If you had to summarize the EA Sports’ NASCAR games over the years, the best description would be “don’t bother”. EA’s first effort, NASCAR Thunder, through last year’s release, NASCAR 2007, showed games full of glitz, but sorely lacking in substance. A strong illustration in support of this is the fact that NASCAR Racing 2003 by Papyrus is still, hands down, the most popular NASCAR game out there. NASCAR fanatics continue to release mods keeping the Papyrus staple up to date, while abandoning the idea that EA will ever catch a clue and release a game for the simulation player.
With NASCAR 2008, EA looks to take a page from the Papyrus playbook and EA’s own PC release, NASCAR Sim-Racing, by releasing a game that will appeal greatly to the diehard simulation racers. Let’s be clear, however, if you are not interested in a real racing experience, do not select Hardcore Simulation when you start the game up. I did it, and could not get off of pit road on a Race Now game at Indy without spinning out. This game is about two things, set-up and consistency. Car setups are as deep as they’ve ever been and if you do not know how to adjust tire camber or gear ratios, you may be better off playing with all of the computer assists on. Additionally, once you actually get a car setup that works, you will then have to learn to keep the car on the track. I’ve realized after a week that to fully enjoy this game, I will probably need to
pick up a steering wheel. The 360 controller, and the lack of range in steering with it, makes the car’s handling extremely squirrelly if you do not turn down the responsiveness and linearity settings. Even then, driver error with the joystick is not a matter of if, but when. However, running the Car of Tomorrow seems to give you more room for driver error seeing that the C.O.T. definitely drives tighter than the standard cars.
After making the necessary controller and car adjustments, getting out on the track presents a new challenge, as the computer drivers are as realistic, smart, and aggressive as ever. I took my #8 car out in a 15% race at Daytona and realized that driving in the pack felt just like running on Sunday with 42 other drivers, as drafting and pit strategy were the keys to obtaining a solid finish. Lose the draft or rough up your fenders, and enjoy riding around in the middle to back of the pack. Jump on the track in Bristol or Martinsville, however, and prepare to use, or be abused by, fenders in getting around the track. All-in-all, the experience at each track is distinct and an accurate reflection of what Tony Stewart or Dale Earnhardt Jr. deals with each weekend.
With the impressive advancements in driving realism, EA has made some strides in producing a title worthy of the next-generation tag. The car models and reflections while driving are very impressive, but textures and distance drawing could use some help. As far as sound goes, I cranked it up on my home theater system and the engine sounds are accurately reflective of the action taking place on the screen. One real gripe is the music. While NASCAR has its roots in the South, the country music was overkill and became annoying pretty quickly.
EA has implemented a career mode, the Chase, which is fun at first, but lacks several features which kept the series afloat during last-gen, like Total Team Control. Season mode is really shallow, in my opinion, and reminds me of Madden 06 on the 360 with the lack of basic features. The biggest piece of the puzzle that EA has yet to implement, and suffers because of it, is the ability for users to edit or share paint schemes. Until EA figures out a way to make this available on the console, they should be prepared to lose market share to the constantly modified NR2K3.
Despite my worst fears, EA has managed to produce a solid foundation for next-generation NASCAR games with NASCAR 2008. Driving realism and deep race day set-up options will appeal greatly to the hardcore community. Inclusion of all the popular drivers, fun mini-challenges, and the Chase mode will help draw in the casual fan. If you are interested in a challenging, realistic experience whether driving in Las Vegas or Talladega, this is the game for you.
