The 2006 game in the Need for Speed: Carbon series is an evolution of the gameplay introduced in previous games. The career mode offers complete freedom in a city with a story mode supported by FMV cutscenes, as featured in NFS: Most Wanted , but now also set in the Carbon Canyon, where racers duel for territory in the city below. There are still many police pursuits.
The gameplay focuses on tuning and sculpting your car, as introduced in NFS Underground . As you win money from races, you can visit garages and car lots to make improvements to your vehicle. Enhancements are unlocked gradually, with about 40 cars to unlock, including new muscle cars like the Ford Mustang and Dodge Charger. Other features include forming your own crew, detailed sculpting features, drifting races (replaced by drag races in NFS: MW ), and new car classes.
The PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 versions offer online multiplayer, with up to eight players able to race together in Pursuit Tag or Pursuit Knockout modes. You can also drive cooperatively (up to four players) in a single race. The city and surroundings have been divided into different territories controlled by gangs, which you must claim by winning races and impressing the gang leader through duels.
The crew feature allows you to assign roles to your racers: drafters, scouts, and blockers. These characters can help you win races by providing a coloured trail (drafters), discovering hidden shortcuts (scouts), or causing mayhem to slow opponents down (blockers). You can also access the AutoSculpt feature to modify your car's visual appearance.