NASCAR 08 - Just preety or more?
I want to begin by saying I’ve only played the Xbox 360 version, so I’ll only be referring to it.
The NASCAR series has never been one of my favorite racing games, I’m simply not a fan of NASCAR, I’m more of a Rally or Formula 1 type of guy, racing around on a big oval shaped circuit just doesn’t fascinate me. But I’ve always appreciated the work EA put into this game, making it one of the most popular racers out there.
Because of that I had high expectations from NASCAR 08, especially since it’s making it’s debut on the PS3. But I’m sad to say that this year, from my point of view, EA hasn’t exactly shipped out a classic. It’s a great looking game, no doubt about it, the best looking NASCAR ever, but frankly I was expecting this, Playstation 3 is a powerful tool and it’s starting to show what it’s really capable of. It was the gameplay aspect I was more curious about.
You’ll be able to drive through all the Nextel Cup races from the beginning, or race the Nextel Cup Series, but you can only do it in THE CAR OF TOMORROW!!! Wow that sounds cool…but it’s actually not, it’s just a race car with a fancy name. The deeper, more complex part of NASCAR 08 is it’s career mode called The Chase. It’s pretty innovative ( normally that’s a good thing, but in this case…), introducing a great number of mini games you have to complete in order to progress through the game. For example in the beginning you’ll go through six of this mini game challenges just to qualify for the race( very frustrating), then at one point you’ll have to race the Daytona circuit while maintaining an average speed of 170mp/h( now that was hard! ). Maybe these challenges will appeal to you, but they sure annoyed the hell out of me.
NASCAR 08’s greatest flaw is it’s sensitivity ( I didn’t know what else to call it ). In multiplayer races, the game restarts a race at the slightest collision, making it very hard for players to enjoy their online victories. That’s also a little ironic because all the AI drivers bump into you or try to cut you off every chance they get for no apparent reason. EA may be trying to promote safe driving…but this wasn’t the way to do it.
The soundtrack is pretty decent with tracks from bands like Velvet Revolver or Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. The in-game sounds are great, the sounds made by the race cars seem very real and the comments made by your pit crew, and the occasional warnings really get you in the mood.
So as it stands, NASCAR 08 is a good game if we refer to it’s graphics and sound aspects, but that just isn’t enough to make us overlook the real poor gameplay. It’s a shame too, the game had a lot more potential.
