NASCAR 08 – PS3 – Review

Dirt roads
are fine, but you need something a little more concrete. Highways and byways
are yesteryear’s racetracks. You crave the smooth, high-speed courses – the
kind that makes oil drip from Lightning McQueen’s mouth – that only an
international speedway can bring. You want NASCAR, the boldest name in racing.

Since the
early days of PlayStation 2, NASCAR has been a prominent figure in video
games. From its days of Thunder to the years spent chasing the Cup, gamers
turned to this racing sport for cutting-edge gameplay. NASCAR 08, the series’
first major entry into next-gen gaming, had years of PS2 sequels riding on its
wheels. With “Race the Car of Tomorrow” as its tagline, the game shoots for
current enjoyment from a semi-futuristic premise.

Vehicle Telemetry Visor

Commonly
known in the game as VTV, the Vehicle Telemetry Visor is an updated way of
viewing your vehicle’s status. In addition to the MPH, RPM, lap time,
position, and body damage signals, VTV shows your fuel gauge, oil temperature
and pressure, current gear, and water temperature. A slingshot meter indicates
when you can pull ahead during a draft.

When
training, players get a special draft view that throws holographic rectangles
from the rear of your nearest opponent. These rectangles act as a guide to
where you can draft. Stay within the rectangles and drive closer to your
opponent to pick up speed. The game reiterates that drafting is used to lower
wind resistance. But in a game world, you don’t currently feel the effects of
wind, though I’m hoping that changes when a special fan-equipped PlayStation 4
arrives in 2015 (hey, it could happen).

Challenge
Time

The recent
NASCAR games have started out like DVDs with a trailer set that can’t be
skipped. At least one challenge was brought forth at the beginning and it had
to be completed before proceeding to the actual game. NASCAR 08 does not stray
from this idea. But instead of completing just one challenge, you’ll have to
finish 10 of them before proceeding to your first actual race.

Easy
(bronze), Medium (silver) and Hard (gold) difficulties and medals are
accessible. But unlike Gran Turismo, where your success determines the medal
received, you must pick one of the difficulties ahead of time, which lowers or
heightens the requirements. The time limit in a speed challenge, for example,
will be lower for the Hard difficulty setting than it is for Medium and Easy.

There are
dozens of challenge in NASCAR 08, but you don’t have to play them all at once.
The first 10 contain the expected objectives: avoid a car pileup, draft
through a lap, slingshot past six opponents, stay above the listed speed
minimum, etc. There’s quite a bit of buildup for each type, especially for the
pit challenge, which requires you to slow down before entering the pit area
(very, very easy to do). The announcer talks about this session like it’s
going to be the most challenging thing you’ve ever done. NASCAR newbies might
find the commentary helpful, but the rest of you will be laughing once it’s
over. Press and hold the L2 button to brake and drive toward the glowing pit
sign. Done, mission complete.

Turning
Point

Of the many
things players look for in a NASCAR game, control and graphic upgrades are at
the top of the list. New modes also rank high, and that’s not exclusive to
racing – developers of new football, basketball, baseball, hockey, soccer, and
golf games are expected to create new content as well.

At the
start, NASCAR 08 doesn’t feel that different from its predecessors. The
default vehicle handling is about where you’d expect it to be: tight but
capable of losing traction when driving over slick surfaces. Handling may be
tweaked to make the car tighter or looser, which is helpful if you’re using a
wheel peripheral, but I chose to stick with the default setting when using a
SIXAXIS.

The crash
mechanics have changed since the last generation, with damage now looking more
realistic but occurring in a less realistic manner. When bumping into the side
of an opponent, you might notice that scratch marks have been left behind. If
the bump is fast and harsh enough, one side of your vehicle may have been
crumpled. Luckily, your rear is still intact – or is it? Side bumps may lead
to rear-end damage. Rather than crumple in response to the type of collision
(as in the previous NASCAR games), damage occasionally appears in the wrong
places. You won’t see the damage unfold – it just appears in the wrong spot
after getting hit.

Similarly,
the sound effects are a bit off. Engine sounds are the bulk of what you’ll
hear, and they’re not particularly accurate with what’s happening on screen.
There are times when I’d be several hundred yards ahead or behind of my
opponents, but it would sound like another vehicle (or several!) was
nearby. The opposite was also true – I could be near several opponents and
hear no more than a few engines.

This takes
away from the game’s next-gen prowess, as does the intro, which stutters like
a CD without skip protection. You’ll be much more enthused by the night
courses, which showcase some really impressive lighting and shadow effects.
Chances are you expected that – the NASCAR series is known for lighting and
shadows, and its sunsets are amazing. But the intro is distracting enough to
make you forget that this is a next-gen game.

The Game
of Yesterday

Though it’s
nice to be playing NASCAR on Sony’s new console, the series’ first PS3 outing
is not as remarkable as its first outing on PS2. You’ll be impressed from time
to time but never blown away. The gameplay is entertaining but doesn’t contain
any significant hooks to enamor its players. I like it but am left wanting
more – not more from what the game contains, but more of what was present in
past NASCAR games (realistic physics, improved controls, and groundbreaking
collision effects) that failed to appear in this edition.

Gameplay: 7.0
NASCAR 08 plays
well but isn’t spectacular, and in no way feels like a next-gen experience.
You’ll start to enjoy it as soon as the boring challenges end, but the game
never gets to that point where you are entirely consumed in the experience.
While EA’s previous offerings had mainstream appeal, this one is only
recommended to hardcore NASCAR fans – assuming they don’t mind having a
retooled and scaled-down version of last year’s game.

Graphics:
7.2
The graphics are
noticeably richer than NASCAR 07 on PS2, but you’ll have to wait for a night
course before any eye-popping effects are shown. Body damage looks more
realistic but is incurred with less realism.

Sound: 6.0
Rock and country
are Ok separately but make for a weird mix when used together. Most of NASCAR
08’s licensed tracks go for that style – a rock sound with a country voice, or
some other mix.

Difficulty: Easy/Medium
It’s good to know
that this is still an easy series to jump into – if you’re new to NASCAR. For
series veterans, the races won’t be that difficult to overcome.

Concept: 6.0
PlayStation 2
NASCAR that’s been deep-fried, re-seasoned, and re-dressed with a high-res
engine.

Multiplayer: 6.0
Limited online
options (only one style of racing, custom or pre-made) and a lack of offline
multiplayer keep NASCAR 08 a few steps below its PS2 predecessors.

Overall: 7.0
Though the series
still provides solid NASCAR racing, its first PS3 offering is not primed for
next-gen excellence.