EA's
NASCAR 08 for the Playstation 3 is a disappointing title that doesn't
really take advantage of next-generation technology. Its modes and
features are lackluster for the most part. The ability to you use the
draft of another vehicle for a speed boost is pretty cool, but that's
about it in the innovation department. Unfortunately, the game's positive
features are mitigated by some fairly significant flaws. The controls take
some getting used to, and the driving never feels right no matter the how
you tweak its settings. Visually, NASCAR 08 is disappointing with flat
textures, low frame rates and an uninspired presentation. The game offers
what you'd expect, but has little flair and polish, making it fall far
short of next generation racing standards.
NASCAR 08 offers the promise of a full
fledged racing simulator, and while it has all the features you've come to
expect, it doesn't really go the extra mile you'd expect it to, making for
a disappointing experience overall. The game offers several modes of play,
including single races, practice modes and challenges along with the
ability to compete in a full Nextel Cup season consisting of dozens of
races. You can choose to play either a single race or compete in an entire
season. Before each race, you have dozens of options including the ability
to turn driving assists on or off - these include braking, turning and
other assists. Players can also choose the length of each race, set the
level of damage, choose whether to play using flag rules and even choose
whether collisions or damage will occur. Other options let you choose
whether you're car will take damage, set the level of wear on your vehicle
and tires during the race or make other changes. You can also adjust the
responsiveness and linearity of the controls at the options menu, adjust
your vehicle's weight and transmission to your liking as well. NASCAR 08
further lets you choose from several different control schemes, with
either a fairly standard dual shock analog mode or a new mode that lets
you steer the vehicle using the Sixaxis controller's motion sensitivity.
This is met with mixed results.
Once
you get on the track, you'll find that the controls for your vehicle are
incredibly touchy and picky to use. You can select from either a standard
analog mode or use the Sixaxis motion controller. After you've chosen your
preferred mode, you can change the responsiveness and linearity of the
controls, and also change the turning ratio and dead spots, and these can
make a noticeable difference in how easy your car is to maneuver. However,
this isn't really much of factor in NASCAR's overall difficulty. Either
way, there's a steep learning curve that will probably turn off a lot of
players. You have very little room for error and most players will find
that they'll need to concentrate on things or face a serious crash.
Wrecking the cars occurs frequently and since these cause significant
downgrades in performance, you'll have very little room for error. Damage
occurs from even the smallest bumps and since the opposing vehicles are
quite aggressive, avoiding wrecks and bumps is essential, yet very
difficult. Once your vehicle skids off the track, you lose plenty of time
and this, making it very hard to catch up once you get behind. You can use
the vehicle draft to make up some time, but it isn't easy to line up your
vehicle perfectly in order to achieve this. When you're in the pack, you
need split second reflexes as well, which makes it even harder for you to
avoid crashing.
Another factor that makes NASCAR
difficult are the tracks themselves, which vary in design and look. While
the differences are subtle, you'll have to adjust your strategy to account
for the different banking angles of the curves and the overall width of
the tracks. Most of the tracks are the standard oval design, which is what
you'd expect, but you'll find that these are deceptive, since you need to
practice for a few laps to get the feel of them before you have a chance
of winning. The game isn't so much about racing as it is about keeping
your vehicle in a steady consistent line and waiting for your opponents to
mess up. As you might expect, you'll also have to keep a steady eye on
your vehicle indicators and damage so you know when to pit and how far you
can push your vehicle. It's easy to get distracted, which leads to trouble
so you definitely need to have this timing down as well. One of the
strategies you might need to apply is waiting to pit until you are under
caution flags, which reduces the amount of time you'll need to make up.
NASCAR does a good job in recreating this aspect of the sport, and it adds
a level of authenticity to the game that makes for a faithful experience.
While this level of realism is
impressive, it makes NASCAR 08 much less enjoyable than it should have
been. There are too many crashes, which occur for the smallest mistakes,
which makes NASCAR 08 a surprisingly frustrating experience at certain
points. It doesn't seem to matter how you set the controls, the game
requires a great deal of concentration. This makes for a game that isn't
nearly as enjoyable as you might expect, you can't really ever relax and
once you crash, you might as well reset the race since you have virtually
no chance of catching up. Between the touchy, imprecise and frustrating
controls and the game's steep AI, NASCAR 08 is one of the more difficult
racers on the market.
At
first glance, the game offers some impressive visuals, but once you get a
bit closer, things begin to fall apart. You can choose either a behind the
car viewpoint or go inside the cockpit during the race, which is a nice
touch. The game runs at a decent frame rate, but you'll notice some minor
flaws, such as the dreaded jaggies, that continue to rear their ugly heads
at certain points during the race. However, the game does offer fairly
accurate renderings of more than 20 courses and the vehicle models
themselves are fairly decent, if uninspiring. NASCAR 08's presentation and
production values are adequate in and of themselves, but when you compare
the title's visuals to similar racers like Need For Speed Underground,
Ridge Racer 7 it's flawed presentation and behind-the-curve production
values really come into sharp contrast. Sony's own demo of Gran Turismo 5
offers a vastly superior experience from a visual standpoint, making
NASCAR 08 feel all the more lacking. The game's flat textures, undetailed
cars and lackluster renderings of tracks make the experience feel more
like a last-generation release than a current offering. There are some
decent weather and lighting effects when the tracks go from day to night,
and it's pretty cool to see all 42 opponents on the track simultaneously,
but NASCAR 08 doesn't feel nearly as impressive as it needs to be. The
game's soundtrack consists mainly of country-rock and is fairly innocuous
since it only appears in the menu screens. The roar of engines is also
fairly impressive, and the constant chatter from the announcers and you
pit chief helps to put you into the action. However, the overall
presentation is far from the levels where it could have been, lending the
experience a disappointing aesthetic overall.
Unfortunately, between NASCAR 08's
frustrating controls and lackluster presentation, it falls far short of
the standards set for next-generation racing titles. It includes all the
major elements you'd expect from a licensed game, but lacks the flourish
and polish of a true high-definition title. The game is difficult to play
and its controls never feel right thanks to their touchiness and
responsiveness. While it looks good in screen shots, but in motion suffers
from bland textures, dull car models and a somewhat choppy
appearance that isn't helped by the grating jaggies which appear
throughout. The game modes are fairly dull and even the attempts at
brining in mini-games seem to fall flat. In the end, this isn't what
NASCAR fans were probably expecting, and it falls far short of the mark.
Overall, NASCAR 08 is one of the most disappointing Playstation 3 titles
released to date and doesn't really deliver on its promises.
- Michael Palisano
Grade:
C
