GameSpot writes: "From the outside looking in, NASCAR and the video games inspired by the sport are just a bunch of people turning left. But stick yourself in the middle of a pack of 43 cars, all fighting for position in a crowded field, and you can immediately appreciate the kind of skill it takes to find success in this kind of oval racing. For years now, EA Sports has been working to find a balance between re-creating the intense racing action of the actual NASCAR racing events and appealing to the broad NASCAR crowd, some of whom might not be ready for going wheel to wheel with the likes of Dale Jr. and Jeff Gordon.
Enter NASCAR 09, EA's latest oval-racing game, and one that's looking--at least based on our limited hands-on time with the game--to come closer to finding that balance than previous games in the series. The crux of that balanced approach will be the two handling settings you can choose from in the game: normal and pro. With normal handling, your car will feel more rigid and stable when coming into contact with opponent cars, and it will have more grip in the corners. That isn't to say you won't be able to send your car crashing into the wall, but for the most part, the car will be a bit less squirrely than in the past. On the pro setting, the cars will behave more realistically in the corners, will be more liable to spin after contact, and will seemingly be more dependant on the setup you choose as you're turning laps."
In the economic hard times of late, many industries have been greatly effected. One, in particular, is NASCAR. Stock car racing is one of the biggest sports in the country. Now I know many people will argue with that because they might not watch NASCAR, but just look logically; the Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama holds 125,000 people, the Daytona 500 is one of the most watched single day events every year, right behind the Super Bowl, and sponsors pay millions of dollars just to get their logo on a car knowing that if that car wins, the fans buy the product. But recently, with companies not willing to shell out so much money, sponsors have gone down, ticket sales have dropped and the revenue of NASCAR in general is low. And it doesn't stop there…
I am not entirely sure how licensing works but if I recall correctly GT5 bought the Nascar license but again I don't know if that affects EA drastically or not. You would think it probably is related somehow...
Oh well, they always rehashed the same game every year. Atleast in GT5, fans of these games will be racing in 1080p glory with the most photorealistic graphics as they go round and round.
This week's "What They've Been Playing" features discussion of Splosion Man, BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger, Madden 10, Battlefield 1943, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life As a Darklord, Nascar 09, Hour of Victory, and much more. They follow that up with some gaming news including the announcement of Sam Raimi as director of the World of Warcraft movie and the record-breaking sales of Battlefield 1943.
Pictures, videos, and little notes from the event. Guests included Tiger Woods, John Cena, Derek Jeter, Reggie Bush, Denny Hamlin, Jameer Nelson Major Nelson, and a random appearance by Jimmy Kimmel's parking lot security Guillermo.
I will never buy another EA nascar game after Nascar 08.