My first major experience with a NASCAR game was NASCAR Racing 4 (PC)
by Papyrus. And it was a great experience! You really had to get your
self involved in every aspect of your car to really be able to win a
race. So, when I got NASCAR 2005: Chase for the Cup I had high
expectations for the game. I have to admit that maybe I should have
brought down my expectations more then a few levels. I'm not saying
that NASCAR 2005 doesn't do some great things, but there are many
things that I, as a big NASCAR fan, would have liked to have had in my
experience with the game.
Let me start out by saying that this is the best looking NASCAR game
that I have ever seen. The tracks are rendered perfectly, the cars look
fantastic and realistic, and this game has some of the greatest looking
clouds in the history of gaming. My only complaint about the graphics
is the painstakingly slow framerate in your rear view mirror when you
have a lot of cars in it.
The sound is also a huge plus in NASCAR 2005. This sounds like how a
NASCAR game should. The engines roar as you race around the track, your
crew chief and spotter keep you up to date on the happenings, even the
pit stops sound as they should. And as always EA did a great job of
picking a good lineup of songs for this game. Now for the only broken
part of the game, the gameplay its self. First I do want to say that
the on track racing is great. Cars act as they should for certain
situations. If your car is loose then expect the back end to want to go
around, if you go into a corner too fast expect to meet the wall very
soon. All the modes of the game are great. The fight to the top is a
great idea for a career mode, working you through all the different
series in NASCAR. And of course you have your season mode, chase for
the cup mode (which allows you to play the last 10 races of the
season), and different mini games to test your skills in. There are
only two parts of the gameplay that I feel are broken and really these
are two very important parts. First, EA needs to allow for deeper
tweaking when you come in for a pit stop. There are so many more things
that can be done during a pit stop then just getting tires, wedge
adjustments, fuel and damage repair. You can do sway bar adjustments,
if needed be you can add or take away spring rubbers. There are even
things you can do that would take almost a minute to complete (for
those desperate times). Also, when you run out of fuel your race isn't
over. Yes, you will go a lap or more down but your race isn't over. The
second big thing for me in NASCAR 2005 is the fact that there is rarely
a yellow flag. Most races have at least four or five cautions. You have
cars that blow up, have tire problems and of course wrecks. NASCAR
2005: Chase For The Cup is a good NASCAR game for a start. But, EA has
a lot they need to approve upon. Unfortunately they didn't do that in
NASCAR 2006 or NASCAR 2007. They added more features, but they didn't
fix what is wrong with the game. And somethings, like graphics have
gone down hill. Lets hope that for the next gen of gaming EA does the
right thing and make a game that NASCAR fans will really want to sink
into. After all NASCAR is becoming a bigger sport every year. And soon
a NASCAR game could compete in sales with the likes of Madden, if done
right.
