NASCAR 2005: Chase For The Cup lets you feel the action, on and off the track. Develop your racing skills and intimidate your rivals -- then watch as fans react to the drama. Become a superstar owner or driver in Fight To The Top Mode, and become the top driver that NASCAR teams are looking for. Chase For The Cup is a thrilling 10-race championship shootout involving the new NASCAR point system, for all-new chances to show the owners and sponsors what you can do. New Create-A-Driver puts you inside the world of NASCAR -- create your own team colors and designs, customize your body and racing gear Go up against 4 different racers at once, for a new level of online racing
Features:
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Win over the crowd -- the choices you make will define your driver's popularity, which affects your merchandise sales(and your budget)
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Earn Skill Points and enhance your racer abilities through accomplishments in multiple game modes
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Try your hand at the NASCAR Busch Series, NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, and Featherlite Modified Series
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Settle bitter rivalries with other NASCAR drivers, with street races in American muscle cars
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Your driver can be a hero or villain - the Intimidator Button lets you pull off moves that lead to post-race confrontations
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12 of 12 found the following review helpful:
Could've Been BetterSep 27, 2004
By Team Noodles This year's game brought some really interesting stuff to the table. You start the game by racing against Ryan Newman in a street race. You, then, create your own profile. The game includes the Alliance/Rivalry feature from last year's game. You can build alliances with drivers by sharing your draft with them, and in THIS year's game, you can take it one step further with the intimidator feature. Using this feature, you can now get right up behind another driver, and in many cases, cause them to lose control of their car.
The way Thunder Plates are unlocked is great. In previous games, Thunder Plates were unlocked (at random) by simply completing Lightning Challenges. This year, you can actually BUY Thunder Plates. Thunder Plates are purchased with skill points. You earn skill points by accomplishing certain tasks (such as making 5 allies in one race or making 5 rivals in one race), or by playing Lightning Challenges. You can also earn skill points by simply racing. You get 5 points for every second you lead the race, 7 for every second you're sharing your draft with another driver, 7 when you're intimidating another driver, 12 for every time you make a clean pass, and even more if you start out farther back in the pack and make it into the top 5 and, of course, 1st place.
The game also includes last year's Speedzone Challenge. This mode is great for brushing up on your various skills. The different challenges include drafting, passing, blocking, and more.
In addition to Nextel Cup racing, you will find the Craftsman Truck series, Busch series (referred to as "NASCAR National series"), and even the Modified series. The game also includes production cars and allows for some street racing.
There are also fantasy road courses in the game from last year. The Docks, Devil's Canyon, and New York are just a few.
The controls for NASCAR 2005 are also a lot smoother and more forgiving. It almost seemed as though in last year's game, one would find themselves very dependent on driving assists. In this year's game, making mistakes won't cost you the race.
Graphically, 2005 is overall impressive. The framerate is, however, more varied. Going down the back stretch, you will find the framerate is very solid, and very smooth (even when the rear view mirror is on). Going into the turns and a few other random spots, you will find the framerate drops drastically. Also, reviving one feature from Thunder 2002, when you start a night race, you will see the sun setting in an orange sky. By the end of the race, even on 8%, you will see the sky is totally dark.
Now, the bad news and the reason I give the game 4 stars instead of 5. If I could, I would actually give this game 3.5 stars. Anyway, NASCAR 2005 is missing quite a few drivers. Even in the Nextel series, Jeremy Mayfield and Ken Schrader are missing! Pocono Raceway is missing! As mentioned by someone else, there are several Busch and Craftsman drivers missing. That truly takes something away from the game. Another thing is the ability to create a new car and create a name for each driver of each created car. Whatever info you use to create your profile in Fight to the Top mode will be the info applied to every car you create.
Overall, this year's game isn't bad. With all the extra modes, the game's playability will stay longer. However, hardcore NASCAR fans will be disappointed to see drivers and tracks missing.
