NASCAR 2007 (PS2) Review
Posted by Andrew Mellick on 09.15.2006
Mellick takes a look at the latest installment of this Ricky Bobby inspired classic. Is this game a #1 or a #11? Read on to find out.
Title: NASCAR 2007 System review: Playstation 2 Company: EA Release: September 6th, 2006 Rated: Everyone (E)
Nothing else captures the imagination like loud noises and cars going in circles quite like NASCAR racing. This phenomenon has taken the nation by storm. Every Sunday families gather around in their trailers to watch these daring young men with their southern drawls. Cheering for their favorite racer and usually covering themselves and all their belongings in said racers number.
I will admit I am not a fan of this pseudo sport but I marvel at the amazing business it has become. Think about it: I pay to have my company name on something that is stared at for hours on end. People go and buy a racer’s merchandise and they have my logo all over their jacket/hat/shirt. It’s a perpetual advertising machine.
Ok, enough soap boxing. I will do my level best to keep the white trash jokes to a minimum as we examine the latest installment in EA’s series of driving in a circle, NASCAR 2007.
Synopsis
Normally here I would sum up the games story. Seeing as most everyone probably understands the story I won’t waste your time. People race for money. That’s about it.
Graphics
The great debate with my friends and I was in this category. The graphics are serviceable. NASCAR 2007 lacks the pretty colors of a game like Grand Turismo. However, the question we had is this: is NASCAR pretty? See, the game has a grainy gray track, blue sky and a wall on one side. While it’s nothing exciting visually I don’t know if there is much more they can do with a bunch of cars going around the same circle a bunch of times. I suppose they could have livened up the crowd a bit more (as it is they look like a pile of confetti).
A graphic that I have been waiting for is the occasional sea gull who dips a bit to low and explodes off somebody’s windshield (but I fear this may never make it into a NASCAR game).
The game does have animation of pit crews doing their thing as well as all your favorite racers being thrilled in victory and agonized in defeat. They look realistic enough. When I won a race with Dale Earnhardt Jr. he celebrated and my friend pointed out “well it looks like him”. Really, what more can you ask for?
My major complaint in this category is crashes. Lets be honest people like crashes. I would be willing to bet a good portion of the NASCAR audience watches for that reason. What this game needs is spectacular crashes. I’m not asking for fatalities or anything but if you want to be realistic then they are necessary. For instance, if I turn my car around the other way and hit another car head on at full speed the cars should explode and debris should fly everywhere. They should NOT just stop dead in their tracks. That should be the end of your race. You get the “did not finish” by your name and that’s all she wrote. I think it would add a level of excitement to the game if part of the strategy relied on avoiding bumps and wall scrapes for fear of a major crash. You can fall down a pit in Mario, you can get shot in Halo, and I don’t see why you can’t crash your vehicle beyond repair in what is supposed to be a realistic racing game.
Gameplay
The game play is what you’d expect. You race; you move up, you are given mini-challenges on your way to the top.
In season mode you have to start at the very bottom and work your way to the big time race by race. I liked a few options they had. You can pick your contract from a variety of offers (however, you only get one offer at the beginning). You also have the option to buy your own team which offers different challenges.
Bells and whistles
One fun aspect of the game is the ability to control your popularity with the crowd by your actions in the races. Run too many people into the wall and you may become the new villain. Alternately you can race cleanly and be nice to get the crowd on your side. Move over Earnhardt Jr there is a new NASCAR darling.
If there is a racer you don’t like, just keep picking on him, it won’t be long until that bastard is your rival. It's fun if there is a particular racer you don’t like in real life and you want to vicariously screw him over through modern technology.
One feature I enjoyed is the intimidation button that, when hit at the right time, causes the racer it is locked onto to spin out of control at your awesomeness. Maybe it’s unrealistic but it is a lot of fun to do. (Note: My friend tells me that in real racing if a driver comes up behind another driver and times it right he can ‘steal’ their air and cause them to lose control. I guess this is what that button is based on.)
