How to Play Need for Speed: Carbon

The latest installment in the Need for Speed franchise, Carbon, takes you into a valley filled with racing crews and pits you against the police and the rivals as you try and race your way to the top. It's glitzy, it's perpetually night and it's all about the tuning. Are you game?

Instructions

1. Choose a starting point. You can either start with some stock cars and get right into the racing, or you can go with the career which will take you on a ride through Carbon Valley. Either is good but the Career track will make for a lot more game play and car options.

2. Choose your ride. You are given a choice of three cars to start with; one muscle car, one fast car and a standard model. Choose Standard (the Alfa) if you're new to racing games.

3. Learn to stick shift as soon as possible. Manual transmissions will almost always give better response times and allow you to get more speed and more control out of your ride. Learn how to use them quickly and you'll be set.

4. Run the tutorial. This will explain how to use your Wingman, how to draft and will tutor you on a couple other important points. Pay attention, these tips can help you win the big bucks!

5. Hit the tracks. The way to victory lies on the road. There are a bunch of different crews running the streets. Challenging them to a race can win you some cash, challenging the boss of the crew can win you the territory.

6. Use the Safe House to make repairs, arrange your own crew and trick out your ride. Carbon comes with a ton of customization and tuning options, so check it out!