NASCAR The Game 2011 Review

NASCAR The Game 2011 has been built from the ground up to make a thoroughly new experience. The development team started by speaking with the people who know NASCAR best - the fans - and took that insight to the teams, drivers and officials to completely embrace what makes NASCAR America's #1 motorsport. Players can choose to play as themselves or as one of the sport's real-world drivers as they battle it out for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship. Each pro driver has the AI characteristics of his or her real world counterpart, setting the stage for intense rivalries played out on the track.

Damage is meticulously detailed and multi-car wrecks are the most extreme ever experienced in an officially licensed racing game. From the 22 real world tracks to full pit stop strategy action, NASCAR The Game 2011 captures the real atmosphere, sense of speed and spectacle that embodies NASCAR.

Players can even feel the thrill of a win with the interactive celebration mode. The game also includes in-depth multiplayer modes which allow up to 16 players to battle it out for the win online. In both online and offline races, players earn NASCAR experience points which help unlock rewards such as decal packs or special car designs, as well as career sponsorships and special races throughout career mode.

Everything you do on the track counts! With a fresh infusion of real world detail and blistering racing action, NASCAR The Game 2011 completely redefines what fans can expect from a NASCAR racing game.

ADVANTAGES

- Paint booth: It's cool to fully paint and customize your car. It's almost identical to Forza's system.
- Attention to detail: The in-car camera is awesome. You actually see your drivers feet hit the clutch or put his foot on the brake. Also will move his hands to shift. If you drive as Dale Jr you can see his driving gloves are black Adidas.
- The pre race introduction is cool. Announcers talk about the track, fireworks go off, fly overs, etc..
- The menu: I find this to be really cool. People walking around outside, your crew working on the car, and it's easy to navigate. When selecting tracks it shows like a pit pass with stats which is cool.
- Gameplay: The cars are sensitive and don't require to much steering wheel input. Cars feel solid and drive like a 3,500lb+ car. Physics are pretty good.
- Drafting: Finally other cars will work with you and push you
- Pit stops: Animations are really cool. To see the lug nuts fall off and gas spill out is neat.
- Setups: You can tune your car as much or as little as you like. Perfect for the simulation or arcade driver.
- Pace car: Under caution its cool to see an actual pace car

Disadvantages

- Paint booth: Making your own decals and stuff is cool, but the controls can be clunky. NASCAR 09 did it right by having an online feature and then import it to you game. Would be much easier to make cool designs instead of something a 2nd grader did with crayons.
- Attention to detail: Things like the caution lights being on while the race is under green is silly. Also if you spin through the infield and end up on pit road you get black flagged for speeding.
- Damage: Even after flipping over and hitting cars head on, my car looks like I hit a deer instead of another car at 190mph
- Race modes: If you want to practice you have to go to a separate session from the main menu. No other cars are out there with you. If you choose to race, you get to qualify and then race. Can't even change your setup in between.
- Hitting the wall is a joke. Your car basically just comes to a stop. You don't smash into it and then your car spins out of control. If you drive through the grass your car doesnt spin out.
- Cautions: This is even more a joke. I spun out, 10 cars hit me, and no caution. I had to drive in reverse for about 10 seconds before it came out. If you spin by yourself it still wont come out even if you wreck hard.
- No DNF's: You can destroy your car as much as you want, drive with full tape on the grille, and nothing happens. Maybe you lose a little performance but that's it.
- Pit stops: It's great to have the animation but having to wait 10 seconds for it to load kinda kills it. Also if your under caution, the game should ask you what you want to adjust well before getting on pit road.
- Online: One word....horrible. If you try to bump draft you wreck basically. And if the caution flag actually does come out, the crashed car has to sorta drive back to start finish line from this over head blimp camera. One time I just stared at a stopped car on the back stretch for 5 minutes. Then when we were about to start the race, cars started flipping and spinning. Online is useless until they fix it.
- Career mode: It's basically just a season mode. Go to the race, race it, and move on. How come games like MLB 11 The Show can have ticket prices, free agents, stadium upgrades, trades, sponsors for the stadium, etc etc and we get a season mode? A real career mode would feature hiring a pit crew, buying a shop, building chassis for different tracks, hiring more drivers to make a full race car team (like Richard Childress Racing), engine shop and engine builders. When you race you should earn money and that money should be used to buy better crew chiefs, better products, larger shop building, bigger sponsors, higher expectations, etc etc. Have an off-season where you can test at tracks to improve your car and team or public events to gain fans and impress sponsors. A merchandise section where you can sell die-casts, memorabilia, shirts, etc etc to earn money and gain fame. Would be cool to start out as a rookie in a 1 car team and over a season or 2 be a major powerhouse and have a full 4 car team.
- Wrong paint schemes: I know a patch is scheduled to update the roster and paint schemes, but seriously, why make a game with last years schemes and cars? It would be like MLB 11 The Show releasing the game with players on last years teams. Every sport releases their game around the start of the season with current rosters, NASCAR should too. Over the course of the season, have patches and downloads for new car skins or if drivers get dropped or a new driver starts.
- Night races: Another head scratcher. I am racing at Charlotte and it's dusk the entire time. There are no day to night transitions. Either have the race in the day or at night, not in between.
- HUD: I don't want to see how many experience points I am getting for "Dominating." I also don't want car radar which is a small icon at the bottom of your screen showing where cars are around you. Actually, this might be a PRO since you have no rear view mirror and can't tell where anyone is unless you look behind you which usually isnt a good idea while doing 180mph around a turn.
- Spotter: It's great that he can inform me to drink tons of fluids cause its hot, but it sucks when he cant tell me there is a car low. As soon as a car comes low or high, spotter should tell you that. I don't care that I'm leading and can do this all day, I care if a car is coming up on me or I'm approaching lap traffic. Maybe he got himself a cold beverage and missed all the cars around me.
- Difficulty: Even on VERY HARD the game isn't very hard. Very hard would be riding in 20th position fighting for 19th. Very hard is being at Daytona or Talladega and being stuck in middle of the pack cause there is no where to go all by yourself. I raced at Charlotte and after 10 laps I had almost a 3 second lead. Then all of a sudden by lap 13 the field was right behind me. If my tires went away in 10 laps or the AI just got amazing, that's pretty stupid.