NASCAR 21: Ignition Review

NASCAR 21: Ignition, the new officially-licensed game from Motorsport Games, was released last week for PlayStation, Xbox and Windows.  I unfortunately purchased it and played it, and now it's time to tear it to shreds.

This game was once again built from the ground-up using Unreal Engine, and the graphics do offer a slight upgrade over the NASCAR Heat series.  Unfortunately that's where the upside to this game ends.

No rearview mirror: another questionable choice by the developers

The car-handling is extremely rough, with the car constantly drifting to the left.  With this constant drift, you need to keep hitting the stick to the right, but any slight over-correct will send your car careening towards the wall and no amount of steering will stop your car from avoiding a collision.

The overall physics are also terrible throughout the game.  Any sort of contact between you and another driver immediately spins you out with no chance to save your car.  Those wrecks collect the rest of the field, with cars flying through the air and massive pile-ups blocking the track for multiple laps.

The car also has, what I assume, are the same brakes as a Smart Car.  Even with the racing line on, I could not figure out when to brake to avoid contact with the wall or blow through a road course corner.  Another problem is that it is so inconsistent as to when the braking will actually stop the car that it's nearly impossible to use braking points on the track.

The game was built from scratch, but it took a step back in features.  The Xfinity and Truck Series are nowhere to be found.  Split-screen was also not carried over from the Heat series, so I guess I'll keep NASCAR Heat 5 around to play with friends (and also in general because it's a passable game).

Online might be the strongest racing the game has to offer, mainly due to the fact that every race starts with a massive pile-up that strings the field out.  The races don't start with the customary "coming to green" graphic; instead it drops you from a black screen straight into a split-second after you've gained control of your car. 

The game does finally bring back an actual paint booth to customize your own ride, but even that seems half-assed.  You can only place sponsor logos on the car one side at a time, which ruins any real chance of your car being symmetrical.

I've also gone in to see if I can mess with the settings at all to make it playable, and it seems like Motorsport Games thinks that "difficulty" is the same as "assists," as the customary easy/medium/hard settings for the AI are not there.  The AI also does not understand where you race on the track, and will stick to their line regardless of how much of your car is currently there.

"Do you think if we put an iPad in the car, they'll
think this is F1?"
- Someone on the development team, probably.

Overall, the game is a laggy, buggy mess.  I'm convinced the developers watched the FOX broadcasts of iRacing to figure out what made racing games realistic and then spent none of the time required to make it work.  Someone on the development team definitely had the job of playing the F1 games to see what makes them great, and apparently only thought it was the dashboard computer you have before driving onto the track.

As someone who has been playing NASCAR games since NASCAR Thunder 2002 and has gotten the Platinum trophy on PS4 for every game in the NASCAR Heat series, I feel like I have a grasp of what makes a NASCAR game great.  This game fails at every turn, and I can say, without a doubt, this is the worst NASCAR game I've ever played.

To be honest, I'm legitimately upset I bought the more expensive "Champions Edition" of the game, and I don't think I will be playing much of it again until they fix the numerous issues plaguing the experience.  If it's anything like the Heat series, we may be waiting for awhile.

Final verdict: 3/10 

REVIEW: NASCAR Heat 4

NASCAR Heat 4, the newest game in 704 Games' NASCAR line, is now available for PS4, Xbox One and PC.

The game promises to take some steps in the right direction following what many believe (myself included) to be some very lackluster entries into the NASCAR franchise.

Is that a new menu screen??

Let's start with what NASCAR Heat 4 does well, or at least what it improves upon from its predecessors.  

The main screen is a lot cleaner than in years past, and it seems more in line with current sports offering, like MLB's The Show and the NFL's Madden franchise.  The menu is extremely easy to navigate, and even features your driver stats on the main screen, which is a very nice upgrade.  To view these in the past, you would have to wade through menus to find your win totals.

When it comes to gameplay, Heat 4 improves upon many of the games from the past.  They've been able to re-haul the physics of how the cars drive.  No longer does touching a car cause your car to "ping-pong" off your fellow drivers, and the cars seem to react more in-line with their real-world counterparts.

The game even includes bumps on numerous tracks to show roughness.  With my little bit of time with the game, it was most pronounced at Atlanta, as the car was bouncing in the corner because of how rough that track is.

The graphics engine has also seen an improvement for what seems like the first time since the last generation of consoles.  The cars and tracks look great, and for once I didn't feel like I was playing on an impressive PS3 game.

In the career mode, the team member aspect of owning your own team is also changed.  Instead of being able to max out all stat categories for your team members, each one now has a specialty.  With the new engine, aero and suspension specialists, the career mode has an added element of realism, which should affect your weekly plans.

