Timid gamers with A.D.D., stay away. Hardcore NASCAR fans, enjoy
I'll start by saying, this game is EXTREMELY sim like. If you are looking for Daytona USA (arcade game) where the brake pedal is optional, this game is not for you! You are going to have to drive like a real NASCAR driver. I am convinced that the majority of these reviews saying the game is impossible are written by 12 year olds who are used to physics in games such as Need for Speed and Test Drive. Go watch a real NASCAR race some day. Channels such as ESPN sometimes show how much acceleration and brake a driver is using. Watch when they go in to the turns, they are completely off the gas and leaning heavily on the brakes. To the user who said at the beginning of every race the car pulls to the right and puts him in to a wall. Um, NASCAR cars are made to favor the left and have a bias to go left when the wheel is straight, so what are you talking about?
Anyway - On to my review, and I do own the game. Please, if you are just playing the demo, spare us the wasted time of reading a review. Don't write one until you buy it.
Setup review was done with:
Samsung 56" 1080p DLP
Pioneer VSX-815 with 5.1 surround sound
Controller (no steering wheel)
Graphics - (8/10) The game is beautiful looking. The cars are crisp colorful and very nice looking. The tracks are rendered perfectly (I could even see exactly where I sit in the Champions grandstand in Atlanta). The crowds are not the same type of crowds that you have in some of your newer sports games, but when you are traveling at 180+ MPH, do you really care? For a game that is keeping track of 42 other cars on the field, I'm pretty impressed with the looks and frame rate. Very smooth running game.
Sound - (8/10) This is the only category where I am left wanting more. The spotter you hear over your radio gets tiring after a while. Maybe they should have used some commentary instead. I guess they wanted to give you the "In the car" feel, but the option of a commentator would have been nice. Your music lineup is mostly country, I guess HipHop would have been way too much to ask for in a NASCAR game :-p I went back and changed the score I originally gave for sound, and surround sound in particular from a 6 to a 8. After being able to play without my fiance around (and blasting it), I have a new appreciation for the job they did with the surround. Good job EA.
Gameplay - (8/10) Finally!! A game that I am not going to master after 4 hours of play!!! Like I said, you have to drive like a real driver. Real drivers follow a line, they do not sway all over the track. When you do this, you hit other cars trying to pass you. Eventually, you will get black flagged. When a car is passing you, this is not a demolition derby, or Need for Speed, you can not purposely put them in to the wall. You will get black flagged. When you enter a turn, you can not be doing 200 miles an hour and not expect to slide up the track. You have to brake. Yes, in real life, these cars do slide laterally. You can watch them just about leave the ground and move sideways as they race. Racers are always walking that fine line of the most speed they can get out of their car while barely having control. Respect that. Look guys, you can't expect to finish first every race. It's not realistic. Dale Jr. hasn't won a race this year, and Tony just got his first win 2 weeks ago. If you give this game some patience, maybe turn down the sensativity of the controller a little bit, or invest in a wheel (this game may make me do that) you will begin to get the hang of it. The first 2 hours that I played, I really thought that this game was going to do nothing but give me headaches and frustration. After a while, you get a feel for how you have to drive.