A large step in the right direction, but not quite perfection
Many fans of the series will recall that sometime last year EA held an online survey that allowed fans (myself included) to voice their opinions on what they thought about the current state of the series as well as what should be changed or added in the future. Having read these and a number of other forums one thing seemed very consistent, to add more depth to the simulation of the sport of stock car racing. Apparently EA took this to heart by not only employing the former head of the acclaimed NASCAR Racing series for the PC, but rebuilding the entire physics engine from the ground up. What does this mean you might ask? Well if you found yourself wanting more realism out of the core driving expirience then my friend you have found it. Be warned though, casual racers may find it overwelming to try and set up a car using the new setup interface which includes everything from tire preasures to spring rates to fender flare to even the tape used across the grill. Fortunately, if this is too much to grasp the game still has a basic setup slider that covers the major facits of a car's handling. On the track the cars handle much more realistically then ever before. One thing that many people (including those who mock the sport for it's simplistic nature) may be surprise just how hard it is to handle these machines, especially if all assists are turned off. Yes it can be hard but also more interesting since this is how stock cars are in real life, on the edge of control.
There is plenty of content to go around and keep you busy for a long time. However, like most of EA's first "next-gen" endevers you can't help but feel that there is something missing in the overall expirience. The biggest of these of course is the presentation or lack there of. Like many EA games NASCAR 08 feels very stripped down in this department. It would have been nice to see some of the content seen in an actual NASCAR event such as the national anthem, the flyovers, and of course "those most famous words in motorsports". Also another big thing still missing from this game is the ability to build your own car and driver. Sure you can create a custom car with a modest array of options but you can't personalize it the way you should be able to. Heck you can't even put your own name on the car.
Graphically the game looks good but not great. The tracks look a whole lot better then they did on the last gen systems but they still lack character and atmosphere. The cars themselves look nice but there is no option for addtional paint schemes. There is a decent interface for the in-game stuff but one thing that would have been nice is a more clear cut performance analysis of changes made while tuning the cars.
Sound wise, the game has some great ambient sounds. The engines in perticular sound awsome especially if you have a good sound system. The rest of the game is okay but like the rest of the package needs more character. Overall, there is plenty to like about this game. There is plenty to do in the single player game such as playing through a season in any of NASCAR's top three series. Or you can attempt to make a career by winning contracts and advancing through the ranks in the hope that you can reach the Nextel Cup series. You can also play online with up to 16 players. Though the online is not as fleshed out as most of us would like it (another trademark of EA Sports games) it does play a solid game. So in closing if you are even remotely interested in NASCAR racing and are curious as to what driving cars in circles is really about and trust me it is not as dull and easy as many of our lesser peers might think it is, then you owe it to yourself to give this game a try. And if you are a motorsports junkie like me then don't waste another minute. Get out there and pick this game up.