NASCAR 2005: Chae for the Cup

Hero or Villain?

Another aspect of NASCAR 2005 that makes it feel very realistic is the ally/rival and hero/villain features. If you bump someone and spin them out, they will likely retaliate later in the race. Likewise, if you drive in someone’s draft and then hit the “intimidate” button, it will cause them to screw up and you have an instant rival. Or, you can play nice and make friends by sharing the draft with other drivers and letting them know you’ll drive clean by pressing the “shared draft” button. Depending on how you drive, the fans will label you either a hero or a villain, just like in real life. These features seem pretty simple, but they make the races so much more than just “drive around in circles for ten laps”. They make the races personal and emotional and more exciting than they would have been otherwise.

Graphics

Graphically, NASCAR 2005 is impressive. The car models are detailed and look just like they should. The tracks are also very detailed and are identical to their real life counterparts. The textures are very sharp and clear and you can recognize sponsor logos and advertisements from fairly far away. There are no signs of pop up and even details all the way across the racetrack are clearly visible. Surrounding the tracks are fully rendered hills and cities rather than just bitmaps. The amount of detail in the game is simply phenomenal, and the icing on the cake is that it runs very smoothly and rarely drops below 60 frames per second.

Sound

The audio in the game is equally impressive. Engine sounds are loud and clear just like they should be and sound nice and realistic. Radio chatter from your spotter and pit crew also sounds very good and they have a surprising number of things to say to you. The soundtrack includes 18 songs from bands such as Saliva and Papa Roach. Overall, the audio is well done and, along with the great graphics, the presentation in NASCAR 2005 is top notch.

Bottom Line

If you are a NASCAR fan, you will like this game. This is hands down the best NASCAR game available for a console. The races are realistic, yet still accessible for us normal people and you can recreate all of the excitement of the chase for the cup in the Nextel series. All of the tracks and drivers you could want are here, but the game includes other racing series as well as several street vehicles to play with. On top of all that, you have a great online mode that can extend replay value to the moon. This is a great game that is highly recommended for NASCAR fans. If you aren’t already a fan, NASCAR 2005: Chase for the Cup isn’t quite as attractive, but the game is fun and deep enough that it could very well win you over. Give it a rent, at least, but for many people (I’m sure you already know who you are) it is a solid buy.