I picked up NASCAR 08 on Playstation 3 yesterday as the box promised decent physics, the graphics seemed good and I don't want to fire up the PC just to play a NASCAR game.
And I was pleasantly surprised.
LONG POST AHEAD, skip to the bits you care about
Of course, Youtube is full of the usual elitist characters claiming that NASCAR 08 is crap compared to NR2003, even though they haven't played EA's latest offering. I'll admit that the previous EA NASCAR titles were pretty poor but believe me, this next gen version is something different.
Even though I was playing with the gamepad, the controls are precise and the physics seemed very close to NR2003. For example, with the aids off you can reach the limits of grip and correct or use oversteer without an ISI-style canned spin- and when you go beyond the limit, you spin out just like you did in the Papyrus sim. Also, apply too much throttle out of a turn or lock up the wheels on the way in and you'll probably find yourself facing the other way if you don't correct it.
Graphics-wise, the game looks incredibly like NR2003 with the addition of some bump-mapping and the excellent lighting and shadows found in every PS3 game. However, I've come to expect better textures than I found here (with the exception of the asphalt) and the lack of AA is a real bitch. Slightly worrying also is the fact that if you took away the shiny lighting effects, NASCAR 08's Infineon would look worse than GT4's.
Gameplay consists of the usual season and quick race modes as well as a career which is a series of licence tests, challenges and finally a season of races. So, good for the casual gamer or sim-racer but bad for the fanboys who want to spend their career mode in menu screens managing sponsors and using "Total Team Control" or whatever extraneous stuff was in the previous versions.
And obviously all the tracks, cars and drivers are in there as well as trucks and the Car of Tomorrow, a (very empty) online mode and the ability to design your own car (albeit in a limited way which is closer to NFS Carbon than Forza 2).
Sorry for the lengthy post but I thought I'd try and give a balanced view of what is, in my opinion, a good game which should be given a chance and not written off by people before they've even played it.
All opinions etc etc are welcome!
And I was pleasantly surprised.
LONG POST AHEAD, skip to the bits you care about
Of course, Youtube is full of the usual elitist characters claiming that NASCAR 08 is crap compared to NR2003, even though they haven't played EA's latest offering. I'll admit that the previous EA NASCAR titles were pretty poor but believe me, this next gen version is something different.
Even though I was playing with the gamepad, the controls are precise and the physics seemed very close to NR2003. For example, with the aids off you can reach the limits of grip and correct or use oversteer without an ISI-style canned spin- and when you go beyond the limit, you spin out just like you did in the Papyrus sim. Also, apply too much throttle out of a turn or lock up the wheels on the way in and you'll probably find yourself facing the other way if you don't correct it.
Graphics-wise, the game looks incredibly like NR2003 with the addition of some bump-mapping and the excellent lighting and shadows found in every PS3 game. However, I've come to expect better textures than I found here (with the exception of the asphalt) and the lack of AA is a real bitch. Slightly worrying also is the fact that if you took away the shiny lighting effects, NASCAR 08's Infineon would look worse than GT4's.
Gameplay consists of the usual season and quick race modes as well as a career which is a series of licence tests, challenges and finally a season of races. So, good for the casual gamer or sim-racer but bad for the fanboys who want to spend their career mode in menu screens managing sponsors and using "Total Team Control" or whatever extraneous stuff was in the previous versions.
And obviously all the tracks, cars and drivers are in there as well as trucks and the Car of Tomorrow, a (very empty) online mode and the ability to design your own car (albeit in a limited way which is closer to NFS Carbon than Forza 2).
Sorry for the lengthy post but I thought I'd try and give a balanced view of what is, in my opinion, a good game which should be given a chance and not written off by people before they've even played it.
All opinions etc etc are welcome!
