jaymoore
08-16-2004, 05:50 PM
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NASCAR 2005's objective is to deliver a more complete, more accessible experience players can relate to, get into, and become lost in. The first component of this new year's new game that will help the team at Tiburon achieve this end is Chase for the Cup. For the first time, NASCAR will climax.
Rarely has it happened in the past that the final race ever determined the season champion. Previously, a points system could determine who the top three drivers of the year are going to be weeks before the final lap even takes place. This is no longer the case. The Chase for the Cup ensures NASCAR culminates in one spectacular season ender. In the final race, the top ten drivers of the year (determined by 26 previous races) will all vie for the ultimate standing. The other competitors, still able to race, will try and rank for prize and endorsement, but only the champion of the top ten leaders will be crowned the single season winner. This is Chase for the Cup.
To say NASCAR 2005's "Chase" begins rather unconventionally is a serious understatement. After booting up the game and beginning the equivalent of the career mode for the first time, players will find themselves stopped at a red light. Moments later NASCAR pro Ryan Newman pulls up and a street race is on. Once you beat Ryan he'll be so impressed with your skill he'll invite you to run the occasional mod as part of one of his teams. This is where it really begins.
At a basic level, a player of NASCAR 2005 need only drive and win. But, to really experience the full crux of the game after weeks of scheduled events, the more experienced player will want to manage his team, hire and fire members of the pit crew, hire and fire drivers, configure cars, buy and build new ones, and overtake four series of races. Let's say for the sake of argument that you only want to race. If this is the case you'll appreciate all that was NASCAR 2004 and then you'll notice a few additions.
Sharp is Right
A sense of speed for the eyes...
Trackside detail has exploded. Because of this, so has the impression that we're riding rockets. The tar fills of Taladega's aged speedway seem totally natural -- the yellow-clad half-cops that protect the rail do, too. And, if you doubted the production quality Electronic Arts places into its games, the meticulously done skyboxes complete with eerily lifelike cloud formations that roll and separate will change your mind. This insane level of clutter and detail, when presented neatly across every inch of every track, flies by at such tremendous speeds it creates an illusion of ridiculously fast movement without ridiculous blur effects.
A sense of speed for the ears...
While it may take a scrutinizing eye to recognize the new level of visual quality presented this year, anyone with two functioning ears should be able to appreciate the new audio system. Last year's work was thrown out the window and newer, meaner, more positional, grander 5.1 native audio is being developed for Xbox, PlayStation 2, and GameCube. We also found it hard to believe until we shut our ears off to everything but the track. The oncoming doom of a 750 horsepower beehive about to lap you is just terrifying, but more subtle effects -- the sound bubble that envelops proper drafters and the shift in wind on a three-wide -- make the experience immensely more believable. Again, thank EA's panache for production quality and its insistence to professionally mic real racers during real races and pro drivers on closed circuits while pumping the direct fed audio onto high quality DVDs. The sound is really hard to quantify, other than simply stating, "It's how you'd think it should be."
June 25, 2004 - Kurt Busch is one of the most consistent drivers on the NASCAR circuit. You check the top ten on a weekly basis, and it's a surprise when you don't see Busch's name toward the top of the list, and that's really saying something considering the amount of drivers who qualify for each event.
June 25, 2004 - Kurt Busch is one of the most consistent drivers on the NASCAR circuit. You check the top ten on a weekly basis, and it's a surprise when you don't see Busch's name toward the top of the list, and that's really saying something considering the amount of drivers who qualify for each event.
But to other drivers on the track, Kurt Busch is also one of the most consistently frustrating racers to compete against. It seems like every other wreck someone is pointing the finger at the man in the black car, and he's been in his share of post-race confrontations because of it.
Where did he get this racing style from? Maybe it's all those laps Busch practices in the various racing video games.
At least if you crash on your PlayStation 2, you could always hit the reset button and start again…no harm, no foul, no damage to your car, and no pissed off rivals looking to take you out on the final lap.
IGN Sports caught up with Busch to ask him about how he sees himself as a driver, his favorite video games, and who he'd like to race on the streets. Here's what he had to say.
IGN Sports: You won the NASCAR 500 video game tournament last year. Are you a big gamer in your spare time?
Kurt Busch: I play every chance I get. It's a great way to break away. I started back in the days of Nintendo and now play my PlayStation 2. There was one game that Nintendo had, though, Days of Thunder. That was the game. It was really difficult to win a race but you keep racing and racing and racing, then at the end of the year, the points leader drops out and then you're the new points leader and all you have to do is run the 500. I played that game endlessly.
IGN Sports: In the new NASCAR game, NASCAR 2005: Chase for the Cup, you start a career in the Modified series, work your way up through trucks all the way up to Nextel. What was your career path like to get to where you are today?
