With consoles, it's all about the games

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"Need for Speed: Carbon"
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Rated: Teen

“Need for Speed” is another yearly franchise, for better or for worse. This year ditches most of the high-speed cop-chase thrills of 2006's “Most Wanted” and replaces them with big underground rallies between rival racing teams. The goal is to control as much of the city as possible, earning real estate by winning a series of races — often with the help of an artificial intelligence-controlled teammate.

For once, there is an immediate, noticeable difference between the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 visuals. When hurtling down the nighttime straightaway in the Xbox 360, the blurring effects look stunning. The PS3 is plagued with a lower frame rate that dampens high-speed situations. Car models don't look quite as nice as the Xbox 360 vehicles, too.

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This isn't to say that the PS3 version is ugly by any stretch, but the Xbox 360 version definitely has the edge, especially since it has a photo mode for grabbing in-game shots of your tuned-up rides.

Image: Need for Speed:Carbon
Electronic Arts
The Wii's controller makes "Need for Speed:Carbon" feel like an entirely new experience.
“Carbon” on the Wii is a different animal. Yes, the visuals are significantly downshifted, and that includes a frame-rate hit that doesn't make racing as smooth as the other versions. But the control mechanism — using the Wii remote with or without the extra nunchuk attachment — makes “Carbon” feel like an entirely fresh game. Whether you're tilting the remote to steer, or steering with the nunchuk and using the remote as a virtual gas pedal, Wii Carbon features pitch-perfect steering that will please race fans.

In many ways, comparing the Nintendo Wii to the PS3 and Xbox 360 is an apples-to-oranges scenario. The visuals on Wii games just aren't as strong, but the game mechanics are usually so different that you really have to make up your mind based on controls. Do you want to play these games as you have for the last 20 years? Or take a walk on the Wii side?

The Xbox 360 had a significant head start on its closest rival, the PS3, and the games available for both systems demonstrate that pretty clearly. But even though Xbox 360 has won the immediate battle, Sony’s not giving up on the war — not by a long shot. The PS3 games planned for the back half of 2007 are not likely to have the same problems as these earlier titles. If you can wait it out, you’ll probably be richly rewarded.

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