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Platform
Xbox
Genre
Racing
Publisher
Infogrames
Developer
Monster Games
ESRB
E (Everyone)
Released
Q4 2001
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- Great visuals and car models
- Tight control and camera angles
- Realistic AI
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- Slight pop up and significant
slowdown
- Very little track variation
- Bad collision physics
- Mediocre soundtrack
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Review: NASCAR Heat 2002 (PS2)
Review: NASCAR Thunder 2003 (PS2)
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NASCAR
Heat 2002
Score: 6.5 / 10
At first glance, non-racing fans will think
the Xbox needed another launch racing title like it needs another
controller port (read: a hole in the head) and street racing fans will
scoff at the almost simultaneous release of two nearly identical Nascar
racing titles. But to Nascar racing fans, that percentage of the public
with gritty engine oil in their blood, commercial stickers on their
headboards and achy necks permanently curved left, the appropriation of,
and the differences between the EA and Infogrames Xbox racers is as
clear as a good racing day.
While Nascar Thunder by EA catered to the “pick up and go” racing crowd,
Infogrames’ Nascar Heat 2002 offers players the subtleties of real
Nascar simulation. The races are presented like a televised program with
a full motion video of the announcer but when the cars rev up and hit
the oval, Nascar Heat does
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many things right but shows it’s console
launch roots in a variety of ways.
To begin with, the car models are fairly solid - what you would expect
from an Xbox racer. Each accurately displays its commercial sponsorship,
reflects and casts a shadow realistically and handles believably. It’s
fun at the beginning to scroll through the colorful roster of racers (I
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the M&M’s car) and see the shiny designs. Once you hit the asphalt,
Nascar fans will appreciate the precise designs of the racetracks, the
stadium seats and other particulars of the 20+ tracks from cities all
over the states but for others the large variety may seem reduced by the
uniformity. Scrolling through the tracks, you’ll find they are
realistically reproduced but unfortunately this translates into very
little variety. Either way, anyone can see that Monster Games did a
great job recreating the experience however boring or exciting you may
think it is.
The soundtrack is pretty typical adrenaline racing fair with the added
boost of an in game commentator and supporters from your stable yelling
encouragement into your ear mic. The roaring engines are truthful to
their real life counterparts but on a broad basis the intricacies of
sound are sometimes dulled and sketchy.
The tracks are complete with clouds of muffler exhaust, oily tire marks
criss-crossing each other and 43 racers on screen at once. This,
regrettably, is accompanied by significant slow down and stammering
controls but adds to the realism greatly when you see an ocean of cars
ahead of or behind you. As in real-life, the races are cluttered with
sponsorship material and a perfect arc of blue sky straddling the track.
For the most part, while the race winds round and round, the
environments hold up but even in regular play, Nascar Heat suffers from
occasional frame rate reductions and slight, almost unnoticeable pop-up
in the distance. There is a nice collection of view points to choose
from including first-person and in the cockpit and at the end of each
race, supplementing the overall rounded feel of the game, there is a
recordable and adjustable replay mode with plenty of angles and switches
to fool around with.
Even while Nascar Heat is pretty accessible, it presents many options
for tweaking and customizing along with realistic physics that make the
adjustments worth the trouble. There are a variety of game modes to test
your skills including Race the Pro’s, Beat the Heat and Championship
mode. The most meticulous of them all that makes the hard core Nascar
racer squeeze the most out of the games simulative aspects is the Race
the Pro’s mode. Here, the actual times and driving paths of the pros
have been replicated for your personal enjoyment and subsequent brain
blasting frustration. If you’re bent on proving that you’re a better
armchair athlete than your favorite Nascar driver, this mode is for you.
Others might enjoy the Beat the Heat mode that assigns the player a
multitude of tasks to complete that help prepare you for the challenges
of the Championship mode. Here you race a full season on all of the
tracks and hopefully work your way up through the ranks while you adjust
and add to your car to improve it’s performance.
The games AI is one of its strongest points. The competition reacts to
your movements realistically, no matter how sporadic, and responds
accordingly in intense crash situations. Consequently, the computer
drivers will also regard you defensively and offensively by drafting
around you or cutting you off. The controls are very similar to most
driving games but lack the need for the precision of the left analog
stick on such a featureless course - as a result, it’s much easier to
maneuver around the smooth curves with the less twitchy direction pad.
While the game enjoys great driving physics, it lacks realism when cars
collide and steel crunches against steel. The car models hardly show any
damage and no matter how badly you wipe out, you’ll always land on your
wheels like a cat.
Overall, Nascar Heat turns out to be just what you’d expect from a
racing launch title. It’s obvious that many of the blatant shortcomings
could have been patched up if more time was put into the production so
I’m sure this is not a perfect example of the Xbox’s power. At the same
time, it successfully presents one of the most realistic Nascar racing
games available - if only I was a Nascar fan.
- Doug Flowe
(February 23, 2002) |