The game also changed the way you are raced by the AI.  Your fellow drivers will pick multiple racing grooves, and it is pretty fun to race alongside.  In an Xfinity race, I was battling Cole Custer for the lead.  As I got closer to Custer, he moved to the outside line and gave me the bottom, but he moved back to the bottom when I failed to pass him a few laps later.

Two other minor changes that caught my eye were the inclusion of more options in the pause menu and a track map in the lower corner.  The pause menu now allows you to change a few gameplay options mid-race.  While there really isn't much you can do, it is nice to see that 704 Games seems headed towards a more intricate pause menu like many other games.

The inclusion of the track map in the lower corner is also a welcome addition that was features in NASCAR games for year.  It allows the player to see where the leader is in relation to them, and they can see where they are on the track.

Martinsville at night: a sexy pre-order bonus.

While Heat 4 does improve on some things that I have been griping about for years, there are still a few things they can improve on.

The paint booth once again lacks depth.  While there are numerous pre-made paint schemes to pick from, as well as the ability to pick any number, it would still be nice to be able to create your own custom scheme and drive it on the track.  Maybe one day we will once again have an in-depth paint booth experience.

Another issue has to deal with looking backwards on road courses, which causes the camera to fly up and look over the car.  While this is a small issue, it is something that was an issue in the last game that I would have liked to see fixed.

The cars are actually a lot tougher to pass, and I'm not sure if this is a problem with the game itself or if they actually implemented the new rules package into the game.  Maybe Kyle Busch was right when he said these cars were hard to pass, so I won't hold that against the game.

My last two gripes with the game come from my Gold Edition purchase.  Originally advertised as a Jeff Gordon "steel book," the game was shipped in a hard to open cardboard case.  While 704 Games announced that an issue with their manufacturer caused a problem with the steel book, I was not expecting them to go with such low-rate packaging for their hardcore fans.

Another issue was that the included Season Pass DLC was not available to redeem on Day 1 (at least on PS4).  While the code eventually was accepted the day after release, I have still been unable to download the special Jeff Gordon legend car that was a major selling point of the Gold Edition.  As of this writing, I have not heard anything back from 704 Games after reaching out to them about the issue.

My Verdict:

While NASCAR Heat 4 is still affected by some recurring issues that have plagued the games for years, there is a lot of promise from this entry in the franchise.  704 Games has shown that they can move forward with this franchise, and I hope they will continue to grow the scope of the game.  The game is fun to play, and it should be a must-buy for any NASCAR fans.  I would recommend the standard edition for $59.99 unless you will be buying all the DLC as it is released, in which case the $69.99 price on the Gold Edition is a nice way to save some money.

RATING:

7.5/10

REVIEW: NASCAR Heat Evolution

On Tuesday, Dusenberry-Martin Racing released NASCAR Heat Evolution, the first NASCAR video game for PS4 and XBox One.  I've been on track since Tuesday, and I have to say, my reaction to the game has been what it has been all through development: meh.

When you first fire it up, NASCAR Heat Evolution gives five racing options: Race, Challenges, Championship, Career and Multiplayer.  Race is just what it sounds like, allowing you to pick a driver and jump right into on-track action.

Challenges allow the player to participate in real-world racing action, with the player getting a second chance at accomplishing something a driver wasn't able to do in real life.  The first challenge that unlocks puts you in the cockpit of Brad Keselowski's "BRAD" Ford (beer sponsors are not in the game, along with Clint Bowyer's 5 Hour Energy).  A pretty basic challenge, you start inside the top 20 and need to win in 5 laps.  I even downloaded the Toyota Challenges pack that gives the player four more options with Toyota drivers.  Same as the Keselowski challenge, I blew the competition away.

The Championship mode is just the basic season mode, where the player can take their favorite driver all the way to Homestead to fight for the Sprint Cup.

Career mode allows the player to create a driver and start them on a NASCAR journey.  You first get a pretty crappy car, and through good finishes, race winnings and sponsorship deals, you can work to improve your car's performance.  Until then, you'll get to find out how Matt DiBenedetto feels as you fight hard for a Top 25.

Multiplayer promises 40-player lobbies, creating the most authentic NASCAR experience online.  Unfortunately, I haven't found any rooms with that many players.  In fact, the one online race I did play was one-vs.-one match because only one other player stuck around for the actual race.

After playing with it for almost a week, the whole game feels like it was rushed to the shelves.  The graphics looks like they're out of a game from last generation, which is really irritating.  The handling of the cars is a little off, and this is probably due to weird physics.  Don't try to brake while turning the car, the back end will just step out on you and you'll have to correct your driving to save it.  I shouldn't be able to get around Martinsville without braking, but that's exactly what I had to do.

