NASCAR Racing 2003 Season

NASCAR Racing 2003 Season
by Vivendi Universal

NASCAR Racing 2003 Season
Our Price: $74.95
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Category: Video Games
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Product Summary

Brand: Vivendi Universal
Format: CD-ROM
Release Date: 2003-02-04
Platform: Windows 2000, Windows 98, Windows Me, Windows XP
Publisher: Vivendi Universal
Accessories:

Video Game Reviews of NASCAR Racing 2003 Season

Customer Review: Better have a top of the line computer for this one!
Summary: 1 Stars

Back when Papyrus' Nascar Racing 2 first came out, I bought it and was so impressed that I spent several hours a day playing it. At the time, it was the most realistic racing sim available, and was top of the line as far as graphics and special effects were concerned. I lost interest in racing sims for awhile but recently got back into them after buying Nascar Heat. I wanted just a bit more "realness" than Heat provides, so remembering how happy I was with NR2, and hoping that Papyrus wouldn't disappoint me, I bought NR2003. HUGE mistake. One would assume that the "recommended" system requirements listed on the box would be more than sufficient to run the game at it's highest graphics levels, but this one doesn't even come close. The "recommended" requirements are a PIII 800Mhz, 128Megs Ram, and 32Meg 3D graphics card. I am running an Athlon XP2000 1.8Ghz with 512Megs of system Ram, and a 32Meg 3D graphics card. On my system, which more than meet the "recommended" system requirements, I have to run the game at 640X480 with all extraneous graphics like smoke and weather effects turned off in order to even reach a barely acceptable framerate of 29fps. The game is hyped as more being the most realistic with effects such as solar glare and windshield debris, but what good is it if these effects have to be turned off in order to make the game work? With these effects turned on, the counter drops to 21fps, and if I want even the slightest sense of realism and turn on options that make the tracks recognizable such as trackside objects and grandstands, the counter drops to a totally unplayable count of 13 frames per second. I got so frustrated that I eventually uninstalled the game. I don't think it's right that I have to go shell out $100 bucks for a top of the line video card just to play a game that was supposed to work on my system as is. For now, I'll just give up the extra sense of realism and stick with a game that is playable on my system.

Description of NASCAR Racing 2003 Season

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NASCAR Racing Season 2003 brings the intensity, grit, and roaring sound of NASCAR to the PC. This 2003 incarnation of Sierra?s 10-year old series is once again built by Papyrus, the first name in racing simulation fidelity. It doesn?t disappoint.

NASCAR Racing Season 2003 features 23 venues including all the real-world tracks in the Winston Cup series, every major driver, and all the licensing NASCAR is famous for. There?s advertising everywhere, from M&Ms to Cingular Wireless and AOL, but that only makes the game look more realistic.

True to the NASCAR Racing legacy, this isn?t an arcade racing game. You can crank the realism settings up and expect to race in all the qualifying rounds to determine your place in the opening pack for the race itself. You can set the physics to perfectly model the real world, where you have to fight your car every step of the way. Set the AI to maximum and you?ll have to battle for every inch of track space. You can even tweak the tire pressure and brakes, and set how your pit crew behaves. It?s a race fan and grease monkey?s dream come true. Less hardcore fans have the option of dialing down the realism settings. You can add a green line to the track showing the ideal route, let the computer help you with traction, steering, and braking, and even set unlimited fuel and unbreakable cars. Admirably, Papyrus puts you in charge of your NASCAR experience.

The graphics are decent, better than last season but behind the curve when compared with other games. Cars look good up close, and the sense of speed is extremely realistic. The sun glints in your windshield and the smoke effects are impressive. But farther way, even at the highest detail settings, there are problems with shimmering and jagged lines around cars and objects. The audio is perfect, from the pit crew giving advice to the roar of the engines; it?s all very convincing.

NASCAR may look like a crowd of cars all turning left but in reality it?s split second timing, daring, and skill. It's not easy riding an oval for 20-200 laps at high speed with little margin for error, or passing a crowd of 10 two-ton vehicles all hurtling along in excess of 170MPH. This game perfectly shows just how hard NASCAR racing can be. One word of caution before you get the green light: the keyboard or a game pad will let you play reasonably well, but you?ll never take the checkered flag without a good force feedback steering wheel. --Bob Andrews

Pros:

  • Fun NASCAR racing for both beginners and experts
  • The best racing simulation on the market
Cons:
  • Some long distance graphics flaws
  • Confusing menus and interface

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