Review
NASCAR 08 Review (PS2)
NASCAR racing has always been more of an American affair. However, increasingly this sport is finding popularity in other parts of the globe. No doubt influenced by the success of films such as Cars from Pixar, the language, structure and details of NASCAR racing is slowing being imbibed by young and old all over the planet. To that end, we were excited when NASCAR 08 plopped through the Strategy Informer mailbox the other day, and were quickly fighting over who should be covering it.
Some other games from EA have had more competitive of late, and have consequently had to raise their game to compete. This has been met with enthusiasm throughout the games industry, as competition really does seem to drive excellence. The NASCAR series however, stands pretty much alone as the only ongoing racing game in the genre. To that end it is not a surprise that it is also the top selling game in the genre. Lies, damn lies and then statistics, and then there's box quotes! As soon as you put the game into the system you are confronted by the familiar title screen and music that has graced previous games in the series. Not the best start if you are hoping for EA to have done the right thing and pushed the boat out for this release, even without the pressure of competition. But, let's hold our judgement until we can give the game a good run out.
Many of you are probably already familiar with the features and feel of the previous games in the series. NASCAR 08 continues the trend of delivering a variety of real and invented racing arenas. It complements these with an impressive driver roster that takes in pretty much every driver to have graced a car on the NASCAR circuit. However, even with this large line-up there are a few omissions that hard-core fans of the genre may notice as missing. Having paid for the licence you would think that EA would wring out every last drop of information, but for some reason a few have slipped between the development cracks.
Compared to the previous outings in the series, we were slightly disappointed to see the PS2 version coming off as the poorer country cousin to the big guns of the 360 and PS3 next generation editions. Although 360 and PS3 versions benefit from a new tutorial mode that lets you chase cars around the track, the PS2 is lacking this useful feature. Also of note, the dodge challenges are strangely absent on the PS2. This is strange as their inclusion in last years game was warmly welcomed by most pundits.
The racing proper is also on a par with previous NASCAR games from EA. 08is to all intents and purposes the same game that we played almost a year ago. Whilst there may have been a little work to remove some of the twitchy-ness from the driving experience the rest of the set-up looks and feels identical. The changes that are there seem to be to help the novice or more casual gamer get to grips with the game. Of not are some innovative features from the previous game such as the ability to muscle some drivers out the way by your sheer presence behind them and using the D-pad to call on a team-mate for assistance.
The AI drivers do a pretty good job of providing a realistic and believable set of racing opponents. At times it feels like you are up against a human driver who just won't give up haranguing you around the oval. You progress through the game from your initial Whelen Modified car up to some pretty impressive mechanical monsters. The difficulty obviously ramps up along the way and provides a challenge that scales well to your improving skill and car performance.
We were disappointed that only four friends can race online. Whilst the online mode is a welcome addition, only supporting four drivers really does limit this experience. It again feels like the PS2 was the poorer cousin of the fully fleshed out services that will no doubt be delivered to the 360 and PS3 versions of the game. It is a shame that such a large market is essentially being sidelined in this way.
Graphically, NASCAR 08 delivers a solid rendering of the sport. Although obviously limited by the PS2 lack of horse power, they do manage to squeeze out an impressive amount of polygons out of the old black box. There is a considerable amount of detail included in both the environments, cars and even drivers. Whilst this is not on a par with the next generation renderings, it certainly holds its own visually.
Sound-wise, the cars all sound like their real world counter parts. This really takes off if you introduce a surround sound set-up into your gaming environment. This provides a whole extra layer of information about what is going on around you in the game. You are suddenly aware of the other cars around you, or approaching for an attempted overtaking manoeuvre. Many a time we fended off a challenger simply by hearing their tell-tell engine roar.
Overall NASCAR 08 is a solid game, but not one that has received a lot of love and attention since last year. The changes that have been made are an attempt to widen the appeal to a less hard-core audience. The problem with this is that the majority of the fans of the series are those very hard-core gamers that they are ignoring. The end result is a game that has little to offer you if you have the previous edition. This game best serves those of us who are either new to the series or are hardened fans of NASCAR proper. Maybe a game to pick up once the price falls in a month or two.
