A franchise that continues to impress, the latest in the line of NASCAR titles from EA goes well beyond last year's NASCAR Thunder game to bundle in a full career mode that brings the player from modified to Cup, with series including NASCAR Nextel Cup, Craftsman Truck Series, Featherlite Modified Series, and NASCAR National Series. Managing a growing career through these series has become easier, with the ability to take offers to try racing in the next step-up series offering rapid ways to prove your skills and advance. Our best-loved new series is street-based racing between pro drivers, either as a way to start a career (impress a team owner) or settle a grudge. Yes, the innovative Grudges and Alliances feature continues, now with more driver interaction off the track. Get into a heated exchange while racing, and the other driver may get out of the car after the race to exchange a few words. Like last year's drift button, there is now an "Intimidator" feature to encourage drivers to let you by through bumper-hugging aggression. This ties in with a hero/villain dichotomy, that sees the most dynamic drivers drawing fan attention and selling more merchandise in career mode. With 39 tracks, 60 drivers, and 37 challenges, NASCAR 2005 promises a full-season's worth of driving excitement on each next-gen console system when it goes on sale this fall, just in time for the final races for the Nextel Cup.
