Customer Reviews

NASCAR 2005: Chase For The Cup

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This year's game brought some really interesting stuff to the table. You start the game by racing against Ryan Newman in a street race. You, then, create your own profile. The game includes the Alliance/Rivalry feature from last year's game. You can build alliances with drivers by sharing your draft with them, and in THIS year's game, you can take it one step further with the intimidator feature. Using this feature, you can now get right up behind another driver, and in many cases, cause them to lose control of their car.

The way Thunder Plates are unlocked is great. In previous games, Thunder Plates were unlocked (at random) by simply completing Lightning Challenges. This year, you can actually BUY Thunder Plates. Thunder Plates are purchased with skill points. You earn skill points by accomplishing certain tasks (such as making 5 allies in one race or making 5 rivals in one race), or by playing Lightning Challenges. You can also earn skill points by simply racing. You get 5 points for every second you lead the race, 7 for every second you're sharing your draft with another driver, 7 when you're intimidating another driver, 12 for every time you make a clean pass, and even more if you start out farther back in the pack and make it into the top 5 and, of course, 1st place.

The game also includes last year's Speedzone Challenge. This mode is great for brushing up on your various skills. The different challenges include drafting, passing, blocking, and more.

In addition to Nextel Cup racing, you will find the Craftsman Truck series, Busch series (referred to as "NASCAR National series"), and even the Modified series. The game also includes production cars and allows for some street racing.

There are also fantasy road courses in the game from last year. The Docks, Devil's Canyon, and New York are just a few.

The controls for NASCAR 2005 are also a lot smoother and more forgiving. It almost seemed as though in last year's game, one would find themselves very dependent on driving assists. In this year's game, making mistakes won't cost you the race.

Graphically, 2005 is overall impressive. The framerate is, however, more varied. Going down the back stretch, you will find the framerate is very solid, and very smooth (even when the rear view mirror is on). Going into the turns and a few other random spots, you will find the framerate drops drastically. Also, reviving one feature from Thunder 2002, when you start a night race, you will see the sun setting in an orange sky. By the end of the race, even on 8%, you will see the sky is totally dark.

Now, the bad news and the reason I give the game 4 stars instead of 5. If I could, I would actually give this game 3.5 stars. Anyway, NASCAR 2005 is missing quite a few drivers. Even in the Nextel series, Jeremy Mayfield and Ken Schrader are missing! Pocono Raceway is missing! As mentioned by someone else, there are several Busch and Craftsman drivers missing. That truly takes something away from the game. Another thing is the ability to create a new car and create a name for each driver of each created car. Whatever info you use to create your profile in Fight to the Top mode will be the info applied to every car you create.

Overall, this year's game isn't bad. With all the extra modes, the game's playability will stay longer. However, hardcore NASCAR fans will be disappointed to see drivers and tracks missing.

Since nobody has come out and gotten a real in depth review of this game i figured i would....First off i couldn't wait till this game came out....I waited and waited and when it finally came out i was the first one in line to buy it when Target opened thursday morning...I brought the game home and discovered a few things as follows (bad stuff first):

First, the field may have expanded but there is a noticable lack of licensed nascar drivers that turn the game sour from the start. Where's Jeremy Mayfield? or Kenny Schrader? Those where the first that i noticed. But in the Busch series there are a slew of missing drivers (Jason Leffler being the most notciable) and as well in the trucks (Ted Musgrave?)

Second, EA hit it right on with the fight to the top mode....But there are plenty of faults i could see corrected soon(hopefully) It seems overwhelming to have 4 series and having to run all 4 of them in one year...It could take ages just to finish one season! It took me a week to finish one and i'm currently halfway thru the second....Gameplay in this mode seems too hard and could easily scare the beginning nascar fan away. I've played nascar games since as long as i can remember and this one just seems too hard. Car setups are way to touchy (take out a pound of wedge and your spinning out by the next corner)

Third, EA again is on the right track, but kind of missed it here, with the new Chase to the NEXTEL Cup mode. This mode is plenty of fun but theres a few faults here too. One being theres no two player here, c'mon EA this would be the most popular mode if you hade a two player feature added on! And the other is that this is the only mode where the new point system is in place. I've reached race 27 in fight to the top in nextel cup but kenseth still has a 217 point lead. This bothers me alot because if you're going to have a realistic game, you need the system currently in play.

