NASCAR 99
Reviewed by Scott McCall
Although some might contend NASCAR (National Association for
Stock Car Auto Racing) is America's most popular sport, one
would be hard-pressed to say that. One could say NASCAR is
America's fastest-growing sport, though. A testament to the
sport's incredible popularity is that NASCAR 98 on the
PlayStation was the 18th best-selling game of 1997 on any
system with over 600,000 copies sold and was undoubtedly
fueled by many of the system's older and more casual
gamers. Now EA Sports has decided to bring NASCAR 99 to
the N64, and it even came out a few weeks before the PSX version.
I could start off my review with a rant, questioning how
so many could enjoy watching cars go around and around a
circle 200 times. But I will respect other people's opinions
to enjoy the fender-to-fender action of NASCAR. However, I
believe you can trust my consideration and listing of facts
for what others might think. And, of course, I will mention
once again how I'm not a realistic fan of racing games,
although I should note that NASCAR 99 is much easier to get
into than F-1 World Grand Prix.
First of all, let's discuss the control. It's pretty easy to pick
up NASCAR 99, especially compared to racing games with all
these complicated techniques nowadays. The A button
accelerates, the B button is brake, Bottom C changes views,
Left C toggles HUD displays, and the L/Z and R buttons
downshift and upshift. And you have your choice between using
the Control Pad and Control Stick. Here are two miscellaneous
notes about the control: One, you have to get used to tapping
the brake going into bends. Two, the actual "feel" of the control
is great, particularly the feel of downforce and speed.
The real plus of NASCAR 99 is the options. Here are the
Game Options: You can configure the controller, you can
toggle the music and sound effect volumes, you can switch
between stereo and mono, and you can turn commentary, split
time display, and best line on or off. Now let's take a look at
the NASCAR Options: race length, which can be changed from
3% to 100% of the actual number of laps (3% would be anywhere
from two to ten laps); damage, which can be switched between
limited (auto repairs after a few seconds), off (no damage
whatsoever), and on (perpetual damage for each race that can
make a car undrivable; not available in the two-player mode);
equipment breakdown, which gives you the possibility of
mechanical failure if damage is turned on; yellow flags, which
require you to slow down and hold your position, can be turned
on or off; the choice between MPH and km/h; speed comp., which
enables catch-up logic in the two-player mode; and computer
cars, which can turn computer competition on or off in the
one-or two-player modes.
Think that's it? Not yet. NASCAR 99 lets you play around with
the Physics and AI Settings, too. EA Sports has said that it
purposely designed the N64 version of NASCAR 99 to have a
more "arcade-like" feel than the PlayStation version. Don't
fret if you want realism, though, because you can choose
arcade, simulation, or custom settings. If you decide to go
with a custom setting, you can change percentages from the
following: opponent strength (overall performance levels),
drafting effect (wake of air created by the car in front of
you so you don't have to expend fuel and power cutting through
the air), horsepower (increase or decrease your car's output),
car balance effect (reduce for loose running, increase for a
tighter suspension), and speed sensitive steering (set low for
easy steering at any speed, high for difficult steering at high speeds).
There are several gameplay options to choose from in NASCAR 99.
You can play a Quick Race with current NASCAR options and can
randomly choose a driver and track by pressing the R button. You
can choose a Single Race, which gives you all the options you
need for a weekend race at a NASCAR track. This also contains
NASCAR 99's two-player mode. And there's actually computer
competition in the two-player mode! You and your friend can
race against six CPU cars for a total of eight on the track at
once. The Championship mode (only for one player) is the heart
and soul of NASCAR 99. It follows NASCAR's scoring system and
even lets you build a career made up of multiple seasons. There
are a total of 20 cars on the track, too. Driver & Car Info lets you
read about the current NASCAR cars and drivers. This is one area
that is much, much better on the CD-ROM format. The still
pictures and text just don't cut it. Game Options have already
been discussed in detail. Track Records shows all of the records
in the game. You acquire them in a one-player single race. Last
but not least is the Credits option, which has scrolling text to
show the companies who produced the game (EA and High Score
Productions) and the company who ported the game to the
N64 (Stormfront Studios).
