NASCAR 08

"Another Disappointment from EA"

I'm going to start this review by saying that I'm an incredibly passionate NASCAR fan. So any preconceived notions about this being me bashing the sport should be thrown out the window right now. I'm a guy who lives and dies by how his drivers do on Sunday (just so happens my driver's coming off a win, so I was looking forward to repeating his performance in NASCAR '08). That being said, as a passionate NASCAR fan who doesn't ask much from a video game (I got hours of fun from the Burger King game Pocketbike Racer...), I am extremely disappointed and frankly, a little pissed off. Enough of the introduction, let's jump into the rating.

Gameplay:
This game features the truck series, the Busch series, 2006/2007 style Nextel Cup cars, and the Car of Tomorrow that's been featured throughout the 2007 season. Unfortunately, they all handle the same way. Trucks are not heavier, the lack of horsepower isn't apparent in Busch cars, and the CoT doesn't handle horribly like the drivers seem to think it does...it handles just like the old cars! [Note: This was sarcasm...]

Well, I could stomach that if the handling were decent enough. However, it is not. The cars handle like bulldozers. Even after practice and learning how to ease the hulking things into corners, the slightest motion sends you into a frenzy just trying to stay on the race surface...forget maintaining position. If someone wrecks in front of you....Hell, if someone brakes a little too soon, you better be ready for counter steering and losing spots.

I won't even get started on the horrendous Career mode. A strength of NASCAR 06 is clearly a weakness here. The format of working your way up from modified cars is gone (so are the modifieds, come to think of it)...Career mode is not fun in this game.

4/10

Graphics:
This is the next generation. Games such as Gears of War, DiRT, Fight Night, and NBA Street have shown what these systems are capable of. NASCAR 08, not so much. The graphics are improved, yeah, but they're still PS2/X box/Gamecube level in my mind. A slight hit crumples the bumper completely, going through the dirt effects the handling more than the graphics engine, and crashes look horrible. Cars flip ten or more times because of the least little thing, just like they always have. For a next generation game, this is pathetic...especially a month after DiRT amazed me with its physics and graphics.

2/10

A.I.
The A.I. in this game is utterly terrible. Cars won't draft with you at Daytona, they're just as content plowing into your bumper. Pit stops become dangerous as the car in front of you begins slowing down in the middle lane of the track. This adds to the disappointing gameplay.

2/10

Replayability:
Like any racing game, this varies. If you enjoy multiplayer races, you're gonna play it far more than someone who doesn't.

Buy or Rent:

Neither. Download the free demo off Marketplace and delete it once you see how bad this game is for yourself. I hope many of you can avoid purchasing this game and being as disappointed as I was. EA's racing genre has gone downhill since the 2005 edition and this is no different. With high next gen hopes, I was tremendously disappointed. As a NASCAR fan with no NASCAR game to play for the past two years, I'm starting to feel withdrawal. Luckily, games like DiRT become my nicotine patches until EA gets this NASCAR thing right...which doesn't seem to be anything in the near future.

OVERALL RATING: 2/10

Reviewer's Score: 2/10, Originally Posted: 07/31/07