Get used to this view. It's the only one you're going to get.

The game also doesn't offer custom paint schemes.  In the old games, I would spend hours to make the perfect paint scheme to take to the track, and then I would take pictures of it in racing action.  But I don't even have that option in this game either.  In fact, the pause menu doesn't even give you any options other than Resume, Restart or Exit Race.  The only way you can get a screenshot is to use the Share button on the PS4 controller (I don't know what this means for XBox).

The game also lacks many simple abilities that we take for granted in racing games.  You have to flip between the HUD, so you can't see your lap times and your car's damage at the same time.  The camera is also locked into position, so you can't look around your car.

Overall, NASCAR Heat Evolution is a major misstep.  This game offers less features than NASCAR '15, but at least it costs three times as much. 

Would I buy this game again?  Yes, but not for $60.  This bare-bones racing game is not what NASCAR fans deserve after suffering through bad iterations the past few years.  I think it's time to give the license back to EA and let it go.

Final score: 5/10.

NASCAR Heat Evolution Announced, Given Release Date

Dusenberry Martin Racing announced the newest NASCAR video game, NASCAR Heat Evolution, during a press conference at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Friday.

The new game, which will be the first NASCAR game available on next-gen consoles, will be available September 13, 2016.

The game will be developed by Monster Games, who created the original NASCAR Heat and NASCAR: Dirt to Daytona games, which were two of the most well-recieved NASCAR games of all-time.  Monster Games has built this game from the ground up.

The game will feature different game modes, including a career mode and a Chase mode.  The game will also feature a new AI and Speed Rating system, which will adapt to the player's skill level.

DM Racing also announced that the cover driver will be the top-finishing Toyota driver in Saturday's Sprint All-Star Race.

For more information on NASCAR Heat Evolution, and to preorder the game on PS4 and XBox One, head to NASCARHeat.com.

NASCAR '15 Given Release Date

The newest NASCAR video game will be released on May 22, developer DM Racing announced on Friday.

The new title, NASCAR '15, is a standalone update to the previous game, NASCAR '14.  Developer DMi Games took over the NASCAR license in January.

NASCAR '15 will not be a completely new game, but will instead be a glorified update to NASCAR '14.  The game will feature the current lineup of Sprint Cup Series drivers, the 2015 schedule and rules changes, along with over 60 paint schemes.  There will also be DLC content in the future.

After DMi Games took over the NASCAR license from developer Eutechnyx, the company promised to bring a new NASCAR sim racer to current-gen consoles.  The company announced Friday it is hard at work on that game, which should hit PS4, Xbox One and PC sometime in 2016.

NASCAR '15 will be available on May 22 for PS3 and Xbox 360 for $19.99, exclusively at Gamestop.  The game will be available digitally on the Xbox Live Marketplace and Playstation Store, as well as on PC via Steam. 

You can now preorder the game on PS3 and Xbox 360 on Gamestop's website.

What do you think of NASCAR '15? Will you be jumping behind the wheel on May 22?

NASCAR Games Get New Developer

DMi Games has taken over development duties on all new NASCAR video games moving forward.

The change was announced on Eutechnyx's Twitter account on Wednesday morning.  The announcement said that DMi Games would take over and deliver a "high quality NASCAR digital game fan experience."  The Eutechnyx NASCAR Twitter and Facebook pages will be shut down on January 21.

DMi Games has been founded by Tom Dusenberry and Ed Martin.  The two have joined forces with HC2 to create NASCAR Interactive Entertainment publisher Dusenberry-Martin Interactive - DMi Games.

Both Dusenberry and Martin are veterans of the video games industry, and Martin has worked on past iterations of NASCAR games with Eutechnyx. 

DMi announced that it had acquired game assets from Eutechnyx, and the company has moved to Charlotte, NC.

Keep an eye on DMi Games' website for more information on the company and new NASCAR games moving forward.

Review: NASCAR '14

I picked up NASCAR '14 when it came out a few weeks ago.  Like a kid on Christmas morning, I drove to GameStop to pick up my pre-ordered copy.  I couldn't wait to pop in the game and race with all the new updated paint schemes.  I was also excited to see all the improvements in this game since the last one was so buggy.  Unfortunately, it seems the developer did not go far enough with their improvements.

Using your custom cars is a bright spot of this new game.