7 of 8 found the following review helpful:
EA on right track....next year should be betterSep 14, 2004
By Keithjb128
"KJ"
Since nobody has come out and gotten a real in depth review of this game i figured i would....First off i couldn't wait till this game came out....I waited and waited and when it finally came out i was the first one in line to buy it when Target opened thursday morning...I brought the game home and discovered a few things as follows (bad stuff first):
First, the field may have expanded but there is a noticable lack of licensed nascar drivers that turn the game sour from the start. Where's Jeremy Mayfield? or Kenny Schrader? Those where the first that i noticed. But in the Busch series there are a slew of missing drivers (Jason Leffler being the most notciable) and as well in the trucks (Ted Musgrave?)
Second, EA hit it right on with the fight to the top mode....But there are plenty of faults i could see corrected soon(hopefully) It seems overwhelming to have 4 series and having to run all 4 of them in one year...It could take ages just to finish one season! It took me a week to finish one and i'm currently halfway thru the second....Gameplay in this mode seems too hard and could easily scare the beginning nascar fan away. I've played nascar games since as long as i can remember and this one just seems too hard. Car setups are way to touchy (take out a pound of wedge and your spinning out by the next corner)
Third, EA again is on the right track, but kind of missed it here, with the new Chase to the NEXTEL Cup mode. This mode is plenty of fun but theres a few faults here too. One being theres no two player here, c'mon EA this would be the most popular mode if you hade a two player feature added on! And the other is that this is the only mode where the new point system is in place. I've reached race 27 in fight to the top in nextel cup but kenseth still has a 217 point lead. This bothers me alot because if you're going to have a realistic game, you need the system currently in play.
Fourth, you can only have one season, one fight to the top, and one chase to the cup mode active at one time to each profile. I think this is a HUGE step in the wrong direction on EA's part because in games past i like to have quite a few seasons or careers at a time (one for me, one for me and my friends, one for my friends, and maybe one to sim everything or wreck everyone and see who comes out on top of the caos.) but i cant do that this year unless i want to erase my already in progress season (found this out the hard way)
Thats about it for the bad...theres some more bad but that's just the top stuff that takes from gameplay. Now here's the good:
First, fight to the top, this is where EA has struck gold. Although it has it's faults, it is basically all i've played since i got this game. EA maybe could just make the autograph mini games either easier and less frequent or an option you can turn on or off throughout the game.
Second, the addition of production cars, modifieds, trucks, and busch cars are all great things for this franchise. Although i would like to see more production cars and more places to race them, it's a good start and a good change. All the other nascar series added to the game also are great additions to this instalment.
Third, Dodge Speed Zone is amazingly fun this year, so are the Lightning Challenges (which kind of went off track last year) and i love the addition of Skill Points that you earn for doing certain tasks during the race or doing certain tasks outside of the racecar, and then being able to spend them on Thunder Plates. Great addition that could make replay value quite high.
The final thing is the Grudges and Alliances are very well developed this year...This time drivers wont slam you at break neck speeds, instead, they will bump you and rub you but not too badly (just enough to knock off 10-20 skill points) and the new Intimidator button is just what we've all been waiting for because now if a driver is holding you up a bit, or seems to be jsut as fast as you, you can "intimidate" him and clear the way, be warned though, you can't do this without raising the Rival rating to this driver.
That about sums it up....Kind of a longer review than i expected but hopefully it helps...I recomend renting this game before buying it and even waiting till the price drops to at least 30 before picking up this game. 3/5 stars overall...EA is on the right track with this game....but hopefully next years version will smooth out all the rough edges.
3 of 3 found the following review helpful:
Strong game, good replayability, only minor flawsJan 03, 2005
By Jakeymon Unless you count GTA3 and GTA:VC, this is my first racing game since getting Donald Hill's "Ferrari Grand Prix" for the Mac in the mid-1980's. I don't follow Nascar and I don't know much about other racing circuits, either. So this review is from that perspective.
This is a solid game. I've been playing it on and off for a few months now in Fight to the Top mode and have really enjoyed every aspect of what I've encountered. I think the AI is pretty impressive, particularly in the rival/ally bits. I don't have any problem with the controls just using the xbox controller, though I'm not playing this game for more than 2 hours at a time. I'm sure that a wheel would be handy if you're going longer than that (but since this the only racing game I've got I don't see a point in getting one myself).