Top Game Moment: When the left hand tilt of the steering suddenly clicks into place and you start working your way up the grid. Suddenly the game makes sense and is imbibed with a new injection of competitive play.
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| Certainly a few spectators for this race! | Burn rubber! |
Some other games from EA have had more competitive of late, and have consequently had to raise their game to compete. This has been met with enthusiasm throughout the games industry, as competition really does seem to drive excellence. The NASCAR series however, stands pretty much alone as the only ongoing racing game in the genre. To that end it is not a surprise that it is also the top selling game in the genre. Lies, damn lies and then statistics, and then there's box quotes! As soon as you put the game into the system you are confronted by the familiar title screen and music that has graced previous games in the series. Not the best start if you are hoping for EA to have done the right thing and pushed the boat out for this release, even without the pressure of competition. But, let's hold our judgement until we can give the game a good run out.
Many of you are probably already familiar with the features and feel of the previous games in the series. NASCAR 08 continues the trend of delivering a variety of real and invented racing arenas. It complements these with an impressive driver roster that takes in pretty much every driver to have graced a car on the NASCAR circuit. However, even with this large line-up there are a few omissions that hard-core fans of the genre may notice as missing. Having paid for the licence you would think that EA would wring out every last drop of information, but for some reason a few have slipped between the development cracks.
Compared to the previous outings in the series, we were slightly disappointed to see the PS2 version coming off as the poorer country cousin to the big guns of the 360 and PS3 next generation editions. Although 360 and PS3 versions benefit from a new tutorial mode that lets you chase cars around the track, the PS2 is lacking this useful feature. Also of note, the dodge challenges are strangely absent on the PS2. This is strange as their inclusion in last years game was warmly welcomed by most pundits.
The racing proper is also on a par with previous NASCAR games from EA. 08is to all intents and purposes the same game that we played almost a year ago. Whilst there may have been a little work to remove some of the twitchy-ness from the driving experience the rest of the set-up looks and feels identical. The changes that are there seem to be to help the novice or more casual gamer get to grips with the game. Of not are some innovative features from the previous game such as the ability to muscle some drivers out the way by your sheer presence behind them and using the D-pad to call on a team-mate for assistance.
The AI drivers do a pretty good job of providing a realistic and believable set of racing opponents. At times it feels like you are up against a human driver who just won't give up haranguing you around the oval. You progress through the game from your initial Whelen Modified car up to some pretty impressive mechanical monsters. The difficulty obviously ramps up along the way and provides a challenge that scales well to your improving skill and car performance.
We were disappointed that only four friends can race online. Whilst the online mode is a welcome addition, only supporting four drivers really does limit this experience. It again feels like the PS2 was the poorer cousin of the fully fleshed out services that will no doubt be delivered to the 360 and PS3 versions of the game. It is a shame that such a large market is essentially being sidelined in this way.
Graphically, NASCAR 08 delivers a solid rendering of the sport. Although obviously limited by the PS2 lack of horse power, they do manage to squeeze out an impressive amount of polygons out of the old black box. There is a considerable amount of detail included in both the environments, cars and even drivers. Whilst this is not on a par with the next generation renderings, it certainly holds its own visually.
Sound-wise, the cars all sound like their real world counter parts. This really takes off if you introduce a surround sound set-up into your gaming environment. This provides a whole extra layer of information about what is going on around you in the game. You are suddenly aware of the other cars around you, or approaching for an attempted overtaking manoeuvre. Many a time we fended off a challenger simply by hearing their tell-tell engine roar.
 |
 |
|
| Unconventional approach to cornering? | The grid is in motion! |
Overall NASCAR 08 is a solid game, but not one that has received a lot of love and attention since last year. The changes that have been made are an attempt to widen the appeal to a less hard-core audience. The problem with this is that the majority of the fans of the series are those very hard-core gamers that they are ignoring. The end result is a game that has little to offer you if you have the previous edition. This game best serves those of us who are either new to the series or are hardened fans of NASCAR proper. Maybe a game to pick up once the price falls in a month or two.
Top Game Moment: When the left hand tilt of the steering suddenly clicks into place and you start working your way up the grid. Suddenly the game makes sense and is imbibed with a new injection of competitive play.
