NASCAR Thunder 2004 Preview

Developer	Tiburon
Publisher	EA Sports
Genre	Racing
Release Date	9/16/03

NASCAR Winston (or Nextel, if you want to be official) Cup racing is a sport on the rise; attendance records have never been higher and the racing has not been so fierce since the days of Richard Petty and Cale Yarborough. However, racing games based on NASCAR have generally flopped prior to the Thunder series. The same case can be made on just about every other type of racing league except for Formula One, which has such a variety of developers around the world trying to recreate the speed and realism.

NASCAR Thunder, thankfully, is different. Since its debut a few years ago it has made fans out of nearly everyone. Last year, the game was so great that it didn’t matter to some people that it was indeed NASCAR, a sport relatively popular in the South and dreaded up North. This year, publisher EA Sports and developer Tiburon (also responsible for Madden and NCAA Football, just for the record) are hoping to capture the entire spectacle of NASCAR racing, with some incredibly realistic visuals, enhanced sounds, new gameplay additions, and much more.

Gentlemen, Start Your Engines!
Like previously mentioned, many new elements are being added to influence the NASCAR experience, as well as plenty of improvements. The most notable of those mentioned improvements is the enhances Career mode, where drivers can race up to 20 seasons of managing the team, sponsors, car construction, research and development, and naturally, racing itself. Sponsorship is undeniably an intuitive feature where you start off with lesser known sponsors gaining not that much money, and working your way up to the heavy companies like Home Depot, Lowe’s, and Interstate Batteries.

Winning lots of races, or at least modeling the racer after Terry Labonte (Mr. Consistency) would be an excellent start. In racing, winning is the ultimate goal. Nevertheless, as Terry Labonte showed several years ago, there are other methods to winning the championship. Top 5 finishes are a must, but Top 10’s aren’t that bad either. Throw in a few wins here and there to maintain a high position in the points and the championship is nearly won.

Any racer or fan can tell you the driver can be the best in the world, but without a team, he’s lost. The car also needs to be in tip-top shape. As the driver, buying a good crew chief is a must, as well as hiring the rest of the staff. Pit stops can win or ruin a race, and the latter can be avoidable by purchasing the best available. It’s also the responsibility of the crew to build the driver a car worthy of winning a race. Car upgrades can be bought as the career progresses.

The biggest addition is, of course, the online mode. Like all of EA Sports’ online compatible games, it is exclusive to the PlayStation 2. While it is still unclear on how many players can race at a time, and if any AI drivers will be included, the sheer presence of online NASCAR racing should attract a massive crowd, at least PS2 owners. We aren’t expecting a full 43-car field, but 10-20 player-controlled cars would be ideal. Any more would be insane.

Also new this year is Happy Hour, a form of practice in real life drivers use to test their car and see if they need to make any adjustments prior to the race on Sunday. It may sound miniscule, but for the players who can’t get enough of tuning their car, it’s a profound addition.

Much like Madden and the “Madden Cards”, Thunder has something similar called “Thunder Plates”, where rewards such as tracks, drivers, and even paint schemes can be earned. There are apparently 100 Thunder Plates to unlock, so gamers will be hooked for a while if they wish to fully complete the game. Still, what type of challenges must be completed to earn these plates are still up in the air, and nothing has been announced or revealed.

It’s Getting Dicey
New to the game this year is competitive and responsive AI. It might sound somewhat familiar to what Gran Turismo 3 was promising, where other drivers remember your every move and seek revenge later on. For the most part, the same concept is being utilized in Thunder, only it will in fact be used, unlike GT3, and the grudge can also carry to the next race. Watch who you mess with, is the only warning one can give. Players may end up being the next Tony Stewart, or a more mellow racer like Kyle Petty (for you old timers, you’ll realize the pun in “mellow”).

Trouble in Turn 3!
Thunder’s car physics have been under fire from angered players. Evidently the cars did not react as they should in the previous editions, creating rather predictable and unentertaining wrecks. Surely no one wants to see a driver die, or anything of that sort, but it is still exciting when a spectacular wreck occurs, whether in real life or in virtual reality. Not to displease their fans, EA and Tiburon are promising spectacular pileups with smoke, fire trails, and sparks, with even more flipping of the cars. Yee-ha!

The White Flag Is Out, Only One More Lap To Go!
The influence of Madden on Thunder is tremendous, and that isn’t a bad thing. Don’t expect drivers to get out of their car and tackle another driver to the ground, mind you, but some of the features are simply clichés of Madden’s. For instance, the Thunder Plates are nearly identical to the Madden Cards, or Pennants from NCAA. Nearly every EA game has this sort of feature, and it is beginning to seem a little redundant. Perhaps something new or different should be added to Thunder to make it stand out.

The NASCAR Thunder Speed Zone is very similar to the Mini Camp found in Madden. For those unintroduced, there are several mini games that help to improve the skills of the driver. Some of these mini games include passing, split-time challenges, the always important drafting, and even maintaining position. Hopefully there will be a “Race Situation” once you complete the task like on Madden.

Last year’s Daytona 500 winner Michael Waltrip, little brother of the legend Darrel Waltrip, will host the Lightning Challenge. There are 40 new challenges from last season that EA says will “help you relive some of the greatest moments in racing”. To be frank, last year didn’t contain that many great moments, so surely that is a typo. However, EA also says players can actually hear the real radio calls, which completely contradicts the theory of a typo. Take it however you want…

And The Checkered Flag Waves For…
The winner is still undeclared, sadly. For the most part, EA and Tiburon really don’t have any competition, but there’s always a chance they can shoot themselves in the foot. With over 70 drivers, 175 authentic car skins, all 23 NASCAR tracks and 11 fantasy, Thunder should be a great game. Currently it is on track to ship September 16th, and you can bet plenty of gamers will be at their local game store buying Thunder. We just hope the online and career mode will be astounding.

Preview by Brian Williams