NASCAR 09 Critic Reviews

NASCAR 2009 is a no-brainer purchase for fans of the sport, but also offers a high quality experience that any racing fan can enjoy.

Even if you’ve never owned a Budweiser jacket, NASCAR 09’s slick physics and engaging new racing options - including some addictive Sprint mini-challenges and absolutely seamless 14-player action on Live - will have you burning donuts in Victory Lane in record time.

Consider NASCAR 09 the official ship-righting title for EA Sports stock-car franchise. First and foremost, NASCAR 09 is adept at entertaining a much winder audience than in the past. NASCAR 09 also looks and sounds better than any of its predecessors and comes equipped with more standard gameplay modes.

The action is intense, the off-track duties are compelling, and the overall game is rewarding. And it's definitely one of the first 360 racing titles to prove the standard Xbox gamepad is capable of accurately controlling this level of subtle-yet-complex driving. For that alone, EA should be congratulated.

Despite the improvements made to this year’s title – including a noticeable bump in graphical quality – it still doesn’t have all the corners dialed in yet. AI cars take better racing lines than in 08, but they still don’t show near enough variety or smarts to pit at different times, take rim-riding race lines, or avoid plowing into each other during a caution.

It has plenty of star power and lots of different ways to play. However, it doesn't really have much in the way of innovative automotive gameplay, which really hinders it from being a must-own title.

Players who were burned by last year's NASCAR game should feel quite a bit better with 09. Although I personally miss the "Total Team Control" feature from a couple of years back, the new Rep and Career mode is compelling enough to keep you coming back for more. Solid graphics, solid racing, solid features.

Tiburon didn’t do any skimping this season; each aspect of the game is tight as a drum. NASCAR 09 easily trumps its predecessors as the best of this generation.

Quite how they've managed to take such a nice, concept-limited sport such as NASCAR and transformed it into a highly immersing videogame is unimaginable, but while this year's handling models and Sprint Driver Challenge mode will open its doors to newcomers and veterans alike, it's safe to say that NASCAR 09 remains a NASCAR fan favourite due to the nature of the sport.

Yes, there are still some big licensing issues, and the AI still makes the same odd, boneheaded moves, but overall, NASCAR 09 is extremely playable, and should satisfy console gear heads looking to climb the ranks and make the chase.

NASCAR 09 is far better game than last year’s...but it still a long, long way from what we’ve seen in "NASCAR 06," which I still think was and still the best NASCAR game ever.

Finally a game for NASCAR fans to enjoy while still being accessible to new players.

NASCAR 09 adds some notable additions such as Rep points and the Sprint Driver Challenge mode, but the core gameplay has not changed much at all.

NASCAR 09 doesn't change the pace of the popular motor sport racing series. However, EA Sports deserves praise for the inclusion of two handling styles, Pro and Normal, which make the game more playable than previous releases.

NASCAR 09 isn't going to set tills on fire in the UK, but it's a solid racing game that offers something a little different to the likes of GT, Forza, PGR and GRID. It's not the most exciting of games to look at, but in the middle of the hustle and bustle of a race you need to be on your game if you're going to succeed.

If you’re looking for something to play one weekend, and you’re in a racing kind of mood, definitely give this a look. I wouldn’t commit more than a weekend to it though. Why should you?

NASCAR 09 isn't a tremendous step forward for the series, but it's a solid effort.

I can now safely say that I've started to see the attraction of NASCAR.

As NASCAR games go this is a mixed bag, fun to play and race, but terrible to look at.

There's little reason anyone but a NASCAR fan will buy this game when there's things like GRID, Forza, Gran Tourismo and so forth flying about.