These days it seems like Electronic Arts has become the domineering force in the games industry as they take over one license after another. A few years back EA took over the NASCAR license ending Papyrus' racing series, NASCAR Racing. Papyrus went out with a bang in 2003 when they released their last title, NASCAR Racing 2003 Season, which had all the bells and whistles that any racing simulation fan could want. This title remains today to be the best NASCAR racing simulation ever made and EA's own NASCAR Thunder series has never been able to compete against it.
NASCAR Thunder 2004 was EA's last entry into this type of racing, and it represented more of an arcade type of racing game, lacking many details: something that certainly did not appeal to most fans. However, things do change, and since EA is the only company that has the right to give us a new NASCAR game on the PC they need to be able to top the older games of this genre. Luckily for us that's exactly what they've done this year. Now with a new name, NASCAR SimRacing is EA's newest racing simulation that screams out high quality and should be able to attract all fans of NASCAR with its realistic physics and performance customizations.
Going right into your first race, you'll probably notice some rather familiar items if you have played NASCAR Racing 2003 Season. This is mainly because some ex-employees of Papyrus were on hand to help out with the development of NASCAR SimRacing . And when you have some talented developers who created one of the best racing games ever and combine them with EA's strong workforce, chances are you will end up with a great game. Some of the most notable things you will see are the heads-up displays that can be activated by the F1 to F5 keys. These displays show all the details you need to know such as tyre pressure and heat, lap times, positions and of course a display that allows you to configure your next pit stop (in terms of how many tires will be changed, how much gas to fill up, if damage will be repaired, and a few other small changes such as grill tape). This allows you to easily setup your next pit stop on the fly while racing. Another similarity can be found in the animated pit crews which EA's NASCAR Thunder series did without. It may not be necessary to have such details as people running around your car and making quick modifications, but it does add to the realism which is a major part of any simulation.
NASCAR SimRacing includes a total of 28 tracks to race on. 25 of these are official NASCAR tracks while the remaining 3 are complete fakes that have been created out of the imaginations of EA's designers. Two of the official tracks are road courses while the rest are your average oval-shaped tracks. Now you may be thinking that once you've seen one oval race track, you've seen them all. Well that is definitely not the case here as each track is specifically detailed after their real life counterparts. Each track carries it's own set of features including specific track lengths, different degree-angled turns, racing grooves marking the commonly used race lines and even their own sets of flaws including bumps and variations in elevation. The variations in the tracks will no doubt have you changing your strategy and driving style when switching between them.
There are also many of different rides to choose from including over 40 real life drivers. This also spans over three different types of NASCAR racing. The three types are the NASCAR National Series, NEXTEL Cup Series and the Craftsman Truck Series. Obviously the Craftsman Truck Series does not include real trucks as they are basically like NASCAR's with simple truck shells. All three of these types of racing generally are different with the NEXTEL Cup Series normally providing for the fastest racing, and the Craftsman Truck Series providing a little more slower of an experience. Different tracks are used depending on which type you choose to play.
Gameplay
One of the best features in NASCAR SimRacing would probably have to be the use of the Career mode. When starting a new career you can select which type of NASCAR racing to participate in and you are also given the ability customize the appearance of your car. However, these customizations do seem somewhat limited, as they only give you the ability to choose between Chevy, Ford and Dodge, the ability to choose your number, and to choose from a limited selection of designs and paint. However, it is not the visual customizations that make this title a true simulation. The performance customizations certainly take this game to another level. You can fine-tune just about every single part on your car. You can change anything from tyre pressure to spoiler degrees and even brake pressure. This will surely draw in the hardcore NASCAR fans and is a great addition to this game giving you the ability to crank out some extra performance from your car. If you prefer not to tamper with these settings, however, then there are some default customizations that you can load before racing.
One problem with the career mode is the fact that you can only choose the settings for your career in the beginning. In other words, when you select the length of the career, the length of the tracks, and even the AI difficulty and aggression, it stays that way throughout the rest of your career. So once you have set it up you can not change it. The only way to change it would be to start a completely new career. This normally results in some trial and error runs as you are configuring your settings and then testing them out to see if the AI difficulty is too hard or too easy for you.
A great addition to the career mode is the ability to be either just the driver, or the driver and owner. Depending on which type of racing circuit you chose in the beginning of your career, you are given a certain amount of money to spend on repairing your car or other management duties. Acting as the owner allows you to manage such as things sponsors, research and development and merchandise. NASCAR fans will surely be pleased that all the real world sponsors are here. You can signup with one or terminate your contract with another at any time. Merchandise can be produced at any time which includes such items as die cast cars to clothing. It certainly brings a different view to the world of NASCAR racing and will give you something a little extra to do in between those hour-long races.
