Please support Game Informer. Print magazine subscriptions are less than $2 per issue
NASCAR Highlights DLC: Do You Have What It Takes?
The NASCAR season is underway, and we've already had a clutch of memorable moments. Now you can relive some of them thanks to NASCAR the Game: Inside Line's first mid-season DLC pack. We try them out and see what it's like to try and replicate reality.
Naturally, the challenges based on real-life events task you with either rewriting history or repeating it, but what I found interesting was the selection of scenarios chosen. These ranged from the no-brainers, like Hamlin and Logano's confrontational last lap at California, to smaller but still intersting moments like a particularly daring three-wide pass by Kyle Busch at Las Vegas.
These scenarios are based on the real-life telemetry data from the cars. Thus, the drivers' location on the track in relation to each other, their speeds, and throttle and brake inputs are as they happened on the day. This makes things difficult in both a good and a bad sense. It's good because you can see what lines the drivers took through a corner, and get the feeling that you're actually battling with these drivers. You can also see events – like Logano and Hamlin going at it – that appear just as they happened in real life. The one thing missing which I would have loved is some wreck-avoidance scenarios.
Then again, there are times when it feels like because the cars are following the telemetry data, the AI is oblivious of you and not reacting realistically. One particular example of this is the Cutting Corners scenario at Phoenix. You restart in the middle of the dogleg along the back straightaway. You have to immediately block Junior and square up for a bump, otherwise he'll spin you out in the AI's reckless attempt to stay on its pre-ordained path. This isn't a constant occurrence - there are times when cars will move naturally on the track – but you will notice it.
All in all, as a NASCAR fan, I enjoyed the DLC's use of the cars' telemetry data. I thought the scenarios were interesting enough and the challenges they offered invigorating.
Highlights DLC #1
Daytona 500
Stealing Jimmie's Thunder
Driver: Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Difficulty: Medium
Scenario: Beat Jimmie with two to go from fourth place.
Wiping Your Nose Clean
Driver: Jeff Gordon
Difficulty: Hard
Scenario: You have less than two laps to get a hot dog wrapper off of Jeff's grill by drafting for seven seconds. Then go on to finish in first.
Making History
Driver: Danica Patrick
Difficulty: Hard
Scenario: Keep the lead for four laps.
Subway Fresh Fit 500 (Phoenix International Raceway)
Cutting Corners
Driver: Denny Hamlin
Difficulty: Medium
Scenario: Take second from Jimmie Johnson while he's battling Brad Keselowski to the finish.
Old Tires, New Tricks!
Driver: Mark Martin
Difficulty: Medium
Scenario: Hold onto the lead for five laps with worn tires.
JPM Strikes Back!
Driver: Juan Pablo Montoya
Difficulty: Hard
Scenario: Take back the lead from Greg Biffle on a restart within four laps.
The Kobalt Tools 400 (Las Vegas Motor Speedway)
The Icing on the Cake
Driver: Matt Kenseth
Difficulty: Medium
Scenario: Beat Kasey Kahne to the checkered flag.
Wild Thing!
Driver: Kyle Busch
Difficulty: Hard
Scenario: Pull down to the apron and go three wide to take the lead.
Pushing for Points
Driver: Brad Keselowski
Difficulty: Very Hard
Scenario: Beat Kyle Busch for third place in the race.
Beating the Birthday Boy
Driver: Kasey Kahne
Difficulty: Very Hard
Scenario: Rewrite history and beat Kenseth to win the race.
Auto Club 400 (Auto Club Speedway)
Taking Advantage
Driver: Kyle Busch
Difficulty: Medium
Scenario: Capitalize on Hamline and Logano's fight to the finish to win the race.
Making Moves
Driver: Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Difficulty: Hard
Scenario: Make up eight places in three laps on a restart, charging from 18th to 10th place.
Gaining Ground
Driver: Denny Hamlin
Difficulty: Hard
Scenario: Work your way through the field to at least second place after the final caution.
This first batch of NASCAR the Game: Inside Line's 2013 Highlights DLC is available for 20 in-game tickets or free as part of the title's season pass ($24.99/2000 Microsoft Points) that encompasses all the downloads through the end of the racing season in Miami Homestead. Tickets can be purchased outright (10 tickets costs $.99/80 Microsoft Points) in the game's store.
Developer Eutechnyx says it expects to release weekly downloadable challenges throughout the season pertaining to most of the tracks on the circuit (excluding Bristol, Kansas, and Dover for licensing reasons). This first offering got hung up before it could be released, so hopefully the company can make good on this promise in the future.
I’d like to ask you to support Game Informer’s continued coverage of games with a subscription. For less than two dollars per issue, we mail you a full year of 10 print magazines, each with cover stories and preview features filled with exclusive details about the most exciting upcoming games. We profile and interview game creators. We look back on the rich history of gaming, and we celebrate what’s next.
Here on the website, we offer much of our content for free, including game reviews, daily news, videos, event coverage, and more – all with minimal ads.
We do so with a small editorial team, alongside contributing paid writers from around the world – over 65 individuals from 9 countries around the world, just in the last couple of years.
It’s not possible without support.
In a time when game makers and games coverage have faced hard struggles and layoffs, the future of this 30+ year magazine and community is at risk. Our new standalone magazine subscription is the number one way you can keep us alive – and we believe you’ll get a pretty fantastic gaming magazine in your mailbox every few weeks for your trouble.
Thank you.
