Another disappointing NASCAR game by EA Sports.
One thing that was wrong with previous games were very basic changes that hurt gameplay a lot to fans of the sport. Restrictor plate racing on the EA games has NEVER portrayed it like it is in real life. Now if there's one thing that you read about this review PLEASE READ THIS. Racing at TALLADEGA and DAYTONA SUCKS. At these tracks the racing is 2-4 wide THE ENTIRE RACE. On the EA SPORTS game the racing is 2-3 wide for about 2 laps and then it becomes a single file follow the leader race, and not only that, but you don't really have to draft with anyone to get up front. IT IS WAY TOO EASY TO LEAD AT THESE TRACKS COMPARED TO WHAT IT IS LIKE IN REAL LIFE. This is something that has NEVER been fixed on the EA games even though it has been a problem since NASCAR Thunder 2002.
Another thing that most diehard fans notice (and this is something that stupid newb's of nascar don't care about because they are ignorant) is that the track layout of some of these tracks aren't how they are in real life. In NASCAR 06 Ea took out the factor of sun going down at Lowe's motor speedway. Which is funny because 1) this race takes place when the sun is going down and it is a huge factor on how the cars handle and how the track cools, and 2) In the previous games when EA sports did have the sun going down they had it going down behind turn three, which in real life is completely wrong because it goes down behind the front stretch grandstands. So, not only did they have the sun in the wrong spot, but the track didn't look anything like that in real life during the race and the drivers didn't have to deal with the sun going down behind turn 3.
Also, I have noticed that the AI on this game is somewhat cheap. Like if you put it on hard mode with traction control you can usually run in the top ten or so but then if you take off the traction control your car handles so bad you usually run last in most of the races or you crash. I would love to try setting up my car for the races but it never seems to handle good enough to be competitive, which is a cheap shot by EA to make it seem like the AI is tough.
One more thing I will complain about on this game is the create a car mode. Not only does it take forever for different schemes to load, but EA hasn't really thought up of any new schemes since NASCAR Thunder 2003, which is a huge disappointment because I think creating your own unique car is one of the coolest aspects to a racing game. Gives a sense of individuality. But on 06, it's a pain to make this the way you want it to be.
To add onto my list of complaints, the settings for tuning cars is still very low. The settings are as follows: gear ratio, wedge, tire pressure, front and rear sway bar, and sometimes your spoiler. In the real NASCAR world you have about ten times as many different things you can tune on. Shocks, spring rates, grill tape, individual tire pressures on each tire, and a TON of other tuning options are missing but these of course were left in the EA sports SIM racing they released on PC. So the consoles got the short end of the stick.
I could honestly go on and on about what 's wrong with this game, but the above is the main issues that I have had with EA's games from the get go. You may think that I am being too critical of EA sports but if that's your argument then I will tell you that you have to be critical since they bought out the rights to NASCAR. Ultimately, EA Sports should have their SIM racing game on the consoles. Reason being is because they are trying to give us an arcade racing experience but contrary to EA producers beliefs, diehard NASCAR fans ARE NOT challenged by this game and DO NOT like it's level of simplicity. EA impressed me a lot with NASCAR Thunder 2002, but every year since then I have been too distracted by things they haven't fixed to enjoy their new games. 06 is pretty fun with the ability to swap cars, and 05 was cool with the addition of modifieds, the trucks, and busch series. But the wrecks are not realistic, the car setups are not realistic, the tracks aren't realistic, and the racing is not realistic.
Ea sports says if it's in the game it's in the game, but in this case, they are not caring at all how they treat NASCAR gamers on PS2 and Xbox.
If you want a great NASCAR game buy NASCAR Dirt to Daytona, it came out in 2002 but it's so fun I still play it, even more than NASCAR 06.
EA Sports has more resources than any other gaming company, but haven't done their job for NASCAR fans and racing gamers.