Customer Reviews

NASCAR 2008

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I have spent many hours with my son racing in 2-player mode in previous versions. We've had SO much fun. He's 13 now and our racing days go way back to Lego Racers on the PC followed by Star Wars Racer and then on to PS2 with all the EA Nascar versions. Those days appear to be over because the PS3 version I just purchased only supports a single (local) player. Besides that it is only 720p and my TV supports 1080p. The PS2 version has 2-player and the XBox360 says it does 1080p. Why does the PS3 version cost the same as the XBox 360 version?I feel ripped off! I would easily give up some of the graphics enhancements to gain all the fun my son and I could have with 2-player mode.

I just picked up NASCAR 08 from EB today. I am a diehard nascar fan and have played most of the previous NASCAR games from EA Sports. After a day of gaming, I've noticed that this game is a lot different than the past games, in a good and bad way. This year, ESPN has integrated their technology into the game, so if you have an internet connection, then you can view the ticker at the bottom, as well as hear SportsCenter every twenty minutes. What strikes me the most is the lack of previous game modes, like fight to the top. The only game modes are the new Career and the same old Season. Career is odd, you earn licenses by completing challenges at different tracks. You then get contracts and race for teams in Nextel. I personally don't like it, as it lacks the challenge and the fun of working your way up like Fight to the Top did. In terms of gameplay, the handling is extremely difficult. Even turning down the linear and responsiveness of the controls makes for difficult racing. It is too easy to spin out. I look forward to trying a wheel soon to see if there is an improvement. I guess EA really wants you to tweak the car setup to get the best car. I used the SIXAXIS a few times, and it doesn't make much of an improvement. It takes awhile to get used to. I like the new draft view, which shows when you are in the draft with the car in front of you. It is helpful on big tracks like Daytona and Talladega, but annoying on smaller tracks where drafting isn't helpful. I am glad to see EA fixed the restrictor plate racing on restarts, as in previous games the acceleration was terrible and all the other cars passed you and sped ahead. Now its all good. I am also thrilled to see a full field of real drivers this time. 44 to be exact in Nextel Cup. Toyota also makes its debut and the Car of Tomorrow does as well. So far, it doesn't appear EA has changed the fact that YOU are the only car that wrecks in each race. I haven't seen much wrecking among the AI. To end it on a good note, the graphics are amazing on 720p. I could care less about 1080p (which is not supported in this game) because I do not own a 1080p TV. During night races, the sun slowly disappears, making the sky look fantastic. All in all, this game is a great improvement in graphics and driver selections, but poor handling makes for a difficult gameplay experience.

PROS:
Full field of drivers (44)
ESPN integrated
Nice sky effects
Spectacular graphics on 720p
COT and Toyota
Cool replays
Nice OSD (including new VTV)

CONS:
Terrible handling
No Fight to the Top
No split screen multiplayer
Career mode is lacking
Very few drivers in Truck
SIXAXIS steering doesn't help much

I follow NASCAR and look forward to the release of the NASCAR game every year. In previous years I have enjoyed the career mode where you start in the Whelan series and work your way up to the Nextel series. I thought with the PS3 version, there would be lots of extras and career modes. However, the career options are very limited and have not held my attention. Also, in trying to allow you to set up the cars for racing, they have made it impossible to control the cars even in easy modes. It is impossible to get through a race without causing a yellow flag (the yellow flag is thrown so quick, sometimes you don't even see the wreck). I think this game will be a trade-in at Gamestop for Dirt which has a great demo on the PS3.

In the 2008 installment, EA blew it. For PS3 there is no 2 player mode. Certainly the racing is semi realistict, but w/o 2 player, how can you have fun with your friends. Honestly, I returned my to FYE and convinced them to sell me the PS2 make so I can at least do 2 Player with my friend. EA needs to get back to basics like that of Nascar 04.

I purchased this game and I have to admit that the graphics are pretty amazing. The worst part of this game is the lack of split screen racing. In previous versions, you can race in split screen mode which is the fun part of being with friends. The PS2 and XBOX 360 versions are 1-2 players locally, so why not the PS3 version?

Bad move in my opinion by EA. For this reason, unless you just want to have some fun without being able to race friends sitting next to you and talking trash, I would not bother buying this game.

to hard for the average gamer , boring if you don't even like NASCAR, could've made it easier , no multiplayer if not online

A (PS3)VIDEO GAME SHOULD BE DESIGNED AS/FOR "FUN" ENTERTAINMENT. PS3, EA'S "NASCAR 08" IS "FRUSTRATING" ENTERTAINMENT.
I REALLY ENJOYED THE "PS2" VERSIONS OF "NASCAR", AND THOUGHT THIS PS3 "08 NASCAR" WOULD BE EVEN BETTER, NOT SO, "DISAPPOINTED"! FOR EXAMPLE, TO MANY THINGS TO DO JUST TO GET TO THE STARTING LINE IN "CHASE" MODE, NOT "FUN"!!

I agree with many of the other negative reviews and won't bore you with repeating them. The main reason I'm going to resell this game is that it's 1 player unless you are playing online! Absolutely no use for a game configured this way.

I am a diehard NASCAR fan, but It has been quite a few years since I bought a nascar game. I think I was turned of by nascar 2000 (or whenever the first ps2 nascar game was released, because it was terrible). Anyways, I decided to give nascar 2008 a shot to see if it had gotten any better since then. So far I have only done the chase mode, which is a good challenge for all skill levels. You can either choose bronze silver or gold level on the license tests, which is good. Silver is good for a casual gamer, who likes racing games. Gold is very difficult and frustrating.

The other contract races get progressively difficult, and eventually impossible once you get to the Car of Tomorrow super-speedway races. You start 39th, and have 25 laps to get to the front. I have wrecked everytime, and you have no choice to turn off the damage.

The worst part of this game is that you HAVE to drive with the joy stick or the sixaxis controls, both of which are extremely too responsive and hard to use. Unfortunately you can't use the d-pad, which is what I have always used to drive races with. Don't go off the bottom of the track, even by 1 inch, or you will be spinning like a top, with 42 cars bashing you from every angle.

So, in conclusion, if you enjoy racing games, this is a good nascar game, and a good game for the first release of it on a new game system. But if you don't like using the joysticks or the SIXAXIS to drive a car, don't buy it!

Graphics are good and i liked the game. But now many new games have come with much better graphice and better sound quality!