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When you think of NASCAR, the first image that pops into your mind is 43 cars making left turns at high speeds for a couple hours on a Sunday afternoon. Thankfully EA Sports’ “NASCAR 2005: Chase for the Cup” isn’t only that. For the first time since “NASCAR Racing 4″ there is a game that can appeal to everyone.
“NASCAR 2005″ has several different modes of play: fight for the top, season, single race, multiplayer and chase for the cup. The middle three are pretty straightforward, but fight for the top and chase for the cup adds an interesting twist to the game. In fight for the top, you start out on the streets of New York and work your way up to the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series after successful performances at NASCAR Featherlight Modifief Series, NASCAR Craftsmen Truck Series, and others.
Watching racing itself is pretty monotonous: speed, brake, left turn, speed, brake, left turn. Thankfully, EA Sports has taken the monotony out of the game by updating the alliances and rivalries feature from last year’s version. With this feature, players will have to make a decision on how they race. Will they be the good guy and share the draft with their fellow drivers or will they stop at nothing to win, even if it means knocking their opponents right out of the race? The other drivers will remember how you race and on that you can build friendships or bitter rivalries.
Those drivers that become your allies with will share their draft with you and will be more likely to let you pass them with ease. Those drivers that become your rivals with will stop at nothing to keep you out of the race, whether it means throwing a block on you when you come up behind them or intentionally ramming into you as you pass.
The more you share your draft with other drivers, the more hero points you get, while the more you use intimidating tactics the more villain points you get. This might not seem important, however, depending on what level of hero or villain you are, the faster you can activate the share draft or the intimidate feature.
The controls are also straightforward, but the handling varies from series to series. If you get tapped by an opponent in the Featherlight series, you’re more likely to spin out than in the Nextel Cup series. The graphics are pretty nice, but not much of an overhaul from last year’s version. The sound is, well, the noises you would expect to hear at a NASCAR event – pretty standard. While racing, you have the option of listening to EA Sports Trax from some of the hottest new music groups or listen to the headset chatter. There is no commentary, except for pre-race information.
The races themselves are pretty straight forward, but the further you progress the more your actions effect off track events. For example, if you knock Ryan Newman into the wall on the last lap of the race and come in for the big win, he might have some words for you after the race. Sometimes it’s as simple as the two drivers yelling at each other, other times it’s as violent as drivers administrating beat downs. Rivalries can be ended by either playing nice or beating the driver in a road race a la Cole Trickle and Rowdy Burns in “Days Of Thounder.”
In all, “NASCAR 2005″ is a very good game offering plenty modes of play, although the Xbox Live-play leaves little to be desired. Only four cars can race at once, which isn’t very fun. It’d be great to race against 42 other players online and get online leagues going, but hey, maybe next year. If you’re looking for a racing game that has something more to offer, give it a shot.