You also can turn on a feature that puts a “racing line” on the track. The line indicates the best route around the track. It is also color coded (i.e. green means go faster, red means slow down). It’s a good idea for people such as me who do not race professionally.
Back again is the drifting button whereby you can lock onto someone and steal their jet stream. Very useful in racing as well as, on long trips in your own car, if you can get behind a semi and ride that sucker all the way you can save some serious gas money.
Controls- The controls are standard in that R2 accelerates, square intimidates, and X drifts (who needs the brake). They are serviceable. When your car is too damaged it is harder to control and you must hit the pit to fix the ol’ bucket of bolts up. Also you can mess with things like tire pressure and the wedge to see what settings work best. My friend told me it comes down to tweaking your car for each specific track. This adds some realism to the game but can get frustrating.
While the controls are alright, there is something I do take exception with and that is the extreme realism matched with extreme arcadeness (it’s a word now).
Here is what I mean. Racing in this game requires perfect precision going into every corner, accelerate at just the right time or hit the wall. It is almost too tough but realistic. The quick fix? Just drop to the apron and pass 5-6 cars with ease. I have no problem with a game being unrealistic but the key here is consistency. If I go into the apron I should spin out. Or I should have more ease of control in the turns. Having it both ways just makes the game feel sloppy.
The best answer to this problem would be to cater to both audiences. Have a “simulation” mode and an “arcade” mode to separate the casual racers from the Ricky Bobby’s.
Sound
The audio is passable. You get advisories from your pit crew throughout the race and they sound fine. Although, it does not require too much emotion to say “Car 12 coming on the left”.
I think the single player mode could have used more talking. Seriously, there is a lot of reading involved in this game. I think NASCAR would benefit greatly from a voice over to give directions on the various options the game has to offer. Maybe an old retired racer…or Bruce Campbell. Come on you know you’d love to have Brisco County Jr explain to you how to get the fans on your side and negotiate contracts.
Lasting Appeal
The racing gets old after a while and all the extras in season mode while nice don’t make the game compelling enough to play for a long period of time.
Fun Factor
Is this game fun? I suppose if you’re a racing fan it could be. While I enjoyed a few elements of the game, in the end it is just another forgettable racing game.
The 411
Bottom line with this game is if you’re a racing fan you’ll probably enjoy it. If you're not, NASCAR 2007 isn’t going to win you over. I recommend it to all you hardcore fans out there. Otherwise if you’re really interested just rent it and save your money for the PS3.
Andrew’s gaming tip
In this section I plan to give you a helpful hint in playing the game. See this review is informative and educational.
Ok, my tip works with NASCAR as well as pretty much any other racing game except maybe Mario Kart. It goes like this. NEVER SLOW DOWN IN A TURN UNLESS YOU’RE IN THE LEAD! Just fly in there with the RPM’s blazing. The computer is built to be a huge pussy and will slow down like a bitch. This is your chance to fly into the leaders and crowbar their asses back to the sticks. Nine times out of ten you’ll send him flying and make the turn without losing a step. It works trust me.
Now, I’ve never tried it in real traffic, but my guess is it wouldn’t work. This is due in large part to the fact that real life cars are not nearly as slippery as video game cars. They seem to stick together and have more a crunching affect then in video games where cars slide off of each other like two sticks of butter.
Graphics
7.0
The graphics are passable but nothing to write home about (not that anyone writes home about graphics).
Gameplay
6.5
The controls are serviceable at best. The game fluctuates between reality and arcadeness.
Sound
7.5
Engines roar, tires squeal, and people talk with southern accents. A spot on interpretation of NASCAR.
Lasting Appeal
6.0
This is just another racing game. It gets dull fast.
Fun Factor
6.5
If you are a NASCAR fan then you may like this game. However, it feels like developers are counting on that and thus put little effort into making this a memorable game.
