NASCAR Thunder 2004

After EA got the sole license for NASCAR games, they've basically done what Capcom did with Mega Man X. They trashed the series. Ask anyone and they'll tell you that the X series hasn't fare well since leaving the SNES. We'll leave it at that...

NT2004 is about the best EA has done on a PC platform. The mechanics are pretty good and accurate, but the AI SUCKS. Let me put it this way: at 100%, I was winning races with the same setup as on 80%. The difference is pathetic. I could win races with the car I was given in Career Mode (The very first car.) at Texas, Darlington, and the short tracks with about the same ease as I had been. And Dale Junior is NOT GOOD on Road Courses, so why does he keep finishing eighth at Sonoma? He, during this time period, didn't do well at the 1.5 and 2 mile tracks or the road courses, while dominating the restrictor plate tracks and the short tracks. EA didn't spend any time at all on this portion of the game, and just gave it values based on average finish, not specific tracks.

I must admit, the graphics look pretty sweet. The cars look pretty good. But then, EA's graphics department is about the best you can ask for, anyway.

The gameplay, while nice and simple, is almost arcade-like. I'm sorry, casual fans, but this game, at least on PC, is supposed to be the next step from NASCAR Racing 2003, arguably the most realistic driving simulation on the market. It ain't.

If EA had worked harder on making minor setup adjustments have a great effect on the car, then I'd be a lot happier. However, the biggest effect I've seen on the car is when I made massive adjustments. I understand the importance of a sway bar now, as my car swerved REALLY bad with the front bar at 0 from about 1.5 inches. I realize that dropping the springs all the way down might not be that smart at Daytona, as I dropped the springs from a good 2200 lbs to 800 lbs. I now know that inflating the tires to the maximum, like NR1999 (You see where I'm going, right?), at Talladega to get a great time leads to a car that spins at the slightest touch of the wheel. And you can't even adjust the tire pressures during a race. Oh, I know you should, but that code is broken. The damage is also pretty arcade-y. I've seen guys smack the wall HARD, a hit that, by all means, should tear the back end completely off, but nope. It stays intact, just REALLY wrinkled. And I've got to say right now that the car's radiator clips the bumper when you wrinkle the nose enough. The water temp doesn't even falter, either.

The spotter should be fired. He'll tell you that a car is clear when you can see it in your rear-view mirror. And he's not even present at the road courses. EA fails yet again.

The news isn't all bad, though. They have a very diverse roster of drivers to pick. From the normal guys like Mark Martin, Jeff Gordon, and Kevin Harvick to the obscure like Hermie Sadler, Stanton Barrett, and Coy Gibbs. You even have Legend drivers. Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt are the obvious two, but I bet no one expected Alan Kulwicki, Tiny Lund, or even Junior Johnson. Why they also went with Elmo Langley and Bobby Wawak is beyond me, but it's nice to hear some obscure names now and then. Bobby Allison is also availible, as is Cale Yarborough. They don't have the sponsors that they made famous, save for GM Goodwrench (And then some. The 3 has a bunch of paint jobs.), STP, and Piper Aircraft, which I don't think Bobby ever ran for in the first place.

I've heard of a nasty bump at Daytona in turn three, about where the tunnel is. I haven't found it yet. I suppose that was located and taken out in subsequent versions, though that would surprise me.

The racing at Talladega and Daytona is, for the most part, realistic. I'd imagine that you have to have the race go longer than 30 laps for the really exciting stuff to get going, but I don't think I have enough patience. Why is it "for the most part?" I haven't seen a "Big One" at Daytona or Talladega yet. You look at the back of the jewel case, it shows a nasty crash at Daytona. That hasn't happened yet. Massive crashes, though, happen all the time at Darlington. I've seen the track... Well, look below this paragraph. And if you dive below the dotted line and onto the apron to avoid the crash and pass a bunch of them, you get black flagged. That's the dumbest thing I've ever seen. You even get black flagged at Talladega if you pass someone below the yellow line when they're on pit road.

Yes, I DID add that comment...

AI, meanwhile, DESPERATELY needs patching. Consider the following...

At Lowe's, I use pit strategy to get to the front... Again. The leader misses pit road and decides to truck on down the track at a healthy 70 mph. Not smart... I was a lap down and chasing down the leader when he missed. Then I note an alert from race control, a caution for a spin. Well, it happened on the exit of turn two, ahead of me, and the leader happened to be the cause. By the time I got there, I noticed that the two car incident was VERY quickly collecting more and more cars, so I decided to mash the brakes and just weave my way through. I rather easily escaped unscathed. About ten others didn't because they failed to realize that the apron is an appropriate place to go when there are guys wrecking. And, there apparently was oil on the track because I noted that cars were spinning around for no apparent reason. Heck, they were GOING STRAIGHT when they began to lose control. As far as the race ending? Well, Kenseth got the lead coming to the white flag because I entered the turn too fast and slid up the track. I got the lead back exiting turn two, and the #17 all but disappeared in the rear-view.

My favorite place, Darlington, had one of the more spectacular wrecks I've seen in a game. Thankfully, I had invulnerability on for this one... I'm charging out of turn two when I see a rather large amount of smoke, some black, some white. I realize, hey, I'd best slow down! So, I'm on the brake. I realize that the top is open just barely, while I've got PLENTY of open track on the bottom, although it was closing up rather fast. So, I bang high. Wouldn't you know it, a car starts to close the gap RIGHT in front of me. I slammed into him going about 150, sending both our cars flying into the air. Somehow, I stayed horizontal... But, end result, I won the race. The cause of the crash? A yellow had come out, and the game decided to put one car under the yellow flag before anyone else. That caused some major traffic, and when you've got a car slowing from 155 to 50, it doesn't happen in an instant...

If I haven't voiced my displeasure with EA yet, I apoligize. I'll put it this way: for the price that it was released at, about $50, it's a piece of junk. For the price I got it at, $10, it's appropriate. I've never been this disappointed with polish before. Gameplay is okay, graphics are what EA does best, sound is fine, but the polish is horrible.

And the music? I turned it off. I'm NOT a fan of modern rock. Oh, no. Give me my Lynyrd Skynyrd, Alabama, and Montgomery Gentry any day.

The problem with this game is, it's not meant to be an arcade racer like on a console. It's a hardcore game for a hardcore NASCAR fan who likes the challenge and realism. If you own a console, I'd imagine that you'd more want to race than try to figure out how to make the car go faster. But, that's how it appeals to me. I want to challenge my mind. I want to figure out how to make that car run just a tick faster. I don't want mindless racing half the time, with a car that handles no matter what. I want to struggle every now and then because of a poor choice. EA excells at arcade racers, but applying the same techniques to a hardcore game doesn't work. You need a different strategy. They apparently realized that and abandoned the PC platform after releasing "NASCAR SimRacing," which apparently is no better than NT2004.

My way of thinking is not unique. A lot of people about my age, and who have enjoyed Papyrus's NASCAR Racing series, are very upset by how EA's just milking the fans with their constant uninspired releases. From where I sit, NASCAR 08 is nothing different than 07, and that game wasn't that different from 06. Need I go on?

GRAPHICS: 9.8/10

GAMEPLAY: 8.1/10

SOUND AND MUSIC: 6.7/10

ORIGINALITY: 4/10

REPLAYABILITY: 9.6/10

OVERALL: 38.2/50, 76.4%

FINAL VERDICT: C

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