Eutechnyx has developed the past three NASCAR games.  And each time, they've come closer to getting it right, but they're just a bit off.  The new game has a few new updates, including an updated AI difficulty system.  Instead of picking easy, medium, hard or very hard as the levels, you can now choose anywhere from 0-100% difficulty.  Good idea right?  It seems, however, that the difficulty skews just a bit to the hard side.  You can easily win races on 30% difficulty, but when you push it up to 40% the field blows by you.  I believe they are working on including a fix for this in the patch that should be out within the next few weeks.

The AI is also not very realistic.  When you try to wreck a car, it will do everything it can to stay straight, and normally it does.  This is great if you don't want cautions, but when you try to cause a lot of 43-car pileups, it can get frustrating.  Let's be serious, if I hit Danica going 200 mph in Turn 3 of Daytona, there's no way she keeps that car straight.  Just saying.  I believe a fix for this will also be included in the patch.

Another problem they run into deals with the challenges.  They unveiled the new challenges in the last iteration of the game, using NASCAR's loop data to accurately portray where the cars are on the track.  Unfortunately, the cars would ONLY run where they were running in real life, paying no attention to the player.

I thought they would fix that in this game, but of course I got my hopes up for nothing.  The challenges are plagued by the same problems as the last game, but to an even greater extent.  Not only will the cars drive into you if you're using their line, they will not try to avoid you AT ALL.  I have spun in front of the field, and seen cars flip over my car and fly right back to where they should be running with all four tires on the ground.  Very lifelike.

In the past games, I've wished for the ability to spin the tires.  Well, they sure delivered.  As in, every time you restart you'll spin the tires.  The game starts out with you sliding towards the car next to you without giving you any guidance about how to stop it.  Eventually I figured out how to time the restarts and use the restart lines, but a little heads-up would have been nice.

I have tried to play some online as well, but have been unable to find a stable room.  Though that may be due to a poor internet connection at school, so I won't hold that against them.

I have also broken the game on numerous occasions.  I was at a race at Daytona, and decided to turn backwards at the start of the race and wreck the field.  I didn't cross the start finish line to start the race, and the field crossed into lap 2.  But the game decided that was the final lap, and Denny Hamlin was the winner.  I then drove around the track to complete my lap, and the field started slowing down as if the race was over.  After the race restarted from the checkered flag/caution, I was the only car on the track.  Weird.

The game isn't all bad though.  A highlight of the game is the ability to use your custom cars in career mode.  This is a nice touch that had been missing from the previous games.  I enjoyed winning the championship with my custom Deadpool/Marvel Comics car.

Overall, this game hasn't really changed a lot from its predecessors.  It seems more like a facelift with the new paint schemes rather than a brand new game.  I would have rather paid $20 for DLC than $50 for a new game that is still plagued by recurring problems.

Final Score:
6.5/10

Have you been playing NASCAR '14?  Have you been enjoying it?  Run into any problems?  Let us know in the comments below.

A Look Back: Games of 2011

2011 is quickly coming to an end, and now is the time to look back at the games that came out during this past year.  This year was marked by many big games, such as Battlefield 3, Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, and Batman: Arkham Asylum.  While all of those games are great, none of them made it onto my list of the Top 5 games of 2011.  Here's the list:


5. NASCAR: Unleashed
NASCAR: Unleashed was Activision's second game with its newly-acquired NASCAR license, and they did not disappoint.  The arcade racer provided lots of fun throughout the whole game.  In my review, I gave it an 8.5/10.  This game is a must for any NASCAR fan.

Photo courtesy Activision

 4. L.A. Noire
L.A. Noire tells the story of the Los Angeles Police Department following World War II.  Rockstar Games revolutionized how a game was made, as they used real actors and 365-degree camera angles to show the emotions of the game characters.  Though the story does get boring at times, the player must be reminded at multiple points that they are playing a game and not watching an episode of CSI.

Photo courtesy Rockstar Games

 3. NASCAR: The Game 2011
NASCAR: The Game 2011 was the first licensed NASCAR racing game since 2009's NASCAR 09 and NASCAR Karts for the Wii.  The game did not disappoint.  While the game was plagued by glitches while racing online during the first few months of the game's availability, the developers quickly made patches to fix all the problems.  While the game is not perfect, it is a good start, and NASCAR: The Game 2012 promises to be even better.

Photo courtesy Activision

 2. Minecraft
This game is a little bit different than most.  At first glance, it seems like a very old game with dated graphics; once you begin playing, however, you understand that it is much more than meets the eye.  I started playing the game back in May as the school year was winding down.  It is a little like Legos for the computer, only there are monsters.  While you have the ability to fight the monsters and survive, I play on peaceful, which is a lot less stressful.  At only $26.95, this is the most affordable game on the list.  After playing, it will have you saying, "Just one more block, just one more block..."

