NASCAR 2011: The Game - Review
Modes
An experience gained from many modes including career, quick
race and online play. Career mode let's you play as yourself or one of the 43
famous NASCAR sprint series drivers. Racing
Luckily the cream of the crop is determined on track and in
that respect NASCAR 2011 the game does very well. Racing with 43 other cars
fighting for every inch of the racetrack is an experience unlike any.
During the race the game does a stellar job keeping you
posted of the world around you. At the bottom of the screen the HUD gives a
clear overview of the surrounding cars. Tires tend to drop off quite harshly
and any car damage is always brutal. I've experienced a race where the car
would pull to the left leaving me counter steering through the entire thing -
really exhausting!
In the pits a small screen pops up giving options for
refueling, or changing tires. The two-car bullet phenomenon, where one is the
pusher, is definitely something you won't see in the game. Driving
So how do these cars drive? Aggressive drivers will
definitely find the car dancing under the pressure, leaving you pray to the
upcoming attackers.
Any contact with the wall and you might find the car pulling
to either side. The damage is both visually and mechanically pleasing, despite
never willing to break the car completely. To prevent damages you might want to
tweak the car setup a little. Players can choose between a standard setup (auto
tuned for the particular race) or become engineers themselves. Online
Online racing often falls short of the picture we have in
our heads, because close racing can only be done with mutual respect. The
graphics while pushing 43 cars fall short of the best we've seen in the genre. On
the flip side the cars look great and it can be really entertaining at times to
read a cars backend infomercial.
Also surprisingly good are the pre-race shows. These include
hawks flying into the air and fireworks as the cars pass the pit straight,
things you'd expect in real NASCAR racing. But again unfortunately the in-car
experience doesn't live up to the immersion.
NASCAR 2011 the game is the first of the series and is
shows. On top of that the graphics suffer from having to run 43 cars at all
times. nascar 2011 review
A Consumer's Survival Guide For New Car Buyers
Around 1973 I bought my first new car, a Dodge Dart Sport,
painted taxicab yellow. More importantly I followed the findings in the April
issue of Consumer Reports which gave that car its highest rating. It was great
advice for the time. Ralph Nader's consumer campaigns for safer autos and
quality built Japanese cars were emerging from their infancy while the Big
Three auto makers reigned supreme. Fortunately, times have changed and cars
have significantly improved thanks in large measure to the combined efforts of
consumer activist Ralph Nader, the influential Consumer Reports, and the
competition waged by the Japanese auto industry. What hasn't changed is the
selling practices of new car dealerships and for this reason alone a Survival
Guide becomes necessary for serious consumers looking to purchase a new car. Markups
on car sales are particularly low in contrast to retail sales of other goods. For
example, a dealership buys its cars from manufacturers for several thousands of
dollars less than the Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price (MSRP), less
confidential bonuses, incentives etc. The smaller the passenger car the smaller
the profit margin. My first rule of thumb is take charge of your new car
purchase before you need to buy a new car. If you walk into a dealership the
next morning unprepared, they GOTCHYA! Forget the televised "car ad
hype" and the bosomy girls at car shows. It's true that the best
independent researcher of any model year car is Consumer Reports. If you're a
serviceman, veteran or immediate family member contact the Pentagon Federal
Credit Union and if you're service connected contact the Navy Federal Credit
Union for quotes. Plan to either keep the old car or sell it privately for
maximum return.
There are several different plans and schemes that purport
to offer good car deals. An ingenious marketing partnership today combines
Costco with area dealerships and the placement of a brand new car at the
entrance to Costco with a sign that reads, "Ignore the sticker price. Consumer
Reports offers the second best technique to car buying. Basically, for a fee
they help the consumer discover the price the dealership pays for a car (Dealer
Invoice). From that starting point you, the consumer, "work up" to
the price you're willing to pay. This is a great technique but unless you're
experienced at handling negotiations of this sort the dealership will have a
major advantage. My favorite car buying technique costs upwards of $250, can
save you as much as $5,000.00 (less than the MSRP), is available throughout the
continental United States and is run by the online nonprofit CarBargains.org. Then,
CarBargains obtains several commitments by phone from area dealers for your
specific car. The dealers independently bid against each other for your
business for the same car and you never waste time comparison shopping. So
let's say the lowest quote for your car "A" comes from a dealer 50
miles away but your nearest bidding dealership has the highest price. That
person isn't on commission whereas the salesperson works on commission and
whose time is valuable when you take a test drive and don't know enough about
the car you want to buy.
