Need for Speed: Carbon is ready to take you to the heart of underground racing. Set in a bustling east coast city, you begin the story by picking a tag and colors to use for identifying fellow gang members and territory. Picking your crew is important, and throughout the game you will have the opportunity to recruit 17 different characters. Group members come in three different classes -- brawler, assassin, and drafters -- and each of them have their own unique skill. Finally, your last task is to decide which of the 29 exotic, American muscle, or tuner cars you want to make your own.
The story takes you through 14 territories of such racing events as circuits, sprints, and lap knockouts against rival gangs. As you begin winning races, you earn territory within the city. Start losing races, and the territory is given back to the rival crew. To completely take over another group's turf, you must defeat their boss in a race. If you don't have time for the long version, you may jump into "Quickplay" or "Multiplayer" mode. Four person circuit races are available through an Ad-hoc connection. Need for Speed: Carbon includes personalization options that let you customize the color and overall look of your menu system, and a way to load MP3s into the game.