Photo courtesy Mojang

 1. Portal 2
When I decide what my favorite games are, I look at how they affect me when I'm not playing.  I decided Red Dead Redemption was an amazing game whenever I began to dream about being in the Old West.  And every time I saw a bird, I thought I could just switch into Dead Eye mode and shoot it down.  So whenever I began to look at walls and figure out where I could place a portal, I realized that this game was one of the best games I've ever played.  The game stretches your brain with its mind-bending puzzles, and its hilarious dialogue will keep you laughing.  I never thought I'd fall in love with a game this much, but I have, and it's absolutely wonderful.

Photo courtesy Valve

 While I'm sure I've snubbed some games, these are the games that I've been playing this year.  Modern Warfare 3 and Little Big Planet 2 just missed the cut.  I'm sure I would have put Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure on this list as well, but I'm not getting that until Christmas.  Any of these five games would be a fantastic last-minute Christmas gift, but be warned: L.A. Noire is rated M due to its graphic images.  Also, Minecraft is only available online at minecraft.net.  Hope you enjoyed this countdown, and happy gaming!

REVIEW: NASCAR: Unleashed

When NASCAR: Unleashed was first announced by Activision, I was a little excited, but also a little skeptical; the game was aimed at younger kids, and I was afraid that I would not have any fun.  After playing for only 20 minutes, I knew that I was completely wrong.  The game was released on November 1, 2011, but I am reviewing it so late because I wanted to complete the game and review every aspect of the game.  Today, I was able to get the PS3 Platinum Trophy for getting 100% game completion, so I feel like I can now fairly review the game.

Mark Martin races Kevin Harvick in NASCAR: Unleashed (Photo Courtesy Activision)

 When I got the game, I jumped right into the story mode, which is called the "Championship" mode.  I tried to go out and win every race, but after winning the first eight or nine races, I ran into some trouble.  The game is split up into three different tiers, with each tier becoming harder than the next.  Each race has a specific goal that has to be reached, like getting a Top 10 or Top 5 finish.  In fact, the only race that needs to be won is the final race, when you complete the entire Championship mode.

The quick race mode is also very enjoyable.  Racers have ability to jump right into a race "season" of 1-12 races, with 1-5 laps in each race.  The level of the other drivers can be set between easy, medium, or hard.  The tracks where you race can also be chosen, and you have the ability to make a custom schedule.  

Kyle Busch at Daytona, ferris wheel and all (Photo courtesy Activision)

Wondering if your favorite driver is in the game?  Well, there are only 15 real-life drivers in the game, along with three fantasy drivers.  Each driver has multiple paint schemes; these can be unlocked by earning experience points throughout your racing career.  The drivers available in the game are: Greg Biffle, Clint Bowyer, Jeff Burton, Kyle Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Carl Edwards, Jeff Gordon, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth, Joey Logano, Mark Martin, Ryan Newman, and Tony Stewart.

There are also six NASCAR-sanctioned tracks in the game; Chicagoland Speedway, Daytona International Speedway, Homestead-Miami Speedway, Martinsville Speedway, and Talladega Superspeedway.  There is also the Unleashed Speedway, which is a circuit created for the game.  Each track offers at least two different courses, and some, like Martinsville, offer three.  The only track that is a true oval is one of the Daytona layouts.  This is the first track you race on in the game, and it is very easy to maneuver.  

Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Photo courtesy Activision)

 If you are a perfectionist (like myself), get ready for a long haul.  You have to get a gold trophy on every single track layout in the game's time trial mode.  This is somewhat tedious, and you won't get some of the tracks on the first run-through.  Eventually, though, even this doesn't prove too difficult, and the trophy/achievement should be yours.

One problem with this game is the lack of a multiplayer mode.  There is no online multiplayer to be found, and the only local multiplayer is between two people.  That's nothing new for a NASCAR game, but the game Split/Second has four-player local multiplayer.  Another problem with this game is that it gets hard so fast.  The game starts out easy enough, but it gets cripplingly hard very fast.  The difficulty level was very frustrating for me, so I'm not sure how younger kids will be able to handle it.

Joey Logano races beside Jimmie Johnson (Photo courtesy Activision)

 Overall, I was very happy with this game.  Though the difficulty was a little surprising at times, I never once thought the game was impossible.  Even my sister, who is terrible at racing games, thought the game was fun and wanted to play it over and over again.  I'd recommend this game to any of my friends, and a lot of them aren't racing fans.  If you're looking for something to get your kids for Christmas, this is a good choice.  NASCAR: Unleashed is available on the PlayStation 3, XBox 360, Nintendo Wii, and Nintendo 3DS Systems.

 RATING: 8.5/10