When is the best time to meet the sales manager? Of course
if you need the car at the beginning of the month, you need the car at the
beginning of the month! Never exhibit "GaGa" emotions of buying a new
car (pretend you're buying asparagus) and don't let yourself get talked into
the seemingly endless options that will be thrown in your direction. Even the
most basic cars today are factory equipped with necessary options, including
air conditioning. The following paragraph will reveal the nonsensical nature of
all sticker prices that as a car buying society we were programmed to believe
had to be negotiated.
Consider this documented example of a consumer who purchased
a new car using the CarBargains technique after relying on Consumer Reports for
due diligence. Every brand new car has a federally mandated factory sticker
measuring approximately 16"x9.5" with predominantly blue and white
colors and affixed to the side window. The MSRP for this car is listed at
$24,250.00, special edition discount less $900.00 or $23,350.00, destination
and handling add $595.00 for a TOTAL VEHICLE PRICE of $23,945.00! Using the
CarBargains technique the consumer actually paid the TOTAL PURCHASE PRICE of
$20,762.10 or $4,872.90 less than the dealer hoped to realize. The car was a
2007 upgrade six cylinder sedan purchased in mid December, 2006 and based on
the April, 2007 CR recommendation. For the sake of clarity the terms TOTAL VEHICLE
PRICE, TOTAL PRICE, and TOTAL PURCHASE PRICE are interchangeable and synonymous
depending solely on the paper they're printed on and represent the
all-inclusive bottom line price for the vehicle.
As an aside, if your car purchase takes place between model
years, consider buying the CR-reviewed model. There's nothing simple about new
car buying. This strategy usually sobers the sales staff to its senses and
responsibility to sell the vehicle regardless if the vehicle is a basic sub
compact, high end luxury or performance car, minivan, SUV or pickup truck.
Manufacturers are fond of claiming that their cars retain
their resale value. That sort of advertising is only true if the consumer
purchased the car for a reasonable price and financed it for no more than three
years through a neighborhood credit union. Like the sign in the new car at
Costco says, "Ignore the sticker price... "
What about the dealership itself? Google the following term:
CAR DEALERSHIP RATINGS. Know your dealership! Let The Buyer Beware. F1 2010
Review
Modes
The game starts with a press conference. Here you can select
between the different modes including: Time trail, multiplayer, career and
grand prix weekend, which also allows championship racing.
Career mode is where you'll probably spend most time at. Additionally
after each race you can face the press and talk about your performance. Every
session starts in the pit box with the mechanics and engineer working on the
car. Using the monitor you can see the session times, weather report or change
the setup of the car. More bad news comes when working on the setup of the car,
because the game only allows the most basic of adjustments. Luckily almost
every F1 rule has made it into the game. Handling
The racing itself is a bit of a mixed bag. The car handles
like we've seen on television. We could hit the grass without losing control of
the car. On the flip side every car has its own characteristic. The difference
between the slowest and fastest car is about 2-4 seconds; we would've liked
this to be 4-6 seconds.
Race
The racing is where F1 2010 really excels. During the race
fighting for position can get pretty intense, especially with damage and car
wear set to full. This however has bugged every driving game so far and is not
a big disturbance to the racing.
Lastly the AI is great when you're racing them but turn into
robots when you're not. The difference between the fast the slow teams becomes
ever so small and some drivers even refused to pit in a perfectly dull dry
race. The dynamic weather system is absolutely amazing and light years ahead of
any other racing game.
The game succeeds in making every point feel rewarding
despite missing features such as the safety car, parc ferme or podium
celebrations. But the racing is still the game's strong suit.
The cars and tracks have been recreated in absolute detail. The
changing sky and the puddle forming on track are unmatched by any racing game. Sound
wise F1 games never really hit the mark for us. Online
The game allows up to 12 racers (1 per team) with an
extensive array of options including: full race distance, damage, fuel/try
management, penalties and qualifying.
The racing itself worked smooth and bug free. During testing
we met many great racers and experienced very close battles. Be successful
online and you'll rank up XP points which gives you dips on your favorite car
or allows access to games with a "minimal XP threshold".
F1 2010 is a great game. Driving the cars is a lot of fun
and the racing can be extremely tense and exciting. Finally it misses some
features that every F1 game should have.