Much like the recent F-1 World Grand Prix, NASCAR 99 is a
very faithful representation of its sport, as evidenced by the
numerous options you can adjust. But it goes even further. First
of all, there are 37 NASCAR cars and drivers, including some
NASCAR legends to commemorate its 50th anniversary. They
are hidden in the game and can be unlocked in the Season mode
as long as you race at least 50% of the laps and finish in the top
five on certain tracks. Second, all 17 actual tracks are included,
including the two "road" tracks. Third, like in real life, you'll find
night racing at Charlotte, Bristol, and Richmond. Fourth, there
are comprehensive pit strategies.
You also have complete control over you car setup. You literally
have to tweak your car's performance before each race. What's
nice is that you can tweak your car, pick practice and race
around the track, come back and tweak it some more, go back
and try out your settings again, and so on until you got something
you want. First, you can choose your transmission -- automatic or
manual. Then you can tweak the rear spoiler (increasing downforce
makes it easier to hold a line through turns but reduces top speed),
wedge (stabilizes car's suspension; you increase it as banking
increases to distribute the weight to the corner of the car doing
the most work), tire pressure (increasing it increases your handling
but tire wear is greater), and gear ratios (low ratios increase
acceleration, high ratios increase top speed). There's a little
performance bar graph at the bottom of the screen that shows
you how top speed, acceleration, handling, and pit distance are
affected as you make changes.
Graphically, NASCAR 99 consists of trade-offs. The game moves
quickly enough, there are 20 high-res cars on the track in the
Championship mode, there is a good two-player mode with eight
cars on the track, there are tire skidmarks that can be left
behind, smoking cars can blind you for a second, and the cars
take damage with parts flying all of the place. On the downside,
the track and surroundings look quite low-res and blurry, there
is a fair amount of pop-up in the distance, and overall, there aren't
as many cars on the track and it doesn't look as good as NASCAR 99
on the PlayStation. The game doesn't look as bad as a first-generation
game, but it isn't up to par with some of the second-generation N64
games now available.
Aurally, NASCAR 99 is also a mixed bag. Here's another example in
this game where the expanded CD-ROM format would have noticeably
helped. There are, amazingly enough, MIDI renditions of Stevie Ray
Vaughan's "Scuttle Buttin'" and Joe Satriani's "Surfin' with the Alien."
And even more amazingly enough, the music in the game (both those
two songs and the original music) is in full stereo sound. Of course,
there had to be a catch: The quality isn't very good with extreme
muffling. I must say that it sounds better in stereo than mono,
though. Additionally, there is race analysis and color commentary
by Bob Jenkins and Benny Parsons that can get repetitive quickly
("Man, oh man!"). There's also crew chief and spotter audio assistance.
Furthermore, all of the other car sound effects are good.
NASCAR 99 on the N64 is all about gameplay. The presentation
isn't as impressive as the PlayStation version or as the N64's F-1
World Grand Prix. What NASCAR 99 does bring to the table, however,
is a realistic, addictive, intense racing experience -- with a
rewarding learning curve -- that can be tailor-made to the tastes
of any racing fan. Moreover, NASCAR 99 is a realistic N64 racing
game that actually has a good two-player mode with plenty of
computer competition. So if the N64 is your main gaming platform,
and if you're itching for a more realistic racing game, don't
hesitate to get NASCAR 99. It has more than enough options,
drivers, tracks, technique, and challenge to satisfy any racing fan.
Graphics: 3.7 out of 5
Sound: 3.6 out of 5
Control: 4.2 out of 5
Gameplay: 4.4 out of 5
Lastability: 4.6 out of 5
Overall: 4.0 out of 5