[Aggies7]

I ran a good deal of races this morning and also tested out career mode. Here are my impressions:

Graphics: 7/10

There has been a lot of talk about a graphics downgrade from the last version, I for one do not see this when it comes to the cars and tracks. The cars look very sharp and so far the tracks look and feel accurate. The only issue for me is the damage model during wrecks. Two things standout to me. The first is how cars take on contact. The cars really looks like bumper cars and do not at all crunch when hitting a wall at higher speeds. If damage is on full, and a car is spun out striking the wall head on, the front should push way in and it should either be a DNF or a long wait in garage. The second issue is consistency with damage. Sometime the damage with minor spins and contact is accurate and sometimes it
seems like they have metal straps around them like bumper cars protecting the body of the
car.

Sound: 9/10

There was a few times, the sound seemed to fade away on me, but I do not know if it is my TV to fault or the game. And seeing as that is the only issue I detected, I am very happy with the sounds for the game.

Control: 7/10
Using a controller at Daytona and Talladega with the aggressive AI, is near impossible as holding a line in the turns three wide typically resulted in accidents. They have a lot of options for steering sensitivity and I will need to tweak those to find what fits best. Possible adjusting those options will make the Super Speedways more enjoyable. Furthermore, cars still feel like tanks when you make contact. If contact is made with the rear quarter panel on an AI car, it should spin, not just wiggle and hit the outside wall and continue on like nothing happened.

AI: 8/10

This was a tough one, because without perfecting the controls and handling in the turns, the AI being aggressive is just frustrating. The main reason for the 8/10 is simple,
I personally like the AI being aggressive trying to win every race, as opposed to the past, where they would just move over and let you by.

Online: Not Graded

Did not get a chance to test out online, as I do not want to play with random folks, who turn each race into a demolition derby. Will have impression on this topic after I race
with folks who want to race and not wreck.

Paint Booth: 7/10

If you are good with the previous versions of paint booth, you will have no issues dealing with this version. I am not that advanced when it comes to paint booth so I struggled with the simpliest of tasks. What would put this over the top would simply be the ability to import images to put on your car.

Career Mode: 6/10

Very similar to past versions. When aquiring a sponsorship offer, I could not find how to add the logo to my car, until I tried to go to the next race and it prompted me to add the sponsorship. I am intrigued to see if there is year to year stat tracking, but due to time, I could not complete the first season prior to these impressions. Since I did not
make it to the second season, I did not get to see if there is a Sprint Unlimited for all the pole sitters from season one, but I assume there is not. I know Eutechnyx is working to make the career mode top notch, but they are still short of that goal. I like the sponsorship offers, but what about offers from other teams. Imagine getting an offer from Henricks Racing, to replace the retiring Jeff Gordon. Don't get me wrong Eutechnyx is going in the right
right direction,but need to keep improving.


Overall: 7/10

Sorry for any errors this was typed up and formatted on my phone.