Need for Speed: Carbon vs Need for Speed: High Stakes
Need for Speed: Carbon is a racing game from EA Vancouver (2006) while Need for Speed: High Stakes is a racing game from EA Vancouver (1999).
Quick answer: Need for Speed: High Stakes has the higher Metacritic, 86 to 78.
Need for Speed: Carbon
Need for Speed: High Stakes
What each one is
Need for Speed: Carbon is filed under Racing. In contrast, Need for Speed: High Stakes under Racing.
Need for Speed: Carbon is a 2006 racing video game and the tenth installment in the Need for Speed series. Developed by EA Black Box, Rovio Mobile and published by Electronic Arts, it was released on October 31, 2006, for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, Xbox 360, GameCube, Windows, and Mac OS X, on November 17, 2006 as a launch title for the PlayStation 3, and November 19, 2006 as a launch title for the Wii and in 2008 for arcade cabinets. A portable version, Need for Speed: Carbon – Own the City, was released for the PlayStation Portable, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS and Zeebo. While it featured similar gameplay to the console versions, the portable versions included new or modified gameplay elements, a different setting and storyline, and a different selection of teammates. Own the City is the final installment in the series to be released for Game Boy Advance.
Need for Speed: High Stakes, released as Need for Speed: Road Challenge in Europe, is a 1999 racing video game developed by EA Canada and EA Seattle and published by Electronic Arts for the PlayStation and Microsoft Windows. It is the fourth game in the Need for Speed series and a follow-up to Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit. The game features more realistic elements than its predecessors and introduced a damage system that allows cars to take damage when colliding with objects, affecting their appearance and performance. It also introduced a series of economy-based tournaments, awarding players with a cash prize that can be spent on repairing, purchasing, or upgrading cars for subsequent races. The game's Hot Pursuit mode, which was introduced in Hot Pursuit, was expanded with more options, allowing players to control police pursuits attempting to stop racers.
Story, characters and reception
Plot
Setting Carbon takes place within the fictional city of Palmont, which encompasses four boroughs linked by a highway system; Kempton, which houses the city's industrial complexes; Downtown, which houses the city's metropolitan and financial buildings; Fortuna, which houses the city's residential area; and Silverton, which houses the city's casino resort facilities. The city is also surrounded by three canyons known as East, West, and Carbon, which feature… (Wikipedia)
Reception
Reception Need for Speed: Carbon was met with generally positive reviews. IGN gave the PC version an 8. 2 out of ten and the PlayStation 3 version a 7. (Wikipedia)
Reception
Reception High Stakes received "generally favorable reviews" from critics, according to the review aggregator website Metacritic . Next Generation stated that, while the game is fundamentally similar to its predecessor, it adds enough new features and gameplay modes to attract Need for Speed fans and newcomers. Similarly, IGN remarked that High Stakes refines the series' formula while introducing realistic elements, calling it "a well-rounded package. (Wikipedia)
At a glance
| Need for Speed: Carbon | Need for Speed: High Stakes | |
|---|---|---|
| GamingPickz Score | — | — |
| Steam rating | — | — |
| Critic aggregate | 78/100 | 86/100 |
| Price | Unknown | Unknown |
| Install size | — | — |
| Steam Deck | Untested | Untested |
| Released | 2006 | 1999 |
| Developer | EA Vancouver | EA Vancouver |
Prices and Steam ratings are read live and move over time.
Need for Speed: Carbon vs Need for Speed: High Stakes, point by point
Each facet side by side. A round is marked won only where a figure settles it; feel and "which is better" carry no mark, because no number we hold decides them.
Genre and premise
Need for Speed: CarbonRacing gameNeed for Speed: High StakesRacing gameWhat each is filed as. Each game describes itself in full above; we do not judge a premise.
How it plays
Need for Speed: CarbonNo descriptive tagsNeed for Speed: High StakesNo descriptive tagsThe tags players apply most, in order of votes. A read on feel, not a verdict.
Reception
Need for Speed: CarbonMetacritic 78Need for Speed: High Stakes ✓Metacritic 86Metacritic's critic aggregate, from the game's Wikipedia reception where it was never on Steam.
Price
Need for Speed: CarbonUnknownNeed for Speed: High StakesUnknownRead live from Steam and subject to change.
Need for Speed: High Stakes takes 1 of the marked rounds to 0. That is only what a number can decide, not which you will enjoy more.
Which to pick, by what you want
- The better reviewed of the two: Need for Speed: High Stakes (Metacritic 86)
Difficulty and who each is for
By the tags players apply, Need for Speed: Carbon is middle-of-the-road on difficulty. Need for Speed: High Stakes is middle-of-the-road on difficulty.
Common questions
How different are Need for Speed: Carbon and Need for Speed: High Stakes in scope?
Need for Speed: Carbon lists little scope data. Need for Speed: High Stakes lists little scope data.
Is Need for Speed: Carbon or Need for Speed: High Stakes better?
Neither carries enough reviews for us to score it reliably, so we do not call a winner. The table above shows what each does have.
Which is cheaper, Need for Speed: Carbon or Need for Speed: High Stakes?
One or both do not have a current listed price, so a straight comparison is not possible. See the table above.
Should I get Need for Speed: Carbon or Need for Speed: High Stakes?
Need for Speed: High Stakes has the higher Metacritic, 86 to 78. It also depends on what you want: the "which to pick" section above calls out which is cheaper, lighter on storage, better on a Steam Deck and the safer bet by weight of reviews.
Do you rank one above the other for a fee?
No. Neither game, nor anyone else, pays for placement or a verdict here. The order and every figure come out of the same public data the rest of the site uses.
Related comparisons
How we compare, and what we will not do
The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment (adjusted for sample size), the critic aggregate and popularity, computed by the same code every ranked list on this site uses. The Steam rating label is Valve's own, reconstructed from the positive percentage and review count. Prices are read live. We do not write an opinion of which game is "better": we report the numbers and say which wins each measurable question above.