This is the latest racing game from ea sports and is very different from the regular Need For Speed type of games. This one features much more realistic controls and indeed is more difficult than Need For Speed. Here you can compete in four racing series. In the course of the much-expanded career mode, you can work your way up from Featherlite Modifieds to the Craftsman Truck Series, then move on to the Nascar National Series before finally making your debut in the Nascar Nextel Cup.

N each series, players start as a rookie and work their way up with new sponsorships and deals. Show skills in one series and you earn a test session with a team in the next series up the ladder. Impress them and you might just get the opportunity to be a rookie again.

Imilar to role-playing games like Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and the upcoming Fable, your on-track actions will affect how others see and react to you. Make clean passes and help others with drafts, and you?ll be seen as a hero. Spin others or resort to intimidation, and you can expect some rough treatment out on the tracks.

Ertain drivers will remember if you?ve been naughty or nice and are willing to repay favours given a chance. These soap-opera-like antics are a large part of Nascar these days, and love them or hate them, it makes the game feel even closer to the real thing. As in the previous games, you can control how involved you become in running your team. This can involve determining crew pay, upgrading facilities and negotiating sponsorship deals. This year, you can even buy a team outright and just focus on management if driving isn?t your forte.

He graphics in this game are amazingly good. EA has bragged about using pixel shaders and other latest buzzwords in this game, and it shows. Even the inside of the cars are detailed. You?ll see things you?ve never seen before, such as white stickers on new tyres of the car ahead of you, and highly-detailed stands full of animated fans. As your car bottoms out on the pavement, you?ll see sparks flying behind you.

Moke from spinouts or accidents floats over the track and lingers on for several minutes. The audio details are also put in with lot of care. Your crew chief will let you know if your oil and water temperatures are getting too hot. For example, if you?ve put too much grille tape on the front, he?ll recommend you pit and get some removed to get more air into the engine.

Hus, all in all, this is a treat for all racing fans. Your long wait is over after Underground2. If you liked NFSUG2, then I am sure you will like this one better.

Minimum system requirements: Windows 98, 98 second edition, ME, 2000 Professional, XP Professional, or XP home operating system Intel Pentium III (or equivalent) CPU running at 933MHz or higher 32MB DirectX 9.0c compatible video card (Geforce2 or higher) using a supported chipset 256 MB RAM DirectX compatible sound card 2 GB of HD space 8X CD-ROM