Speaking of long races, you will be glad to know that a great replay feature is always there to record and save your most desired races. After each race you can simply save your replay for viewing later on. Also, during each race you can hit the 'R' button to take a glimpse at the last few seconds of the race. Unfortunately, you will probably notice some slight problems here. The problem does not lie in the replay feature itself, but rather it lies in the menu system. For some reason or other, EA took it upon themselves to position all of your controls in spots that are uncommon to veterans of racing games. For example, normally when watching replays all of your important playback controls are listed on the bottom of the screen with maybe the exception of the camera control being near the top. However in NASCAR SimRacing, the fast forward and rewind buttons are at the bottom with the play, pause, and stop buttons shoved up in the far-left corner of the screen. These oddities in the menu system can be confusing at times and are not only apparent in the replay menu. The regular menus for the career mode and customizations can also be just as confusing when trying to find something.
These mishaps are somewhat made up for in the game's ability to perform like a true simulation. The physics system built into NASCAR SimRacing is truly realistic. You just have to make sure that you turn off all the driving aids and automatic pit stop features that are on by default when first going into the game. These features are obviously there for newcomers, but once they are turned off you will have one very realistic racing experience. The cars feel very well done as their handling is not too loose or too tight, and the feeling of bumper to bumper, high-speed racing is very apparent. The slightest slipup and you will find yourself wiping out all along the track. Your sponsors will not like it if you are in first place during the last lap of the race and suddenly go into the wall.
The AI is also done very well and is challenging enough to compliment the physics. The AI drivers are always aware of your presence and will always draft on you when coming up from behind. They are also very keen on understanding everything that is going on. If you make a stupid move by cutting one of them off they will know right away to press slightly on their brakes and back off. They are also not perfect themselves, as they too can easily get into accidents caused by other AI drivers.
EA has definitely improved upon the graphics in this edition. The viewing distance is extremely far which allows you to see the whole track from wherever you are. So any background objects will not appear to "pop" into view. Instead, they are always visible. The cockpit is extremely detailed and all other objects in the environment share the same quality. From the highly detailed and smooth-flowing animations of the pit crews to the thousands of fans in the stands waving their hands and arms, it sure is one great look experience. However, it all comes with a price, and to experience such high details will require you to have a high-end rig. Our GeForce 6800GT was fortunately capable of handling the game at a resolution of 1600x1200 with 4xAA, 4xAF, and with all the graphics maxed out while producing anywhere between 25-40FPS.
NASCAR fans will also be pleased to hear that NASCAR SimRacing contains some highly detailed sound effects. The roar of the engines sounds very realistic, and even things such as the wind passing by are noticeable. Much like all of EA's sport titles this one in particular also includes a great soundtrack to boot.
Conclusion
Overall, NASCAR SimRacing proves to be every bit as great as Papyrus' 2003 hit and even builds on it some more. Unfortunately it is plagued with a few snags such as a confusing menu system, slow load times, a damage system that seems undone and the multiplayer (which allows you to race against 43 other players) tends to lag quite often. However this title does represent the best when it comes to NASCAR simulation racing, and that is a very good thing considering the fact that it is the only NASCAR racing title out on the market.
NASCAR Thunder 2004 was EA's last entry into this type of racing, and it represented more of an arcade type of racing game, lacking many details: something that certainly did not appeal to most fans. However, things do change, and since EA is the only company that has the right to give us a new NASCAR game on the PC they need to be able to top the older games of this genre. Luckily for us that's exactly what they've done this year. Now with a new name, NASCAR SimRacing is EA's newest racing simulation that screams out high quality and should be able to attract all fans of NASCAR with its realistic physics and performance customizations.
Going right into your first race, you'll probably notice some rather familiar items if you have played NASCAR Racing 2003 Season. This is mainly because some ex-employees of Papyrus were on hand to help out with the development of NASCAR SimRacing . And when you have some talented developers who created one of the best racing games ever and combine them with EA's strong workforce, chances are you will end up with a great game. Some of the most notable things you will see are the heads-up displays that can be activated by the F1 to F5 keys. These displays show all the details you need to know such as tyre pressure and heat, lap times, positions and of course a display that allows you to configure your next pit stop (in terms of how many tires will be changed, how much gas to fill up, if damage will be repaired, and a few other small changes such as grill tape). This allows you to easily setup your next pit stop on the fly while racing. Another similarity can be found in the animated pit crews which EA's NASCAR Thunder series did without. It may not be necessary to have such details as people running around your car and making quick modifications, but it does add to the realism which is a major part of any simulation.
NASCAR SimRacing includes a total of 28 tracks to race on. 25 of these are official NASCAR tracks while the remaining 3 are complete fakes that have been created out of the imaginations of EA's designers. Two of the official tracks are road courses while the rest are your average oval-shaped tracks. Now you may be thinking that once you've seen one oval race track, you've seen them all. Well that is definitely not the case here as each track is specifically detailed after their real life counterparts. Each track carries it's own set of features including specific track lengths, different degree-angled turns, racing grooves marking the commonly used race lines and even their own sets of flaws including bumps and variations in elevation. The variations in the tracks will no doubt have you changing your strategy and driving style when switching between them.
There are also many of different rides to choose from including over 40 real life drivers. This also spans over three different types of NASCAR racing. The three types are the NASCAR National Series, NEXTEL Cup Series and the Craftsman Truck Series. Obviously the Craftsman Truck Series does not include real trucks as they are basically like NASCAR's with simple truck shells. All three of these types of racing generally are different with the NEXTEL Cup Series normally providing for the fastest racing, and the Craftsman Truck Series providing a little more slower of an experience. Different tracks are used depending on which type you choose to play.
