Need for Speed: Carbon vs Need for Speed Unbound
Need for Speed: Carbon is a racing game from EA Vancouver (2006) while Need for Speed Unbound is an open-world racing game from Criterion Games (2022).
Quick answer: Need for Speed: Carbon has the higher Metacritic, 78 to 73.
Need for Speed: Carbon
What each one is
Need for Speed: Carbon is filed under Racing. In contrast, Need for Speed Unbound under Open-World and 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.
Race to the top, definitely don’t flop. Outsmart the cops, and enter weekly qualifiers for The Grand: the ultimate street race. Pack your garage with precision-tuned, custom rides, and light up the streets with your style.
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)
Plot
In Lakeshore City, the player (female player voiced by Elizabeth Grullon, male player voiced by Ian Nelson ) and their friend and partner Jasmine/Yaz (portrayed by Ashleigh LaThrop) refurbish an old junker car in their mechanic shop owned by their mentor Rydell (Dwayne Barnes). After winning a couple of street races, Yaz has a disagreement with Rydell over a car and grows tired of being stuck in the same job daily, and wishes to do something better. She… (Wikipedia)
Reception
Reception Need for Speed Unbound received "generally favorable" reviews from critics for the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S versions, while the PC version received "mixed or average" reviews, according to review aggregator website Metacritic . During the 26th Annual D. I. (Wikipedia)
At a glance
| Need for Speed: Carbon | Need for Speed Unbound | |
|---|---|---|
| GamingPickz Score | — | 5.9/10 |
| Steam rating | — | Mixed (60%, 60,177) |
| Critic aggregate | 78/100 | 73/100 |
| Price | Unknown | $69.99 |
| Install size | — | 50 GB |
| Steam Deck | Untested | unsupported |
| Released | 2006 | 2022 |
| Developer | EA Vancouver | Criterion Games |
Prices and Steam ratings are read live and move over time.
Need for Speed: Carbon vs Need for Speed Unbound, 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 UnboundOpen-world racing 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 UnboundRacing, Open World, ActionThe tags players apply most, in order of votes. A read on feel, not a verdict.
Reception
Need for Speed: Carbon ✓Metacritic 78Need for Speed UnboundMetacritic 73Metacritic's critic aggregate, from the game's Wikipedia reception where it was never on Steam.
Content and scale
Need for Speed: Carbon—Need for Speed Unbound60,177 reviews · 19 add-ons · 50 GBReach and footprint, not quality: more reviews or a bigger install is not a better game.
Price
Need for Speed: CarbonUnknownNeed for Speed Unbound$69.99Read live from Steam and subject to change.
Need for Speed: Carbon 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: Carbon (Metacritic 78)
Where they differ
RacingMultiplayerOpen WorldActionDrivingSingleplayer
Tags players apply to one game and not the other.
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 Unbound is relaxed, easy to pick up.
Accessibility features
Steam store pages declare 0 accessibility features for Need for Speed: Carbon and 6 for Need for Speed Unbound. A declaration is a floor, not a review.
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Common questions
How different are Need for Speed: Carbon and Need for Speed Unbound in scope?
Need for Speed: Carbon lists little scope data. Need for Speed Unbound has drawn 60,177 Steam reviews, ships 19 add-ons and installs in 50 GB.
Is Need for Speed: Carbon or Need for Speed Unbound 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 Unbound?
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 Unbound?
Need for Speed: Carbon has the higher Metacritic, 78 to 73. 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
All comparisonsHow 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.