Fourth, you can only have one season, one fight to the top, and one chase to the cup mode active at one time to each profile. I think this is a HUGE step in the wrong direction on EA's part because in games past i like to have quite a few seasons or careers at a time (one for me, one for me and my friends, one for my friends, and maybe one to sim everything or wreck everyone and see who comes out on top of the caos.) but i cant do that this year unless i want to erase my already in progress season (found this out the hard way)

Thats about it for the bad...theres some more bad but that's just the top stuff that takes from gameplay. Now here's the good:

First, fight to the top, this is where EA has struck gold. Although it has it's faults, it is basically all i've played since i got this game. EA maybe could just make the autograph mini games either easier and less frequent or an option you can turn on or off throughout the game.

Second, the addition of production cars, modifieds, trucks, and busch cars are all great things for this franchise. Although i would like to see more production cars and more places to race them, it's a good start and a good change. All the other nascar series added to the game also are great additions to this instalment.

Third, Dodge Speed Zone is amazingly fun this year, so are the Lightning Challenges (which kind of went off track last year) and i love the addition of Skill Points that you earn for doing certain tasks during the race or doing certain tasks outside of the racecar, and then being able to spend them on Thunder Plates. Great addition that could make replay value quite high.

The final thing is the Grudges and Alliances are very well developed this year...This time drivers wont slam you at break neck speeds, instead, they will bump you and rub you but not too badly (just enough to knock off 10-20 skill points) and the new Intimidator button is just what we've all been waiting for because now if a driver is holding you up a bit, or seems to be jsut as fast as you, you can "intimidate" him and clear the way, be warned though, you can't do this without raising the Rival rating to this driver.

That about sums it up....Kind of a longer review than i expected but hopefully it helps...I recomend renting this game before buying it and even waiting till the price drops to at least 30 before picking up this game. 3/5 stars overall...EA is on the right track with this game....but hopefully next years version will smooth out all the rough edges.

Unless you count GTA3 and GTA:VC, this is my first racing game since getting Donald Hill's "Ferrari Grand Prix" for the Mac in the mid-1980's. I don't follow Nascar and I don't know much about other racing circuits, either. So this review is from that perspective.

This is a solid game. I've been playing it on and off for a few months now in Fight to the Top mode and have really enjoyed every aspect of what I've encountered. I think the AI is pretty impressive, particularly in the rival/ally bits. I don't have any problem with the controls just using the xbox controller, though I'm not playing this game for more than 2 hours at a time. I'm sure that a wheel would be handy if you're going longer than that (but since this the only racing game I've got I don't see a point in getting one myself).

I see myself playing this game for a good long time. I like the racing and team management aspects of the game, and the unlockables aren't the typical b.s. you might see in other games. I actually think the graphics are pretty good and I don't mind not having a cockpit view at all (since I think the view that's offered makes up for the lack of peripheral vision you'd have in a cockpit view).

Some of the interfaces are a little clunky here and there, and I'd actually like to be able to get a little deeper into rivalries (like going to other drivers pits and starting fistfights, since they seem to try that with my driver quite a bit) but I must say that for a game that's not hit-you-over-the-head sweet (like HALO 2 or GTA:VC or whatever) this one really sucks you in and keeps you there for the long haul.

I was apprehensive about buying this game. However, I went ahead and laid down the money and have been extremely pleased with my decision. First of all, the graphics are very good and the racing can get intense. The action is fast paced and all of the tracks look as they do on TV.

