Eutechnyx has made several NASCAR games in years past and NASCAR ’14 is the latest entry into the series which is published by Deep Silver this time around. The past versions Eutechnyx put out felt a lot like iterations on their previous games and NASCAR ’14 aims to be more than that but can the latest title get past iteration?
While NASCAR ’14 isn’t just another iterative rehash of 2012’s NASCAR The Game: Inside Line, it does not completely recreate the series and push it past a new milestone. NASCAR ’14 shows some good progress with several improvements but also continues to have flaws that keep the game from being more than just good.
The feeling and emotions of NASCAR as a sport are portrayed pretty well but still feel a bit more sterile than I would like. The game has the usual modes you would expect from the series at this point with Career, Season, Single Race and the Challenges based on what happens in the real NASCAR season which is one of the cooler parts of the series. I like NASCAR as a motorsport, it is exciting and much different from Formula 1 or Rally Racing in just about every way and I can appreciate it on that basis but NASCAR ’14 comes short of representing it to its fullest. NASCAR is filled with emotions and nuances that aren’t coming across as well as the should.
Still, NASCAR ’14 is an enjoyable experience for fans of the series and racing in general and looks great on PS3 and PC where I played it. I still l love setting up my car, get out on the practice sessions and qualify for a massive race at Daytona or the Atlanta Super Speedway as I progress through the season where I can improve my car and add sponsors. NASCAR ’14 will put you side by side with the likes of Dale Jr or Jimmie Johnson going at 200 MPH down the straightaway at three wide. NASCAR ’14 has the many different camera views and driving in the roof cam view we know from TV or from the cockpit with a racing wheel can be as exhilarating as you like but there are some downsides.
Some of the most important parts of real world NASCAR racing is strategy and maximizing your track position which is something NASCAR ’14 tries to do better than in previous games but it just isn’t working well enough. Drivers will now be much more invasive and aggressive when it comes to exploiting a gap that you left open for just too long but at the same time this is a problem. When you close the gap the AI will still end up hitting you and ruining your race unless you use the rewind feature which is a nice frustration remedy. However, when NASCAR ’14 is at its best you will be drafting for laps with team mates making your way past the pack. It can really feel like a NASCAR race.
The other problem I see with the new game from Eutechnyx is the pit strategy which still isn’t up to snuff in NASCAR ’14. AI drivers have some remaining issues when entering pits or how to properly execute a good tire or fuel strategy, especially on short races which you end up doing a lot more if you want to see a season through to the end – 500 mile races can be quite long and we don’t have time to run a realistic length season. This may not be an issue for you if you are not a NASCAR die hard though.
One of the bigger improvements is the online multiplayer. NASCAR ’14 boasts a 16 player online experience where most players will actually try to have a decent race without crashing into other drivers for no reason. NASCAR’ 14 will have online racing fans create customer races and keep track of standings with online seasons which is a nice addition in this year’s game.
NASCAR ’14 had potential to be more than it ended up being – an improvement of the past game but not a revelation or a love letter to the sport. I am a sucker for racing games and Eutechnyx has made a good one here but I think it just falls short of being the NASCAR game we all wanted to play.
Score 7.5 / 10
NASCAR ’14 was developed by Eutechnyx and published by Deep Silver for PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 on February 18th. Retail copies of the PS3 and PC versions were provided to us by Deep Silver for reviewing purposes.