Kurt Busch: That's probably the coolest part about our sport. There's really no direct way to get to the top. You can try different racing leagues here or there, whatever part of the country you grow up in, that really determines the types of cars that you race. So now it's in the game where you really don't want to slip even one race because you think the owner might not pick you up because you don't have the perfect record. That's why you have to win in the game. That's your own little stat, your own little feather in your cap. Anytime you can finish top five, top ten, that makes the game that much cooler. But that's one thing that's very similar to how we do it in real life because you run in different racing divisions to gain experience. It's not just the experience that helps, but it's the ability to show that you can win. You need to keep moving up through the ranks. Street Stock was the first really heavy car that I ran, then I jumped up into Late Models in the Southwest Series cars where you travel around to the different tracks. So you go from the local level to the regional level to the national level.
IGN Sports: Last year the game introduced Grudges and Alliances into the mix. This year they actually have an Intimidator button where you draft behind another car and attempt to intimidate him out of the way. Do you see yourself as an intimidator out on the course in real life?
Kurt Busch: That would be cool, to press a button and move them out of your way. [laughs] I guess part of that game, they're trying to bring in a new element so the kids can enjoy more of what the drivers do, get that behind-the-wheel experience. Out on the track, you've got to have that keen sense to know how to get by someone. You're not going to get by someone by just intimidating them. Last year I was voted the guy least likely you want in your rear-view mirror. There are a lot of guys out on the track, I'm just trying to get out to the front.
IGN Sports: Do you see yourself as a hero or a villain out there on the track?
Kurt Busch: Probably the best of both worlds. [laughs] I race hard out there on the race track, but then I try to do things that are positive for the sport off of the race track as well. So a little bit of both.
IGN Sports: What kind of cars do you like to ride in outside of the track?
Kurt Busch: I've got a Roush Stage 3 Mustang that's probably the coolest thing in terms of handling and horse power. I've also got an F-150 if anyone wants to do a truck race.
IGN Sports: So if you're on your way to the grocery store and could have anyone pull up next to you to challenge to a race out on the streets, who would you want to race?
Kurt Busch: Probably Dale Jr. I know he'd lay it on thick and try to get to that grocery store first. I just hope I could get the goods before he does. [laughs] I think I could take him
http://ps2media.ign.com/ps2/image/article/537/537946/nascar-2005-chase-for-the-cup-20040811023644201.jpg
http://sportsmedia.ign.com/sports/image/article/529/529510/nascar-2005-media-20040709050924530.jpg
http://ps2media.ign.com/ps2/image/article/537/537946/nascar-2005-chase-for-the-cup-20040811023644592.jpg
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http://ps2media.ign.com/ps2/image/article/537/537946/nascar-2005-chase-for-the-cup-20040811023646623.jpg
http://ps2media.ign.com/ps2/image/article/537/537946/nascar-2005-chase-for-the-cup-20040811023645623.jpg
NASCAR 2005's objective is to deliver a more complete, more accessible experience players can relate to, get into, and become lost in. The first component of this new year's new game that will help the team at Tiburon achieve this end is Chase for the Cup. For the first time, NASCAR will climax.
Rarely has it happened in the past that the final race ever determined the season champion. Previously, a points system could determine who the top three drivers of the year are going to be weeks before the final lap even takes place. This is no longer the case. The Chase for the Cup ensures NASCAR culminates in one spectacular season ender. In the final race, the top ten drivers of the year (determined by 26 previous races) will all vie for the ultimate standing. The other competitors, still able to race, will try and rank for prize and endorsement, but only the champion of the top ten leaders will be crowned the single season winner. This is Chase for the Cup.
To say NASCAR 2005's "Chase" begins rather unconventionally is a serious understatement. After booting up the game and beginning the equivalent of the career mode for the first time, players will find themselves stopped at a red light. Moments later NASCAR pro Ryan Newman pulls up and a street race is on. Once you beat Ryan he'll be so impressed with your skill he'll invite you to run the occasional mod as part of one of his teams. This is where it really begins.
At a basic level, a player of NASCAR 2005 need only drive and win. But, to really experience the full crux of the game after weeks of scheduled events, the more experienced player will want to manage his team, hire and fire members of the pit crew, hire and fire drivers, configure cars, buy and build new ones, and overtake four series of races. Let's say for the sake of argument that you only want to race. If this is the case you'll appreciate all that was NASCAR 2004 and then you'll notice a few additions.
Sharp is Right
A sense of speed for the eyes...
Trackside detail has exploded. Because of this, so has the impression that we're riding rockets. The tar fills of Taladega's aged speedway seem totally natural -- the yellow-clad half-cops that protect the rail do, too. And, if you doubted the production quality Electronic Arts places into its games, the meticulously done skyboxes complete with eerily lifelike cloud formations that roll and separate will change your mind. This insane level of clutter and detail, when presented neatly across every inch of every track, flies by at such tremendous speeds it creates an illusion of ridiculously fast movement without ridiculous blur effects.
