Gentlemen! Start your engines! Now strap on your shoulder harness. You're in for one exciting ride.
Updated - Not only with some really cool new screens of the game in action, but some renders of how detailed the cars will be. Must See!
With NASCAR racing becoming more and more popular, the games based on this well-liked sport are appearing in greater quantities than pre-teens at a Nsync concert. Finding a game suitable to be called NASCAR is becoming a difficult task. However, Hasbro Interactive, with the help of Infogrames hope to make this task a bit easier.
When I first heard about NASCAR racing, I thought, "Oh great, guys who drive cars in a big circle for two hours." However, after watching NASCAR on television, and playing simulations, such as NASCAR Heat, I developed a much greater respect for this sport. Auto-racing is a sport that requires tremendous skill, and nerves of steel. In this game, you will need both.
Prepare to begin the hunt for the Winston Cup as you race as up to 25 professional NASCAR drivers on 19 different tracks. This will include the most realistic AI ever seen in an auto racing game. With two different levels of play everyone will find something to enjoy, even if your driving skills don't match Jeff Gordon. On the normal level, you will be able to bump into other cars and walls without damaging your vehicle. On simulation mode you might want to be a little more cautious. One little bump and you could get sent into the wall.
The season mode isn't the only way to race. The five different race modes that will be in the game are: Season, Single race, Beat the Heat, Race the Pros, and Head to Head. Season and single race can go without explanation. In Beat the Heat, professional NASCAR drivers set up situations to put your driving skills to the ultimate test. Race the pros has you race against the best times that the pros have recorded on each track. Their laps are recorded and set in a ghost car so you can see where you stand compared to them. Finally, head to head will allow up to eight players to test their skills against each other in an out and out battle.
The details in this game go above and beyond all other NASCAR games to date. You'll see everything from realistic dents, to flames, to tire burns on the track, and even waving flags. Should you bump the wall on a turn, the next time around you'll probably see a little of your paint on that very spot you hit. But it doesn't end there. Hasbro Interactive has implemented Dolby Digital 5.1 into the game. Now not only will you see your opponents racing up on you, but also you'll hear and feel them.
Overall, this game has great possibilities. NASCAR Heat looks offers options not available with many other NASCAR games. Graphics wise this is far superior to its PC counterparts. Keep a close eye on NASCAR Heat this fall, and begin your preparations now for an amazing racing experience.
Zach VanSomeren
Can someone help me over here? My shoulder harness seems to be stuck.