Gameplay
One of the best features in NASCAR SimRacing would probably have to be the use of the Career mode. When starting a new career you can select which type of NASCAR racing to participate in and you are also given the ability customize the appearance of your car. However, these customizations do seem somewhat limited, as they only give you the ability to choose between Chevy, Ford and Dodge, the ability to choose your number, and to choose from a limited selection of designs and paint. However, it is not the visual customizations that make this title a true simulation. The performance customizations certainly take this game to another level. You can fine-tune just about every single part on your car. You can change anything from tyre pressure to spoiler degrees and even brake pressure. This will surely draw in the hardcore NASCAR fans and is a great addition to this game giving you the ability to crank out some extra performance from your car. If you prefer not to tamper with these settings, however, then there are some default customizations that you can load before racing.
One problem with the career mode is the fact that you can only choose the settings for your career in the beginning. In other words, when you select the length of the career, the length of the tracks, and even the AI difficulty and aggression, it stays that way throughout the rest of your career. So once you have set it up you can not change it. The only way to change it would be to start a completely new career. This normally results in some trial and error runs as you are configuring your settings and then testing them out to see if the AI difficulty is too hard or too easy for you.
A great addition to the career mode is the ability to be either just the driver, or the driver and owner. Depending on which type of racing circuit you chose in the beginning of your career, you are given a certain amount of money to spend on repairing your car or other management duties. Acting as the owner allows you to manage such as things sponsors, research and development and merchandise. NASCAR fans will surely be pleased that all the real world sponsors are here. You can signup with one or terminate your contract with another at any time. Merchandise can be produced at any time which includes such items as die cast cars to clothing. It certainly brings a different view to the world of NASCAR racing and will give you something a little extra to do in between those hour-long races.
Speaking of long races, you will be glad to know that a great replay feature is always there to record and save your most desired races. After each race you can simply save your replay for viewing later on. Also, during each race you can hit the 'R' button to take a glimpse at the last few seconds of the race. Unfortunately, you will probably notice some slight problems here. The problem does not lie in the replay feature itself, but rather it lies in the menu system. For some reason or other, EA took it upon themselves to position all of your controls in spots that are uncommon to veterans of racing games. For example, normally when watching replays all of your important playback controls are listed on the bottom of the screen with maybe the exception of the camera control being near the top. However in NASCAR SimRacing, the fast forward and rewind buttons are at the bottom with the play, pause, and stop buttons shoved up in the far-left corner of the screen. These oddities in the menu system can be confusing at times and are not only apparent in the replay menu. The regular menus for the career mode and customizations can also be just as confusing when trying to find something.
These mishaps are somewhat made up for in the game's ability to perform like a true simulation. The physics system built into NASCAR SimRacing is truly realistic. You just have to make sure that you turn off all the driving aids and automatic pit stop features that are on by default when first going into the game. These features are obviously there for newcomers, but once they are turned off you will have one very realistic racing experience. The cars feel very well done as their handling is not too loose or too tight, and the feeling of bumper to bumper, high-speed racing is very apparent. The slightest slipup and you will find yourself wiping out all along the track. Your sponsors will not like it if you are in first place during the last lap of the race and suddenly go into the wall.
The AI is also done very well and is challenging enough to compliment the physics. The AI drivers are always aware of your presence and will always draft on you when coming up from behind. They are also very keen on understanding everything that is going on. If you make a stupid move by cutting one of them off they will know right away to press slightly on their brakes and back off. They are also not perfect themselves, as they too can easily get into accidents caused by other AI drivers.
EA has definitely improved upon the graphics in this edition. The viewing distance is extremely far which allows you to see the whole track from wherever you are. So any background objects will not appear to "pop" into view. Instead, they are always visible. The cockpit is extremely detailed and all other objects in the environment share the same quality. From the highly detailed and smooth-flowing animations of the pit crews to the thousands of fans in the stands waving their hands and arms, it sure is one great look experience. However, it all comes with a price, and to experience such high details will require you to have a high-end rig. Our GeForce 6800GT was fortunately capable of handling the game at a resolution of 1600x1200 with 4xAA, 4xAF, and with all the graphics maxed out while producing anywhere between 25-40FPS.
NASCAR fans will also be pleased to hear that NASCAR SimRacing contains some highly detailed sound effects. The roar of the engines sounds very realistic, and even things such as the wind passing by are noticeable. Much like all of EA's sport titles this one in particular also includes a great soundtrack to boot.
Conclusion
Overall, NASCAR SimRacing proves to be every bit as great as Papyrus' 2003 hit and even builds on it some more. Unfortunately it is plagued with a few snags such as a confusing menu system, slow load times, a damage system that seems undone and the multiplayer (which allows you to race against 43 other players) tends to lag quite often. However this title does represent the best when it comes to NASCAR simulation racing, and that is a very good thing considering the fact that it is the only NASCAR racing title out on the market.
