Customer Reviews

NASCAR Thunder 2003

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

From what I've seen,this game will beat the pants off any other racing games.This year,the graphics are sweeter.The A.I. has been
cooked up a notch,which means,crashes,crashes,and more crashes.
The paint schemes are cooler,and the car setup has more things to
tweak ,that'll show some hard work.The game has some pre-race
activity,and victory lane celebration.Career mode is fun to the bone,you build your own chassis,for twenty years!Look for more
on the pre-race shows with Benny Parsons and Thunder Motion.Have
fun in victory lane.

Nascar Thunder 2003 manages to strike the perfect balance. Plenty of features and modes to meet anyones tastes and preferences. However the highlight is the 20 year career mode. Start as a rookie and work toward the championship. Not only do you race and setup the car, but you also have to manage the money (and its easy to run out if you have too many DNFs). You have to hire the crew members, repair your car(s), keep the sponsers happy, etc. Crew members have stats of there own (skill, speed, etc.) Sometimes they might make a mistake at a crucial pit stop. You really feel like you're part of a team. The tracks themselves simply are beautiful. This is the Nascar game we've all been waiting for. I've been playing it for 2 weeks now and I can't seem to get enough. Plus there are cool mini challenges (Lightning Challenges and Thunder Plates) through which you can unlock special paint schemes, drivers, tracks, etc. I've played just about ever Nascar game available and this one is far and away my favorite. Just enough sim and just enough of an arcade feel. Its perfect.

I know that reviews are often peoples opinions but I am going to try and list some good and bad FACTS about the PS2 version of this game.

Good FACTS
-My 6 year old son and I can play this game together for hours!
-As far as PS2 graphics go...I don't think the PS2 could do much better.
-This game has a lot to offer with many different options.
-You won't find more Drivers, Tracks and Paint Schemes in any other NASCAR game.

Bad FACTS
-Crash physics are often unrealistic.(but fun to watch)
-Other than during "Racing" and "Celebration" ALL control is PS2 controlled(Pitting,Cautions,Pre/Post Race,Victory Lane).
-AI can be rather stupid.
-Drafting is not quite right.
-Cars can sustain way too much damage and still stay in the race.

In short, don't buy this game because you are looking for the perfect SIM( it definitly isn't that). What it is....is fun racing!

I rented the game this past week and I was totally in awe of the sounds and the graphics and additions to the game. The people at Electronic Arts should be commended for the work on this game. The sounds have been improved greatly with the sounds of the engines and all the bumping and banging that comes with Nascar. The beginning of a race is excellent with the commentators talking about the drivers and then the National Anthem and the Flyover by the jets, followed up with the engines that sound just like you are there absolutely blew my mind.

The action of each race is intense and it is very competitive. Career mode allows you to pretty much takeover and do anything and everything from signing sponsors to hiring crew chiefs and all the goodies that go along with it.

Also with the addition of all the extra drivers and hidden drivers such as legends of the sport, Junior Johnson, Benny Parsons and of course the late great Dale Earnhardt and many others just makes it that much more interesting.

If you have not played this game, I highly recommend you getting it and buying it, especially if you are a NASCAR fan. It's a must have for any NASCAR fan.

NASCAR Thunder 2003 is a pretty cool game, fun to play, and overall the graphics are good. What I have a problem with is
playing a season in rookie mode is too easy..I won all but 2
races out of 36 and barely broke a sweat. But when I moved up
to veteran for season 2, I couldn't win a race to save my life!
Whether creating my own car or being Jeff Gordon didn't make
a difference? The players car is noticably slower, and forget
pit stops! I'd go into the pits in 2nd or 3rd place, and come

out 42nd every time without a chance to catch up??? It's also
frustrating trying to play with the yellow flag option off,
because debris from earlier crashes remains on the track, and
the only car to be damaged by it is yours. If you leave the
yellow flag option on, you spend half the race watching the car
go around the track by itself. One more thing (minor thing)..
what goody-two-shoes decided it was necessary to replace the
"Bud" and "Lite" beer symbols on the hoods of the #8 & #2 cars with "Dale" and "Rusty"? I'm a huge NASCAR fan, and dont recall ever seeing those names on the real cars? Overall, NASCAR
Thunder 2003 is a decent game which is fun to play, but hardly
worth the [money] I paid. My advice is to wait til you
can get it on clearance for half the price?

i find the game much harder even in rookie mode. the extras are cool but building your own motors and expecally wating till you can upgrade to a compeditive car can be a pain.over all its a cool game if your a nascar fan ,just expect a little more work to get there

If you like NASCAR and driving games, this is the game for you. Previous attempts at NASCAR games were just cheesy flashes in the pan. Previous games were shallow in functionality, distorted in graphical depictions (the racecars were cartoonish in their renderings) and made it to the bottom of the pile shortly after arriving home. Boring.

Thunder 03 has depth. Many functions; many modes including Full Season and Career, for example; enable you to change many car settings (though the same pressure for all tires is forced), and even with the idiot controls (AI stability control and auto-braking...which can be limited or turned off), gameplay is thoroughly enjoyable. One of the great parts is that it's not easy to win, especially when you start disabling the AI assists. Learning your line on specific tracks is greatly enhanced by the License mode in which you follow your chosen mentor who's driving ahead (in a ghost car) and offering verbal tips along the way.

Career mode is fascinating. (I understand EA and Maxis are connected, which makes sense.) You can hire/fire crew, keep the team going with funds available (overhaul engines, build fresh cars, etc.) and also sign sponsors...who can become displeased with their alliances with you (a la SIMS).

Oh yeah...the crashes and body damage are great. (I'm sure they could have added roof flaps with realistic results, but people would rather see cars Frisbee'd down the main straight.)

My only beef is that I can't seem to save car setups. (No matter how many times I do, and subsequently load those setups, the actual settings...e.g., manual trans...are lost every time.)

Much more of a simulator (a la GT2, GT3) than previous NASCAR game efforts.

A lot of fun, fairly addictive, and enough to keep you busy for quite awhile.

Consider this a hearty endorsment!

I got a demo disc from Playstation Underground and tried this game, I loved it, but the demo didn't even compare to what I saw when I rented the full game. Words cannot describe how totaly awesome it was. I spent hours just looking threough the different things before my 1st real race. I won after I set the car up PERFECT and ran about 1000 practice laps. You get to see the pre-race announcements, and the after-race celebration if you win. And the Thunder Challenge mode is cool too. I got to the one where you... anyway, I realy loved this game, and will buy it ASAP. The career mode is cool, but it can get hard. I had a hard time with my money. I went into pit stops 1-3 and came out 40-43. I never won a race... I barely got paid enough to pay my crew,much less upgrade my stuff. I wish I'd have won that Daytona 500.(cup of 1.40 MILLION dollars) All in all, this game ROCKS THE ROOF!!!!

Bravo, EA Sports! This is by far the best auto racing sim out there! The career mode is tough and really makes you work--you're doing well if you can get a handful of top 10 finishes during your rookie season. The multiplayer mode (up to 4 players) is a sure way to kill an entire Saturday with the guys. A must for anyone's collection!

All NASCAR fans should own this game. It is simply the best. You can start from scratch in career mode, and race for money and sponsors, upgrading your vehicle as you go. All the racetracks are included, and you race against 41 other drivers, just like in the real deal. Pit crews start out as incompetent clumsy gorks that botch simple tasks, like refueling and changing tires, but they become smarter and more efficient as you win more races. The graphics are not breathtakingly spectacular, but the cars look 1000% better than in other NASCAR games. enough said-- BEST NASCAR GAME