Nascar 09 Preview (360)

Here's a disclaimer before I write this preview: I am not really a Nascar fan. The only info I get on the sport is what they put on Sportscenter and ESPN News. I don't know 99% of the drivers, and I don't understand most of the technique.  Therefore, I come in to this preview with a blank slate. I picked Jeff Gordan for my race at Daytona, just because I knew the name. What I found was a very playable, and  very beautiful racing game that I could really enjoy.

The race I participated in had me - after 20 practice laps and skipping qualifying - starting on the pole, which I took great advantage of, cruising to a large lead early. Now, I don't know if I'm just that bad, or if the AI is that rubbery, but I was soon caught up to in a matter of a few turns, which I took as tight a line on as I could. I spun out the first guy to pass me - on purpose, no less... I'm not a nice driver - and the caution pushed us ahead a few laps with me staying in the lead. The next caution came out when I got pinned between two cars and spun out. The resulting yellow flag found me at the back of the pack with two laps to go. I raced ahead - taking advantage of the visible slip stream, which I really like and is reminiscent of the recent Mario Kart games  - to slingshot myself back to the middle of the pack. I got as far up as 7th before I was forced into the infield whereupon I slipped back to 15th, where I finished.

The game is beautiful. I can't stress that enough. Not enough games take advantage of the 360's power, but this one does. The light play across the dash, the saftey cage rattling in the wind, the changing time of day, and even the winshield that gets scuffed up as you race is fantastic.  I will say that as a the sun set, the track got harder to race because it became increasingly hard to see the line I wanted to take.

In the end, I have high hopes for Nascar 09. Look for it on shelves in the coming months.

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