However,
the advent of the beta patch has undoubtedly brought about some very
worthwhile, and indeed necessary improvements, most notably in the area of
game speed, which when using the bumper view is as awesome as any game I've
played, including TOCA2.
I would even go so far as to say that it is tons better than Nascar 1999 in
the following areas:-
- Vastly superior game presentation
- The game speed is altogether more convincing
- The cars bounce all over the place at appropriate points on the tracks,
e.g. turn three at Talladega
- The cars themselves look incredible
- The game can run superbly using Direct 3D, therefore opening it up to a
wider audience
- The tracks are very wide and narrow as in real life, unlike the Papyrus
game which arguably has
unrealistically-narrow circuits
- You can actually turn your car over, but the really neat thing is that the
car physics are quite accurate and it is
some time before this happens to you. I believe Nascar 3 will be offering
this important feature.
- Your car is driven by the computer during yellow cautions, giving you a
welcome breather in a long race
(Okay I know a "real" sim wouldn't do this, but who can deny that driving
in caution periods in N99 is harder
than at full racing pelt?)
- The shading and lighting effects add superb atmosphere
In saying the above I acknowledge that the game is not without its faults,
as we all know. The new patch has failed to adequately address the following
major bozos:-
- Unacceptable scenery pop-up on some circuits
- Opponent AI is still far too aggressive
- No save game facility except during pit-stops
The main disappointment with this game is that, in common with almost every
PC title these days, it was released too damn early. A lot of people have
been told the game is mediocre and formed a negative opinion and rightly so
because it didn't play half as well before the patch was introduced.
If this game proves to be a flop, EA has only itself to blame for being too
trigger happy with the release button.
For myself, I doubt that I will be so full of praise for Papyrus games in
the future. Ot at least until Nascar 3 arrives.