NASCAR Thunder 2004

"One of the best racing games in a long time."

Gameplay
The game has improved well over last year. The new Grudges/Alliances system is great but needs some tweaking. You can barely tap another driver and they will be your rival. They will just suddenly slam into you like a maniac if your rival level is above 60. They will also accidently get into you and it's your fault so that needs some tweaking in NASCAR 2005. Career mode is the best part of the game. You can run up to 20 seasons and build your team and race cars. You must keep your teams happiness level up in order for them to perform well on pit road. Also,sponsors expect too high expectations from your performance. Most package sponsors expect you to win EVERY race. There's online play but i haven't got online with it yet and next year they need to have a 16+ players for it. Qualifying is WAY too hard to do because i'm always qualifying below 25th.
Rating:9.8

Sound
The music in this game is good. It has songs from Rancid,Sum 41,Three Days Grace, Powerman 5000, and more. Though i do get tired of hearing the same songs over(mostly because i have played it so long).And the sound effects are done nicely.
Rating:9.0

Graphics
The visuals on the game is one of the PS2's best. The damage detail to cars looks realistic. Though the visuals do blur a bit when you have your rear view mirror on(i always have mine on) but it doesnt affect much. Plus night tracks look beautiful under the lights.
Rating:9.2

Closing comments
Overall,this is the PS2's best racing game(Yes,even over GT3) mostly because i'm a hardcore nascar fan. Career mode will keep you addicted and coming back for more so theres lots of replay value(i've played 100+ hours). Any hardcore NASCAR fan will play this for HOURS and racing fans will like it as well. So, race fans if you don't have this one, pick it up NOW!


Gameplay:9.8
Sound:9
Graphics:9.2
Replay value:10
Overall:9.5

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 06/16/04