. Use it similarly at the end of a race to clinch your victory. Most importantly, always use it on a long straightaway, or a gentle curve at most.

Overtaking
While you can win a canyon race duel by overtaking your opponent, do not be consumed by the compulsion to do so. It might offer a more glorious win, but the risk is rarely worth the less-than-likely reward, as you're more likely to plant yourself into a guardrail and lose time, or worse yet, hit the breakaway rail and fly over the edge, ending the race. Instead, stay focused on sticking as close as possible to the enemy and leave it at that.

Article by Ryan Treit