After playing this game for two days here are my opinions.
GRAPHICS
Average to good.Holds its own with Burnout,but could have been much better.
The transparent smoke effects in Burnout are way better,but the acceleration
feel in the seat of NHRA kick ass.Trackside objects are about the same as
Burnout,replays with multiple camera angles look very good.There are 28 camera
angles plus the ability to move the view anywhere you want.Overall I don't feel
the graphic quality makes or breaks the game.
SOUND
YES! Something they did right.The engine idle rumble,the burnout,and the pass
all sound great cranked up.This definitely helps the feel of sitting surrounded
by huge horsepower.The one *** I have here is my stereo image is reveresed,no
option in the game to change it so I swap my speakers.
CONTROLS
As has been stated you cannot configure pedals to work,this is complete
bullshit.In beta testing this should have been the first thing fixed,no excuses
for this.The manual mentions setup for throttle and brake and it exist in the
wheel setup,with throttle and brake threshhold control,basically how far to
move your pedals for max response.This is a good idea if it was implemented,but
who knows WTF happened.Steering is fine,with sensitivity and scale
adjustment-how far you turn your wheel for lock-to-lock.The buttons work fine
and I had no problems adapting to this ,but give us the option to use our
ffffffing pedals.
GAMEPLAY
Even with the stated problems the game is fun as hell,with options to tune your
own car or have a crew chief do it for you.There is a season option,with points
and a racing budget tracked per event.You get awarded prize money and deducted
damage cost,with more severe crashes costing more.Track conditions change every
time you visit the same track,so setups are a constant tweek.Small changes are
noticeable and are reflected in your ETA's.The overall sense of speed
and control or lack of is excellent,many times I've struggled trying to get all
that HP to the ground and cross the line.Overall I keep coming back and playing
the game,so that says enough.
My system,P233 64m ram,voodoo 2,Altec Lansing ACS 48,TM Nascar Pro.
Anyone playing the game that wants to share setups,tips,strategy e-mail me.
Dave