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A great gift for my husband, he says, "As close to a real race experience as you can get without being in an actual race car."
There are no driver changes; everyone is the same every year. The music is a mix of country and rock to accommodate both music groups. The career mode is lacking though. 4.3/5Game play- The overall driving is a lot of fun. I simply adjust air pressure, wedge, and the track bar the rest of the set up is a mystery to me. It has a simulator feel to it unlike any previous game in the franchise. You have to be precise in this game because like in real NASCAR if you mess up you're going to be in the wall.
This game was a huge leap over NASCAR 08. If you don't mind bad graphics I recommend either NASCAR Thunder 2004 or NASCAR 06: Total Team Control, they have the whole package for their time. The actual racing is nicely refined, giving veterans of the series a more challenging experience while still giving the rookie a chance. The contracts are stupid; a team dropped me a three time champion because I didn't qualify in the top 20 one race. 4.7/5Story- The career is bare bones and has a lot of problems that I have stated above.
Come on EA what were you thinking in the career mode. There is an opening race where you set up your skill level, actually the game provides its estimate of what you should pick, I chose the veteran driver setting, but if you're a rookie I advise you don't choose it. By far this game exceeds the previous installment. There is no trophy room to see your hard earned possessions. You can't communicate with team mates or even see who your teammates are. It's nice to have a career to keep you playing, but it should have been better developed. The cars actually handle like real cars and don't always make the corner.
The ability to save and watch your replays is nice. There is really no interaction with the team you chose. The stats you can out on while driving really help you adjust the car, though they hurt the realism of the game, I love the tire wear gauges. Even if you've found the perfect set up for a track and saved the next time around the track will change and you're back to square one just like in real life. There are a few problems, like the super speedways. Well I was waiting for this years installment to come out to write a NASCAR review, but that's not going to happen any time soon.
It will be a long time until someone makes a full forced NASCAR game again. 5/5The Verdict- If you like NASCAR I recommend this game whole heartily. If you start 1st you will pull away and never look back, which doesn't happen in real life. Overall the only choice right now and the game play is smooth enough, but the lack of split-screen still pisses me off. Also I liked in previous years where you could build up your garage and team, and even price your own merchandise.
4.5/5Graphics- It's the same every year. You also can't run more than one series at a time you have to choose which one to run at the beginning of the season. The game play is fast and furious. You actually feel like your driving a stock car. NASCAR 08 was terrible in my opinion and I hoped that EA would change their way of thinking this year. The inside camera view is very well done. All that has been taken away, you can't even check your stats for the previous year.
Overall 4.4/5 3.5/5Lasting Appeal- This game has kept my interest for two years now as I await Gran Tourismo 5 which will have NASCAR as one of its series. This game was a must buy for me because I buy it every year. The racing really brings you back not the career itself. I've finished 6 seasons and I'm beginning my seventh. The normal cars look great, but your created cars are missing the nice polished look the other drivers have.
There is nice dirt on your screen when you go through the grass. The damage element needs to be more elaborate, you can't really tear up your car that much. I wish they had a tutorial for the setups to help me adjust my car better. GT5 will have the NASCAR series, but its not the focus of the game. Presentation- The game has an interactive Jeff Gordon to talk to you as you progress through your career which is nice. They get a little better.
There is a lack of career options, but it is fun to race and I love this game despite its flaws. NASCAR 09 was a nice effort, lets just hope its not the last.
This game is super especially if you have a steering wheel to go with it. It feels like you are in the car. Jeff gordon is a great guide, even if you know nothing about NASCAR and how cars are run, you can play this game and have fun.PS I am 69 years young.
People have in the past complained about the shift from a simulation style game to an arcade game, and I just don't see that. This is the first time they've allowed cars to be painted entirely by the user (sponsors included) on a computer and then transferred into the console. This year's NASCAR in my opinion is the greatest any NASCAR game has been, even for EA. The first thing reviewers forget about this series is it's stock car racing, and if you don't enjoy stock car racing as a fan then you're not going to enjoy a stock car racing game, so quit whining. Every year EA Sports releases a new NASCAR game, I always see mediocre and even poor reviews about it, all of which claim that the game is boring and/or featureless. So, I give it a 4/5 because it's a great game with a few lost features but overall has many new ones replacing it. The two features that stick out most this year is the ability to race online with friends or in a public session for ratings (set up like Madden) and the fully custom paint shop for your cars. The features on it are relatively endless too, as you can race the truck series and the two main car series, sign team & sponsor contracts, race as either yourself (in custom cars) or as a real driver, break records, and track your career progress as you build a reputation around it.
The only downside I found to this game is the inability to race the different series (truck, Nationwide, etc) simultaneously. Jeff Gordon teaches you about every feature in the game as you progress through it, and that's a great addition. The '09 game has received the worst of these complaints, and I really feel that these complaints don't merit a true example of the game itself. You can literally race any paint/sponsor scheme you can think of. This year's game has a choice of either, both equally as useful depending on the player. Many people will dis that simply because it's Jeff Gordon. It only allows you to have contracts for one at a time, which is a step backwards for this game series (the '05 game allowed you to race up to four different schedules at a time and hire sub drivers as necessary when schedule conflicts arose). Great for stock car race fans.
first time buying a nascar game and driver controls are real good the game doesn't run like in crazy need for speed type games with cartoon graphics.the graphics are very realistic to the actual tracks the "design your own car" is real cool you put decals on paint color. for me its worth the $20. you get auto updates from EA. never froze up or failed for me.
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