The 2006 game in the Need for Speed 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 Need for Speed: Most Wanted , but now also set in Carbon Canyon, where racers duel for territory in the city below. There are many police pursuits.
The focus on tuning and sculpting your car remains, as introduced in Need for Speed 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. Many of them have been featured in previous installments, but there is a new selection, including powerful muscle cars such as the Ford Mustang and Dodge Charger.
The game offers online multiplayer on PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 versions, with up to eight players racing together in Pursuit Tag or Pursuit Knockout modes. The city and surroundings in the career mode have been divided into different territories, controlled by gangs. You can form your own crew, complete with supporting characters like drafters, scouts, and blockers.
The crew feature allows you to assign roles to racers and access new features like AutoSculpt, which enables visual modification of your car through sliders. You can also buy full body kits. The game features new car classes and drifting races, replacing drag races from Need for Speed: Most Wanted .
The Xbox 360 version was released on December 21, 2006, and offers all the features mentioned above. It is part of the Need for Speed: Carbon game series.