I see myself playing this game for a good long time. I like the racing and team management aspects of the game, and the unlockables aren't the typical b.s. you might see in other games. I actually think the graphics are pretty good and I don't mind not having a cockpit view at all (since I think the view that's offered makes up for the lack of peripheral vision you'd have in a cockpit view).
Some of the interfaces are a little clunky here and there, and I'd actually like to be able to get a little deeper into rivalries (like going to other drivers pits and starting fistfights, since they seem to try that with my driver quite a bit) but I must say that for a game that's not hit-you-over-the-head sweet (like HALO 2 or GTA:VC or whatever) this one really sucks you in and keeps you there for the long haul.
5 of 6 found the following review helpful:
Perfect for Racing Fans!Mar 18, 2005
By Bradley I was apprehensive about buying this game. However, I went ahead and laid down the money and have been extremely pleased with my decision. First of all, the graphics are very good and the racing can get intense. The action is fast paced and all of the tracks look as they do on TV.
One thing I love is the Nascar 2005 can be a very deep game with a lot of replay value. Of course, if you just want to race one race at a time you can do that, but if you want to start a carrier, it is very detailed and involved. You start in the Featherweight division with little money and no fans. After you start winning some races, you gain money, fans, and notoriety among the other racers. You also have an agent who will help you climb the ladder of fame. If you do well in the Featherweight, you can move up to the Truck series, the Bush series, and then on to Nascar. However, you have to wait for offers to come across from car owners in that particular division. For example, if you are doing well in the Bush series Motorola may offer you a deal to drive for them in Nascar. You can take the deal, or hold out to try and get a better offer from another sponsor. It's totally up to you. You will also be challenged to street races by some of the Nascar drivers. These are pretty cool because they allow you to race with streetcars such as the new 2005 Ford Mustang! If you win, you will gain notoriety and the drivers will respect you more on the track.
Another aspect that I love is the gas pedal. With the gas being the right top button on the XBOX controller, you can use it just like an actual pedal. You can let off a little to make it through the turns then floor it on the straightaway's. It really gives you more control of your car because you are able to make it through the turns easily, while still applying a little bit of gas. Very nice!
Also, the addition of the "share draft" and "intimidate" buttons work nicely. If you are drafting someone that is on the inside of a two car wide draft, you can press the "share draft" button and it will suck you up on the car in front of you. This allows the driver to pass cars on the outside because the more cars you have in a draft, the faster you are. As for the "intimidate" button, you can press and then literally intimidate the car in front of you. If you have the button locked in and bump draft the car you are intimidating, he will usually move out of your way. However, if you are too rough you could tick him off and cause him to come after you. Yeah, I've been wrecked a couple of times for pissing off a driver.
This game is a blast and I give it my highest recommendation!
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
LOW is the Way to Go!Jul 04, 2005
By toy collecter/gamer
"Andy"
Ive got to say this is the best racing game Ive ever played(yes better than need for speed and grand turismo). The racing however is not the best part of the game its the owning your own team. As of now since Ive played it non stop for the past 3 days I'm a level 3 villian(Its all about me), own both a feather weight and a bush series team and have to manage the pay checks, price merchandise and keep my standings up and have exceeded over 150,000 fans. Once you own a team you design your own color, model, sponser and the team name. If you beat the street race in the beggining you will then start your career and create someone that looks like you. Along the way you will gain rivalries-villian and alliances-hero. In a way I would comepare this to STAR WARS knights of the old republic. Im mean both games you gain enemeis and friends, you have a lightside, darkside meter, and you get better upgrades along the way. By the way if you have not played STarwars kotor i suggest you do, you will not be dissapointed. Any way back to the game. You start in the feather weight division which uses the open wheel stock cars.These are hard to control. You have to master both brakeing and acceleration if you want to win. The best way to win any race is to buy your own car and upgrade it to the max. I don't remember the price for the featherweight team but the craftman team is $750,000, National bush team is $1,000,000 and the nextal cup team is $2,000,000. Hopes this helps.
based on 18 reviews
( 18 customer reviews )
