NASCAR 09 demo puts the pedal down

by Richard Mitchell { May 29th 2008 at 5:00PM }

Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines. A demo for NASCAR 09 has landed on the Xbox Live Marketplace. Weighing in at 598MB, the demo promises to let gamers "take on NASCAR's biggest stars" on two of the game's 22 tracks. NASCAR fans should check it out. Those out there who aren't NASCAR should note that driving in excess of 100 miles per hour can get you arrested in real life, so you might as well give the demo a shot. Also, you can pretend you're Will Ferrell in Talladega Nights.

Tags: ea, electronic-arts, nascar, nascar-09

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

victor360hd @ May 29th 2008 5:05PM

Great Game I cant wait for buy nascar09

intRvenous @ May 29th 2008 5:23PM

Pleeease be better than '08... I mean, that's not asking much.

NASCAR Thunder '04 was a superb game. Great blend of sim and racer. Deep career mode, customization, great graphics (for the time).

...any other fans...(willing to admit they're fans)?

j0ewats0n @ May 29th 2008 5:37PM

wtf is nascar? no skill involved race round a friggin oval ! my nan can do better than that.

intRvenous @ May 29th 2008 5:57PM

@j0ewats0n

I used to hate-on NASCAR. Bunch o' rednecks turning left. Hmmmm...let's review:

43 800bhp cars racing a few inches apart at 180mph for 500 miles (3-4 hours.) Indurance, nerve, meticulous strategy for pits, position, teamwork. Yep - sounds like no skill at all.

You can't begin to imagine how hard it is to keep 800 hp cars on a clean line with the wind-shear of the other cars throwing you around.

I love all motorsport (on asphalt anyway) - F1, Indy, MotoGP. But tell me this - why do so many road-course and open-wheel drivers fail at NASCAR? Because these are the toughest cars to drive in the world. It may take more skill to drive a road course for individual laps, but there's far less room for error on an oval for 3+ hours.

And for the redneck stigma - not any more. Many are from the Northeast, California and overseas. The sport has evolved dramatically and it's time people stop dissing it.

Vcize @ May 29th 2008 6:44PM

Well said intRvenous

AoE @ May 29th 2008 10:53PM

@intRvenous,

I live in California, and I hate to tell you, but we've got plenty of rednecks here... Central California is downright full of them.

JBurton @ May 29th 2008 6:17PM

If people would just watch NASCAR they would see that there is skill involved and that its not a bunch or rednecks. Old and outdated stereotypes FTL.

AoE @ May 29th 2008 10:54PM

I think the stereotype is more that the FANS are rednecks, not the drivers...

Big Filth @ May 29th 2008 7:13PM

rednecks FTW!

+++volume+++ @ May 29th 2008 7:40PM

I love the people who know literally next to nothing about the sport. Anyways I'm excited for this game, it's looked good, but I'll have to wait and see how it's reviewed.

jaybird1905 @ May 30th 2008 9:23AM

Drive fast.

Win.

Did I get everything?

harry @ May 29th 2008 9:29PM

I don't like it. Just tried it earlier and I crashed into a wall to test the damage on the car. The crash must of been pretty hard cause it crashed my 360. The whole screen froze and turned white. Turned of the 360 and deleted the demo right away.

JD @ May 29th 2008 9:58PM

seems to be better than the last one as far as handling. but really it could not have gotten any worse.

intRvenous @ May 30th 2008 12:51AM

Just tried the demo - graphics are amazing on Lowe's (nighttime track).

I'm impressed with the immersion. The physics are certainly a challenge - maybe not realistic, but this installment leans more sim than arcade - which is good IMO. If you go into the car setup menu and opt for more downforce (handling over speed) it's a little easier to get used to.

Oh - I certainly didn't want to offend any rednecks;-) The sport would be boring if it ever lost the tradin' paint, drive-it-like-you-stole-it attitude. That's what separates it from Indy ;-)

Adam S @ May 30th 2008 2:54AM

I've been playing a lot of Forza lately so I'm looking for more of a sim style physics with arcade style fun (don't know it that's possible), but I can't get the difficulty high enough so the other drivers will drive fast at Daytona. I can just drive past them on the back stretch without drafting. I want to have to do strategy and drafting to get past them, not going to the side and driving past by myself.

intRvenous @ May 30th 2008 10:25AM

@Adam S,

I think the difficulty is very easy in the demo - I mean, I got the Pole at Lowe's on my first try and that was after grazing the wall a few times.

The full-version should will allow you to crank-up the AI for a good challenge. Prior releases have had a wide range of difficulty settings including AI, the effect of damage on handling and even the % chance of mechanical failure ;-)

Pete @ Jun 6th 2008 5:38AM

Why yes, the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is the best.
Anyone ever played Dirt to Daytona for Gamecube?
Yeah, its old, but it's one of the best NASCAR games.