- 16
- United States
Different name, same game. 5/10.
I recently got my hands on a copy of pre-release version of NASCAR '14 by Eutechnyx and Deep Silver. I will be very blunt with those who are reading this. It's the same game recycled over again. The career mode was slightly expanded and they now have Research and Development which works somewhat similar to the way it does in NASCAR: Redline on iOS. The cars have been updated (some) but there's an increasing amount of filler drivers that simply sucks.
The actual gameplay factor is NASCAR The Game: Inside Line all over again, no doubt about it. Everything feels pretty much the same, a lot of the same bugs, it's a shame. They did also add an online league management feature to the game, it's very simplistic but it's definitely a stepup from where it was. It's little things like that they need to perfect, instead of just slapping it in there half-done and calling it good.
My detailed breakdown:
Overall Gameplay: 6/10
The game looks and drives, and feels just like the last one. Eutechnyx dealt with some of the gamebreaking bugs but there are still some lurking that will take your game into full lock leaving you to restart your console. The online play has gotten a bit smoother it seems but its nothing to roll heads over. Again it looks like Eutechnyx dropped the ball here. The fun factor simply isn't there when you have 10 AI drivers set that can pull away at 100% (new difficulty slider) while the rest of the pack just rides on rails and bounces into the wall occasionally.
Graphics: 7/10
While the game doesn't look much different than it did last time around. The damage model has improved slightly. Also with that the environments around the track have also gotten a bit more realistic. The HUD is absolutely disgusting however it's clunky and fills up over 30% of the screen space for sure. Overall it's still an above average game by looks. But looks can't win you everything, right?
Sound: 6/10
The current soundtrack (assuming it's final) is still tragic. Eutechnyx refuses to put any NASCAR relevant music in their game and I simply hate sitting in the menus due to that reason. The sound effects are worth turning off as well (menu clicks and what not). The actual cars sound moderately realistic when riding in the cockpit. That was a nice touch. The spotter/crew-cheif is another mediocre attempt at player immersion though don't expect anything too great this time around when it comes to those voices in your head.
Physics: 7/10
While the actual driving physics moved in the right direction, the sketchy tire pressure/wedge adjustments are still there. Which honestly just puts a cloak of shame on Eutechnyx, this is the fourth game they've put out and they can't even get the UNREALISTIC stuff OUT. If you ignore that, the default setups drive moderately well and pretty much anyone will be able to pick up the controller/wheel (if yours work) to play and get a taste of all of the 'fun'. It's not iRacing or anything close to sim-worthy, but for a console game it feels moderately solid when it comes to the driving physics. Just don't hit the turn two wall at Atlanta, you'll go for a ride.
Online Playability: 5/10
Whilst it's gotten a bit more reliable on the race track, it can only be assumed that once you get more than 4 cars on the track issues could appear. The very limited experience I had with the online seemed shortchanged and recycled. The online league manager was a nice addition but it's not complete and it seemed a bit buggy. Hopefully they tweak it before release. Once you got your crew on the race track the racing went alright, just be weary of back bumpers and quarter panels, the bubbles gotten considerably smaller but it's still there. You'd think with this being their fourth game there'd be some changes in the online experience, no new modes, mediocre drop in/out server 'browser'. It's nothing to be proud of. But it's all we have on console aside from Gran Turismo 6 (which really completes the GT5 experience with final touches).
Fun Factor: 6/10
Once you look around the bugs that are still releveant and take the time to race a season in the career mode, it's actually not that hard to get immersed into the fun. I'd never be able to do 100% races, but with the difficulty at 100% in a 20% race, you can have some fun. Some of the AI do run on rails, but once they get broken up they loosen up a bit and can race you pretty hard. The game currently has a nice selection of paint schemes for the Sprint Cup drivers in the game (it seems Eutechnyx put some Nationwide schemes on Cup cars for RFR?? Not sure if placeholder!) Regardless it's an improvement over last year.
--When it comes down to it, it's NTG:Inside Line with a nice touch of polish on the paint job. It plays better but it's far from where most fans expect it to be. If you're looking to join a league with the in-game manager it might be worth the buy at the full price of $50 USD, but if your friends/league runs just fine as-is on Inside Line I'd say it's worth waiting until it's had the bugs worked out (at least a little) and the price drops to $30ish.
