Nascar Thunder 2003 Critic Reviews

The experience of NASCAR Thunder 2003 can be summed up in four words...replayability, challenge, realism, and FUN!

Truly the best NASCAR package for console racing fans. Regardless of your console, NASCAR gamers need look no further.

Blows the doors off anything that came before it.

The most remarkable new feature, though, is the cavernous Career mode.

Thunder 2003 takes last year's game and blows the doors off it.

Off the track, the game is a revelation.

A deep and gameplay-packed treat for fans of racing whether they are looking for casual play or a more serious racing sim.

The balance between pleasing hardcore gamers while pleasing Joe Gamer is astounding.

The user-friendly controls and interface along with an absolutely splendid presentation really helped draw me in.

The most important aspect of playing this game is the technique – just driving in the correct lines is dreadfully difficult not to mention maintaining a straight line is dicey at best.

The create a driver mode is well executed, and is yet another way in which you can expand the replay value. The best NASCAR game available on the PS2, and one of the best racing games overall.

From the first few notes of Steppenwolf's “Magic Carpet Ride” to the victory lap at the end of the season, NASCAR Thunder 2003 proves to be the most enjoyable NASCAR racing game yet on any console.

It still manages to finish as the best stock car racer you're likely to find on a home console.

Even someone like me, a NASCAR illiterate, has to profess amazement at how much fun running around in circles trying to beat 43 other drivers can be.

It does pretty much everything a yearly sports update needs to do to be a success: It improves on features that previously were lacking, and it brings some new additions into the mix as well.

Packed with nuances that, for aspiring fans and drivers must really float their Skoal. Drafting, line selection, pitting...this is a great simulation covering 20 seasons. Not for me.