NASCAR: Dirt to Daytona

"If you can't stand the competition stay away"

I must say that NASCAR Dirt to Daytona is much better then those previous NASCAR games that Monster Games that has released. It seems that they really improved since they did NASCAR Heat 2002 and this is definitely better than that game anyway. Compared to NASCAR Thunder 2003 this game isn’t that bad, but I heard from a few people that this game is better than Thunder. In my point of view, I enjoy playing NASCAR Dirt to Daytona as well as I do with NASCAR Thunder 2003, especially with the different Career Modes that both games feature in them. The Career Mode is different than that of Thunder because you just don’t focus just on the Winston Cup you have to focus on three other series in NASCAR: NASCAR Weekly Series, NASCAR Modifieds, and NASCAR Craftsman Truck. With doing these series in Career Mode will keep you busy as Thunder’s Career Mode kept you busy as well, but in Dirt to Daytona you have to start in the Weekly Series but you have to try to make a name for yourself in each of the series (i.e.: Win a Championship) and then you can be able to get real good deals for the other series. I must say that the Career Mode is more in-depth than the Career Mode in Thunder but I still enjoy doing the Career Mode in both games and I don’t know why those who say this game is better than Thunder. I just like to say that both games are enjoyable to play even if you like playing one of them more than the other.

GRAPHICS: 10/10
The graphics are definitely great looking and the tracks really are nicely detailed. With the way the tracks look they almost look like the real thing because it seems that they tried to use somewhat photo-realistic graphics. As for the way the cars look I don’t understand why Monster Games STILL haven’t went about licensing the car makes as well as the car models because they just don’t look as nice as they did in NASCAR Racing 2002 Season and NASCAR Thunder 2003.

DIFFICULTY: 9.7/10
The difficulty is set up real good because while you are in the Weekly Series you’ll have to keep an eye on the one behind you or near you because you’ll never know what they might try to do. In the other series are challenging depending one the difficulty setting that you have it set on and the reason for that is because as you knock up the difficulty setting the more of a challenge it’s going to be (also it can vary on the track you’re on).

SOUND: 9.1/10
The sound is definitely better than last year’s Heat. The engine sounds really great depending on the view that you have set it in (i.e.: Cockpit) can be really great to those who probably play this game. As for the squalling of the tires on the pavement when a car spins out in the Winston Cup, Modifieds, or the Craftsman Trucks, but there seems to be a flaw in the sound. This flaw is that sometimes when I done a race in either one (except for the Weekly Series) there would be times that I wouldn’t hear the sound of the engine up there like it usually is.

CONTROLS: 9.8/10
The controls seems to be the same as Thunder’s but there are three other series to the control isn’t the same as it is in the Winston Cup. The Weekly series is a little hard because of racing on the dirt and you are more likely to spin out during any of the following Qualifying, Heat 1 or 2, B or A Main but it all depends on how well you are to dirt racing from other dirt racing games. As for the other series the control is better because of being able to race on paved tracks instead of trying to race on dirt.

REPLAY VALUE: 9.7/10
The replay value only plays a factor in the Championship mode. You can do a championship in any series on any difficulty setting, and once you finish you can start the season again. The only way that the Replay Value imply to Career Mode because you’ll be spending more than 25 years in it but you’ll have another chance to win a championship if you haven’t had a chance to win one in a certain series.

OVERALL: 9.8/10
This game overall is probably another good NASCAR title that you would probably want to add to your PlayStation2 collection and if you are a NASCAR fan you’ll want to try this game out. As well as everything is set up it is great because you’ll probably be spending endless hours playing this game, as you try every feature in this game as well as the series.

RENT or BUY

The best way to go is to rent this game first to see if you enjoy the game. If you are real anxious to play this game you might want to buy the game then, but I would strongly suggest rent first to see if this game is a game that you would want to purchase. It would be better to waste $5 instead of wasting $50 just to find out that you don’t like this game.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 01/10/03, Updated 01/13/03