NASCAR 06: Total Team Control Hands-On Preview
We're on-hand at Chicagoland Speedway to check out the newest build of EA Sports' upcoming stock car racer.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Martin Truex Jr. talk NASCAR 06 in this exclusive interview.
JOLIET, Ill.--We were on hand at the Chicagoland Speedway just outside the Windy City for last weekend's NASCAR Nextel Cup series race, and we had a chance to check out the latest build of NASCAR 06: Total Team Control. Since our last look, the team at EA Sports has changed the name of the game, moving away from the "Chase for the Cup" moniker to focus on the team controls that will be the central theme of this year's NASCAR game.
Perhaps for lack of a better term, the NASCAR 06 production group refers to the team concept in the game as "squad-based" racing. Although this implies a sort of overly militaristic approach to the action on the ovals, it is an accurate description of how the team mechanics work in the game. For one thing, depending on the team you choose to race for, your "squad" will vary anywhere from four teammates to one, or even none. Just as in the real-life sport of NASCAR, which places no restrictions on the size of a team, there can be a pretty wide gulf between the haves and the have-nots in the game.
Where real NASCAR teams share information both on and off the course on things like car setups, racing lines, and track conditions, your teammates in NASCAR 06 will be of most use to you when you're out on the track turning laps among your competition. The team controls will feature a number of commands you can give teammates while on the track, all of which will control your team's ever-evolving strategy on the asphalt. There are two methods for giving these commands in the game: using a USB headset to give voice commands, or by using the increasingly popular (in EA Sports games, at least) right analog stick to issue orders.
During our test session, the USB headset on hand unfortunately wasn't cooperating, so we didn't get a chance to check out the voice recognition. But the game's producers told us that not only will you be able to call on individual team members, but you'll also hear feedback from your crew chief in the headset earphones as he relays information to you about your teammates' positions. When using the right analog stick to issue orders, you'll be dependent on icons that will represent the various types of commands you can pull off. The nice thing is that the commands can be individually mapped however you see fit, so if you find yourself using the same commands in race after race, you'll be able to customize your setup accordingly.
Along with orders for blocking and drafting help, the most useful command in the game (especially for those who are new to virtual oval racing) will be car swapping. When running a race on the track, you'll be able to automatically switch to any of your teammates' cars simply by calling that car's number and choosing the swap command. The transition from one car to the next is very smooth, and you'll even have a buffer of around 15 seconds to get acclimated to your new position on the track before you'll have control of the car once again. The most obvious use for the swap command will be for those times when you manage to crash your ride but still want to find some points for a team member. Craftier players will use the swap command to make sure that each team member in the race finishes as high in the standings as possible. Another command that may be useful for teamcentric players is the "pit together" order, which tells a teammate to enter the pits at the same time you do, so that when it's time to exit the pits and reenter the track you'll have drafting help to get you caught up to the pack.
As NASCAR is a sport of personalities and conflicts--a sort of toned-down WWE with stock cars--grudges and alliances will ebb and flow as the virtual season progresses. How you attack the track and how closely you work with your team members will determine how you are publicly perceived as well. Aggressive driving, using other cars as steering assists, or consistent use of the intimidator feature (which returns to NASCAR 06 after its debut last year) will brand you as a "villain," while working well with others (such as drafting with teammates) will earn you the label of "hero." Just what these labels will mean to your performance off the track (such as in concessions earnings) remains to be seen.
NASCAR 06: Total Team Control Quick Links
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- EA Sports
- Stock Car Racing
- Release: Aug 30, 2005
- ESRB: Everyone
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