One thing I love is the Nascar 2005 can be a very deep game with a lot of replay value. Of course, if you just want to race one race at a time you can do that, but if you want to start a carrier, it is very detailed and involved. You start in the Featherweight division with little money and no fans. After you start winning some races, you gain money, fans, and notoriety among the other racers. You also have an agent who will help you climb the ladder of fame. If you do well in the Featherweight, you can move up to the Truck series, the Bush series, and then on to Nascar. However, you have to wait for offers to come across from car owners in that particular division. For example, if you are doing well in the Bush series Motorola may offer you a deal to drive for them in Nascar. You can take the deal, or hold out to try and get a better offer from another sponsor. It's totally up to you. You will also be challenged to street races by some of the Nascar drivers. These are pretty cool because they allow you to race with streetcars such as the new 2005 Ford Mustang! If you win, you will gain notoriety and the drivers will respect you more on the track.

Another aspect that I love is the gas pedal. With the gas being the right top button on the XBOX controller, you can use it just like an actual pedal. You can let off a little to make it through the turns then floor it on the straightaway's. It really gives you more control of your car because you are able to make it through the turns easily, while still applying a little bit of gas. Very nice!

Also, the addition of the "share draft" and "intimidate" buttons work nicely. If you are drafting someone that is on the inside of a two car wide draft, you can press the "share draft" button and it will suck you up on the car in front of you. This allows the driver to pass cars on the outside because the more cars you have in a draft, the faster you are. As for the "intimidate" button, you can press and then literally intimidate the car in front of you. If you have the button locked in and bump draft the car you are intimidating, he will usually move out of your way. However, if you are too rough you could tick him off and cause him to come after you. Yeah, I've been wrecked a couple of times for pissing off a driver.

This game is a blast and I give it my highest recommendation!

Ive got to say this is the best racing game Ive ever played(yes better than need for speed and grand turismo). The racing however is not the best part of the game its the owning your own team. As of now since Ive played it non stop for the past 3 days I'm a level 3 villian(Its all about me), own both a feather weight and a bush series team and have to manage the pay checks, price merchandise and keep my standings up and have exceeded over 150,000 fans. Once you own a team you design your own color, model, sponser and the team name. If you beat the street race in the beggining you will then start your career and create someone that looks like you. Along the way you will gain rivalries-villian and alliances-hero. In a way I would comepare this to STAR WARS knights of the old republic. Im mean both games you gain enemeis and friends, you have a lightside, darkside meter, and you get better upgrades along the way. By the way if you have not played STarwars kotor i suggest you do, you will not be dissapointed. Any way back to the game. You start in the feather weight division which uses the open wheel stock cars.These are hard to control. You have to master both brakeing and acceleration if you want to win. The best way to win any race is to buy your own car and upgrade it to the max. I don't remember the price for the featherweight team but the craftman team is $750,000, National bush team is $1,000,000 and the nextal cup team is $2,000,000. Hopes this helps.

SERIES-
Modifieds: The best thing about this game,wish they'd include some dirt tracks for modifieds
Trucks: Trucks are fun,just wish they'd include a few more truck only tracks(Myrtle Beach)instead of driving on so many fantasy tracks
Busch Series: Nascar JR You race in cars that are pretty much identical to Cup cars, except they have less powerful engines.Still again a few more Busch only tracks should have been included instead of fantasy tracks.
Cup Series: This is it. The Cup Series. The most horsepower of anything in the game. The most adrenaline. The most everything.



The only problem with this game, once you pick the settings in the Fight for the Top mode, you're stuck with them (unless you want to start new game). That's a problem because, as you progress, you'll need less and less "driver assist" and will want to compete agains better AI competitors (rookies, veterans, legends) and change other settings related to tire wear, refueling, damage, etc.That being said with EA's Nascar contract up,this looks like the last really good EA Nascar game.Anything after this just doesn't controll worth a crap(06 thru 09).With this one you get both,full on assist mode where your gameplay is more arcade style.Or you can take take off all assists and it's more like a simulation,where you have to fine tune cars to keep them on the track.No matter which system you own,PS2/PS3-Gamecude/Wii- Xbox get this game.As of this interview,it's not playable on Xbox 360.Two years since last 360 emulator update,doesn't looke like another is forthcoming.

