NEED FOR SPEED CARBON - PS2

After Need for Speed Underground outsold all other games in 2004, the largest independent game publisher in the world adroitly kept the series coming without a hitch. Last year's Most Wanted shipped at Microsoft's Xbox 360 launch and introduced a creative take on story-telling by using filtered customized FMV to give the familiar racer a fresh presentation. The police were back with a ferocious vengeance. And it offered a particularly North-West vibe to it.

This year's version, Need for Speed Carbon, which refers to Carbon Canyon where racers duel for territory in the city below, is a minor shake-up for the series, shifting in new features, shifting out others, while continuing the FMV-heavy story-telling from Most Wanted. Carbon, in other words, is a decent update to last year's game with improved graphics, excellent Autosculpt customization, a different progression system, and an all-around solid take on the game. It's not revolutionary, it's not brilliant, but it's good, deep racing.