~Ryan BK Fan
PS- PM Me on Xbox Live for a XBox League on Inside Line if anyone is interested; Ryan_Fanxx
I recently got my hands on a copy of pre-release version of NASCAR '14 by Eutechnyx and Deep Silver. I will be very blunt with those who are reading this. It's the same game recycled over again. The career mode was slightly expanded and they now have Research and Development which works somewhat similar to the way it does in NASCAR: Redline on iOS. The cars have been updated (some) but there's an increasing amount of filler drivers that simply sucks.
The actual gameplay factor is NASCAR The Game: Inside Line all over again, no doubt about it. Everything feels pretty much the same, a lot of the same bugs, it's a shame. They did also add an online league management feature to the game, it's very simplistic but it's definitely a stepup from where it was. It's little things like that they need to perfect, instead of just slapping it in there half-done and calling it good.
My detailed breakdown:
Overall Gameplay: 6/10
The game looks and drives, and feels just like the last one. Eutechnyx dealt with some of the gamebreaking bugs but there are still some lurking that will take your game into full lock leaving you to restart your console. The online play has gotten a bit smoother it seems but its nothing to roll heads over. Again it looks like Eutechnyx dropped the ball here. The fun factor simply isn't there when you have 10 AI drivers set that can pull away at 100% (new difficulty slider) while the rest of the pack just rides on rails and bounces into the wall occasionally.
Graphics: 7/10
While the game doesn't look much different than it did last time around. The damage model has improved slightly. Also with that the environments around the track have also gotten a bit more realistic. The HUD is absolutely disgusting however it's clunky and fills up over 30% of the screen space for sure. Overall it's still an above average game by looks. But looks can't win you everything, right?
Sound: 6/10
The current soundtrack (assuming it's final) is still tragic. Eutechnyx refuses to put any NASCAR relevant music in their game and I simply hate sitting in the menus due to that reason. The sound effects are worth turning off as well (menu clicks and what not). The actual cars sound moderately realistic when riding in the cockpit. That was a nice touch. The spotter/crew-cheif is another mediocre attempt at player immersion though don't expect anything too great this time around when it comes to those voices in your head.
Physics: 7/10
While the actual driving physics moved in the right direction, the sketchy tire pressure/wedge adjustments are still there. Which honestly just puts a cloak of shame on Eutechnyx, this is the fourth game they've put out and they can't even get the UNREALISTIC stuff OUT. If you ignore that, the default setups drive moderately well and pretty much anyone will be able to pick up the controller/wheel (if yours work) to play and get a taste of all of the 'fun'. It's not iRacing or anything close to sim-worthy, but for a console game it feels moderately solid when it comes to the driving physics. Just don't hit the turn two wall at Atlanta, you'll go for a ride.
Online Playability: 5/10
Whilst it's gotten a bit more reliable on the race track, it can only be assumed that once you get more than 4 cars on the track issues could appear. The very limited experience I had with the online seemed shortchanged and recycled. The online league manager was a nice addition but it's not complete and it seemed a bit buggy. Hopefully they tweak it before release. Once you got your crew on the race track the racing went alright, just be weary of back bumpers and quarter panels, the bubbles gotten considerably smaller but it's still there. You'd think with this being their fourth game there'd be some changes in the online experience, no new modes, mediocre drop in/out server 'browser'. It's nothing to be proud of. But it's all we have on console aside from Gran Turismo 6 (which really completes the GT5 experience with final touches).
Fun Factor: 6/10
Once you look around the bugs that are still releveant and take the time to race a season in the career mode, it's actually not that hard to get immersed into the fun. I'd never be able to do 100% races, but with the difficulty at 100% in a 20% race, you can have some fun. Some of the AI do run on rails, but once they get broken up they loosen up a bit and can race you pretty hard. The game currently has a nice selection of paint schemes for the Sprint Cup drivers in the game (it seems Eutechnyx put some Nationwide schemes on Cup cars for RFR?? Not sure if placeholder!) Regardless it's an improvement over last year.
--When it comes down to it, it's NTG:Inside Line with a nice touch of polish on the paint job. It plays better but it's far from where most fans expect it to be. If you're looking to join a league with the in-game manager it might be worth the buy at the full price of $50 USD, but if your friends/league runs just fine as-is on Inside Line I'd say it's worth waiting until it's had the bugs worked out (at least a little) and the price drops to $30ish.
~Ryan BK Fan
PS- PM Me on Xbox Live for a XBox League on Inside Line if anyone is interested; Ryan_Fanxx
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I've already sent you a PM indicating that IF you were banned I could probably unban you. If you aren't banned, considering some of the posts people make on the forum right now, as long as you actually are constructive with your criticism, you shouldn't have any issues. Your choice.