A sense of speed for the ears...
While it may take a scrutinizing eye to recognize the new level of visual quality presented this year, anyone with two functioning ears should be able to appreciate the new audio system. Last year's work was thrown out the window and newer, meaner, more positional, grander 5.1 native audio is being developed for Xbox, PlayStation 2, and GameCube. We also found it hard to believe until we shut our ears off to everything but the track. The oncoming doom of a 750 horsepower beehive about to lap you is just terrifying, but more subtle effects -- the sound bubble that envelops proper drafters and the shift in wind on a three-wide -- make the experience immensely more believable. Again, thank EA's panache for production quality and its insistence to professionally mic real racers during real races and pro drivers on closed circuits while pumping the direct fed audio onto high quality DVDs. The sound is really hard to quantify, other than simply stating, "It's how you'd think it should be."
June 25, 2004 - Kurt Busch is one of the most consistent drivers on the NASCAR circuit. You check the top ten on a weekly basis, and it's a surprise when you don't see Busch's name toward the top of the list, and that's really saying something considering the amount of drivers who qualify for each event.
June 25, 2004 - Kurt Busch is one of the most consistent drivers on the NASCAR circuit. You check the top ten on a weekly basis, and it's a surprise when you don't see Busch's name toward the top of the list, and that's really saying something considering the amount of drivers who qualify for each event.
But to other drivers on the track, Kurt Busch is also one of the most consistently frustrating racers to compete against. It seems like every other wreck someone is pointing the finger at the man in the black car, and he's been in his share of post-race confrontations because of it.
Where did he get this racing style from? Maybe it's all those laps Busch practices in the various racing video games.
At least if you crash on your PlayStation 2, you could always hit the reset button and start again…no harm, no foul, no damage to your car, and no pissed off rivals looking to take you out on the final lap.
IGN Sports caught up with Busch to ask him about how he sees himself as a driver, his favorite video games, and who he'd like to race on the streets. Here's what he had to say.
IGN Sports: You won the NASCAR 500 video game tournament last year. Are you a big gamer in your spare time?
Kurt Busch: I play every chance I get. It's a great way to break away. I started back in the days of Nintendo and now play my PlayStation 2. There was one game that Nintendo had, though, Days of Thunder. That was the game. It was really difficult to win a race but you keep racing and racing and racing, then at the end of the year, the points leader drops out and then you're the new points leader and all you have to do is run the 500. I played that game endlessly.
IGN Sports: In the new NASCAR game, NASCAR 2005: Chase for the Cup, you start a career in the Modified series, work your way up through trucks all the way up to Nextel. What was your career path like to get to where you are today?
Kurt Busch: That's probably the coolest part about our sport. There's really no direct way to get to the top. You can try different racing leagues here or there, whatever part of the country you grow up in, that really determines the types of cars that you race. So now it's in the game where you really don't want to slip even one race because you think the owner might not pick you up because you don't have the perfect record. That's why you have to win in the game. That's your own little stat, your own little feather in your cap. Anytime you can finish top five, top ten, that makes the game that much cooler. But that's one thing that's very similar to how we do it in real life because you run in different racing divisions to gain experience. It's not just the experience that helps, but it's the ability to show that you can win. You need to keep moving up through the ranks. Street Stock was the first really heavy car that I ran, then I jumped up into Late Models in the Southwest Series cars where you travel around to the different tracks. So you go from the local level to the regional level to the national level.
IGN Sports: Last year the game introduced Grudges and Alliances into the mix. This year they actually have an Intimidator button where you draft behind another car and attempt to intimidate him out of the way. Do you see yourself as an intimidator out on the course in real life?
Kurt Busch: That would be cool, to press a button and move them out of your way. [laughs] I guess part of that game, they're trying to bring in a new element so the kids can enjoy more of what the drivers do, get that behind-the-wheel experience. Out on the track, you've got to have that keen sense to know how to get by someone. You're not going to get by someone by just intimidating them. Last year I was voted the guy least likely you want in your rear-view mirror. There are a lot of guys out on the track, I'm just trying to get out to the front.
IGN Sports: Do you see yourself as a hero or a villain out there on the track?
Kurt Busch: Probably the best of both worlds. [laughs] I race hard out there on the race track, but then I try to do things that are positive for the sport off of the race track as well. So a little bit of both.
IGN Sports: What kind of cars do you like to ride in outside of the track?
Kurt Busch: I've got a Roush Stage 3 Mustang that's probably the coolest thing in terms of handling and horse power. I've also got an F-150 if anyone wants to do a truck race.
IGN Sports: So if you're on your way to the grocery store and could have anyone pull up next to you to challenge to a race out on the streets, who would you want to race?
Kurt Busch: Probably Dale Jr. I know he'd lay it on thick and try to get to that grocery store first. I just hope I could get the goods before he does. [laughs] I think I could take him