Compare Prices for NASCAR 2011: The Game at PriceGrabber.
NASCAR 2011: The Game has had a rocky road so far. It was a glitchy outdated mess when it was released, but an update was promised to bring the game into the 2011 season and fix other issues. That update didn't show up until 4 months after release, and to add insult to injury, costs 160 MSP ($2) on Xbox 360 while it is free on PS3. Does the update and new patch actually fix anything? Sort of. Take a look at our review of NASCAR 2011: The Game (X360) to see what all needed fixing.
So There Is A Patch AND DLC?
Yep. A patch was released to fix gameplay issues such as A.I. problems, yellow flags, drafting, etc.. The patch is free. Unfortunately, if you only download the patch you are stuck with the 2010 cars, schedule, paint schemes, drivers on wrong teams, point system, etc.. In order to update all of that to fit the 2011 season, you have to pay $2 for the DLC. If you buy the DLC you'll have the option to play either the 2010 or 2011 seasons, which is sort of nice.
Is the DLC Worth It?
Honestly, yeah it is. Just having the drivers on the right teams with the right paint jobs, all of the tracks (with updates to Charlotte and Daytona not available without the update), the new point system (see the new point system here) and other changes really do make it better. It sucks that we have to pay for it, but I figure it like this - If you didn't buy it at launch for $60, paying $30 (or less) to get it right now (as of the middle of August) and paying an extra $2 to bring it up to date isn't so bad. If you did pay full price at launch, and you kept it this long despite its mediocrity, you probably got your money's worth by now. Or you can play it on PS3 and not have to pay for the DLC. Whatevs.
Does The Patch Actually Fix Anything?
Kind of. You have to remember that the core gameplay was actually pretty good to start with. The cars handle really well and the actual racing is fun. The problem was with the A.I., caution flags, drafting, etc.. The patch does fix some of these things. Caution flags actually do come out now, roughly at the time they should, so that is definitely fixed. The A.I. also no longer hits the brakes in the corners, and is actually more aggressive overall which makes for better racing. The A.I. also posts much better qualifying times, which means you can't always rely on starting on the pole in every race.
Drafting at Daytona and Talladega, on the other hand, has been pretty well ruined. Every other track in the game you could get out front and pull a huge lead on the field without much effort before the patch while the restrictor plate tracks were brutally difficult. Now with the patch Daytona and Talladega race pretty much like other tracks- no drafting required - which absolutely shouldn't happen. You just get out front and pull away whether you have a partner pushing you (which they never did anyway) or not. Strangely enough, if you are back in the field you still have to draft in order to keep pace, but if you are out front you don't need to draft to pull away. Strange. Is it better overall than before? Yes. But it still is pretty far from being "right".
The other tracks race pretty much like they did before the patch. You can pull out to a huge lead if you start in the front, or drive all the way through the field from last place if you want. The A.I. puts up more of a fight than before, but you can still run back to front pretty easily. As I said in my review, running more than the minimum laps is highly recommended because the races play out far more realistically. Running the minimum laps pretty much keeps the field in one huge 43-car pack. Running 40-50+ laps instead spreads the field out better since you actually have to make pit stops, A.I. cars crash, and the races are more fun overall.
One more thing about the patch - the terrible audio from your spotter has been fixed. I've run a ton of races and haven't heard about the spotter dropping his hot dog, or choking on his hot dog, or the crew buying pizza, or any of that nonsense once. They still do a pretty poor job of actually telling you what is going on out on the track, but at least they don't annoy you anymore.
Bottom Line
Honestly, the game probably should have just been delayed until now instead of releasing back in March. The 2011 season has seen a ton of major changes in NASCAR, and releasing the game in the state it was in back in March without any of those changes was just a bad idea. If you are hankering for a NASCAR videogame and were scared off by the bad reviews of NASCAR 2011: The Game, it definitely is better overall following the patch and DLC. It still isn't great, but it was a 6/10 at launch, and more like a 7/10 now. Buy it for cheap along with the DLC if you're a NASCAR fan.
Or you could pick up EA's last NASCAR title, NASCAR 09 which is still pretty decent even 3 years later.