This game is a huge step up from Nascar 2004. There are so many new features, and I have enjoyed playing Fight To The Top mode. I like to beat track times and earn skill points and purchase legendary drivers like Dale Earnhardt.

But although this game is pretty good, it has quite a few factors that make it less worth playing. One thing that annoys me most is the graphics. I have compared Nascar 2003 and 2005, and there is hardly any difference. When you wreck, your car always looks the same - always that huge dent on the left side of the nose of your car...tire marks on the fender...and I've also noticed in Fight to the Top, you can make allies and rivals. Well, you make someone angry and this walking EA advertisement comes barging into your garage, and no matter who they are sponsored by, there is always a huge EA Sports logo on their chest, running down their legs, arms, and on their hat. What's the deal with this? I find it distracting when there is EA Sports wherever the company can put it. They may be promoting themselves, but it takes away from the quality of the game. And then you have your cell phone. This is in EVERY SINGLE GAME EA makes. It is very irritating. I select the racing calender, and this obnoxious ringing tone beeps, and you get a message: "This is your schedule. Use it to locate different events and races." Well, no duh! I think all of us can figure out what a calender is. I am a huge Nascar fan, and I think this game overall, is just okay.

I'm not a big NASCAR fan but I found this to be a pretty good game. The combination of driver/owner modes is a cool idea but both seem to be a bit under developed.

Owner mode pretty much consists of buying a team, buying all the upgrades for the car and the pit crew, then letting it run itself. In real life, most teams have more than one car. This is not an option here. You are also limited in the drivers you can hire and I have only seen one who has the capability to actually win a championship, sort of frustrating if you own two or three teams.

On the driver side, your car setup will rarely need to be adjusted. You should be able to get the pole in virtually every qualifying session without any adjustments (at the lower levels anyway). The allies / rivals feature is a nice touch but only works one way. If you want to 'share draft' with someone, you have to let him pass you then draft him. The AI drivers will not use this feature on you no matter how good your alliance is.

The production car feature is, in a word, silly. Just as an experiment I took the Mustang GT out on Talledega. I'm sure the new Mustang is a fine car, but I doubt it is capable of 190+MPH in fourth gear at 9000RPM. Last I checked, 9000RPM would send pistons flying every-which-way in 95% of production cars. As well, Last I checked the SRT-4 was Front Wheel drive, yet when you do a burn out on your 'victory lap' you quite clearly spin the rear tires madly. For the production cars, they clearly just put a different skin over the stock cars and called it a day.

The single most frustrating thing about this game however is the "Pit road problem" On occasion, there will be an accident on pit road which will get a car stuck sideways, blocking all access to the pits. The AI can't get the car unstuck. If you're entering the pits and this happens in front of you, your only option is to quit the race, otherwise you'll just be stuck there as the rest of the field drives laps around you.

All in all, it's a fun game to drive and the multiple series allow for a lot of playablility.

Just bought the game and spent the last couple nights playing it. The worst thing about this game, is there is no cockpit view that I could find..perhaps I am missing something, but that was one of the better features of previous games. In this game you get chase views and hood view, but no cockpit view.

Every Saturday me and some friends get together to play a season of Nascar 2004 (we race the track that is featured that week). I rushed out yesterday, so juiced on getting 2004 with all the new features it added. When I got it home I was shocked to find on the back of the case the words (1 to 2 players), what in the heck happen to 4 players ? What ticked me off worse is not one review with the game designers or even the reviewers mention that it wouldn't be in this version. The game is great, don't get me wrong, the things they added really do move the game in a good direction and makes it feel like being in NASCAR race. Just sad that with all the improvements EA has made they have really screwed the XBOX owners by taking out 4 players ( I heard you can stil play 4 players on the PS2). Next time you omit something that big EA, Don't !!