NASCAR The Game: Inside Line Review (Xbox 360)
Submitted on: Dec 04, 2012 by Bishop Tart
Eutechnyx picked up the NASCAR license a few years ago and released NASCAR 2011: The Game. Unfortunately for them and Activision, it had numerous online issues, bugs, and a single player campaign that only lasted one season. With NASCAR the Game: Inside Line, Eutechnyx looks to fix all of those problems and make a NASCAR game that fans can truly enjoy from the first day.
Gameplay
Core gameplay has remained virtually untouched, except for a few new features here and there. It's hard to revolutionize the gameplay in a NASCAR game, and Eutechnyx did a superb job keeping the same experience intact from their first foray with the license a 18 months ago.
Driver assists, including automatic or manual transmission, steering assist, etc., can all be changed to your liking at any time. It's a great feature for people who are new to the NASCAR games. Not only that, but the difficulty can also be changed prior to a race weekend. Unlike the assists, though, once the race weekend starts, you can no longer change the difficulty options.
There is no racing line, but a "slow" and "brake" icon will show up in the middle of the screen to let you know when to do both of those things. It won't be necessary for hardcore NASCAR fans, but for those who might just be breaking into the series, it's nice that it's there again.
Rewinds, or as Inside Line calls them, retries are in the game. Unlike other racing games where you can get infinite ones, you are limited to only two per race here. They actually do come in handy. The A.I. can be overly aggressive at times and will, occasionally, spin you out. Being able to retry from right before that occurred is something that, I think, makes the game better.
The game features 40 drivers - such as Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart -- 23 licensed tracks, including Talladega and Homestead-Miami.
Core gameplay has remained virtually untouched, except for a few new features here and there. It's hard to revolutionize the gameplay in a NASCAR game, and Eutechnyx did a superb job keeping the same experience intact from their first foray with the license a 18 months ago.
Driver assists, including automatic or manual transmission, steering assist, etc., can all be changed to your liking at any time. It's a great feature for people who are new to the NASCAR games. Not only that, but the difficulty can also be changed prior to a race weekend. Unlike the assists, though, once the race weekend starts, you can no longer change the difficulty options.
There is no racing line, but a "slow" and "brake" icon will show up in the middle of the screen to let you know when to do both of those things. It won't be necessary for hardcore NASCAR fans, but for those who might just be breaking into the series, it's nice that it's there again.
Rewinds, or as Inside Line calls them, retries are in the game. Unlike other racing games where you can get infinite ones, you are limited to only two per race here. They actually do come in handy. The A.I. can be overly aggressive at times and will, occasionally, spin you out. Being able to retry from right before that occurred is something that, I think, makes the game better.
The game features 40 drivers - such as Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart -- 23 licensed tracks, including Talladega and Homestead-Miami.
During the time spent on the track, you will have a spotter that warns you if a car is going low, high, or about to pass you. Having him is really not necessary, unless you use a camera angle different from the default one. If using the default camera angle, the rear-view mirror at the top of the screen and the directional marker at the bottom of the screen do enough to let you know where the other drivers are on the track without hearing the spotter repeat the same lines over and over.
Challenges, just like the invitational events, provide some variety to the overall package. Two different types of challenges are included; Head to Head and Highlights. The highlight challenges are doing things like drafting a certain driver until the last lap and then pass them, to holding off a driver for the last five laps. The head to head ones are just like they sound, go one-on-one with any driver in the game on any track. Throughout the year, there will be auto updates that will add new highlight challenges to the game, as of right now only ones from the 2011 season and three from the 2012 season are available.
Trivia questions return during loading screens, and they really could take away from the loading times, but even after the first race, they start to repeat. Celebrating is also something that can be done after winning a race -- from driving a victory lap to doing a burnout.
Gameplay overall is something that will feel similar to fans of the NASCAR video games. Some things might be intimidating for newcomers, but it really doesn't take a long to get your bearings. It's definitely not something for everybody, however, but it's gameplay that feels right for a NASCAR game (single player wise).
Challenges, just like the invitational events, provide some variety to the overall package. Two different types of challenges are included; Head to Head and Highlights. The highlight challenges are doing things like drafting a certain driver until the last lap and then pass them, to holding off a driver for the last five laps. The head to head ones are just like they sound, go one-on-one with any driver in the game on any track. Throughout the year, there will be auto updates that will add new highlight challenges to the game, as of right now only ones from the 2011 season and three from the 2012 season are available.
Trivia questions return during loading screens, and they really could take away from the loading times, but even after the first race, they start to repeat. Celebrating is also something that can be done after winning a race -- from driving a victory lap to doing a burnout.
Gameplay overall is something that will feel similar to fans of the NASCAR video games. Some things might be intimidating for newcomers, but it really doesn't take a long to get your bearings. It's definitely not something for everybody, however, but it's gameplay that feels right for a NASCAR game (single player wise).
Career Mode
Unlike in NASCAR 2011: The Game - which had you only driving in one season - NASCAR the Game: Inside Line features a much more deep and robust career mode. The leveling up feature from the old game is gone. You still start out as a no name driver with no sponsors, with your goal being to climb up the ranks and win the championship, but the level progression is no more. For those wondering, only the Sprint Cup series is featured, there is no Nationwide or Truck series in the game.
Practices and qualifying can be bypassed if you just want to get into the racing action. If those are your cup of tea, each race has a couple of practice and a qualifying sessions for you to test out the track and your setup before the big race day. Skipping a specific track and event is also possible, but if you do that no credits will be earned.
Those credits are earned for completing sponsor challenges, like drafting a certain amount in a race and winning races. Credits are used to purchase upgrades for your engine, brakes, transmission, and chassis. They are not needed unless you are playing on the highest difficulty level, but they can help you out if the A.I. is giving you fits.
Invitational events will give you a breather from the intense racing action. They range from not being in last when the timer hits zero (eliminator) to a time trial where you have are given five laps to beat three target times.
Mike Joy and Darrell Waltrip provide pre-race commentary, but that's it. Once the race starts, it's just you and your spotter - although you do get Waltrip's famous line "Boogity, Boogity, Boogity! Let's go racin', boys!" before the start of every race. It would have been nice to have them commentate a whole race, but it's not something that makes the career mode any less fun to play.
Unlike in NASCAR 2011: The Game - which had you only driving in one season - NASCAR the Game: Inside Line features a much more deep and robust career mode. The leveling up feature from the old game is gone. You still start out as a no name driver with no sponsors, with your goal being to climb up the ranks and win the championship, but the level progression is no more. For those wondering, only the Sprint Cup series is featured, there is no Nationwide or Truck series in the game.
Practices and qualifying can be bypassed if you just want to get into the racing action. If those are your cup of tea, each race has a couple of practice and a qualifying sessions for you to test out the track and your setup before the big race day. Skipping a specific track and event is also possible, but if you do that no credits will be earned.
Those credits are earned for completing sponsor challenges, like drafting a certain amount in a race and winning races. Credits are used to purchase upgrades for your engine, brakes, transmission, and chassis. They are not needed unless you are playing on the highest difficulty level, but they can help you out if the A.I. is giving you fits.
Invitational events will give you a breather from the intense racing action. They range from not being in last when the timer hits zero (eliminator) to a time trial where you have are given five laps to beat three target times.
Mike Joy and Darrell Waltrip provide pre-race commentary, but that's it. Once the race starts, it's just you and your spotter - although you do get Waltrip's famous line "Boogity, Boogity, Boogity! Let's go racin', boys!" before the start of every race. It would have been nice to have them commentate a whole race, but it's not something that makes the career mode any less fun to play.
Multiplayer
Online play in NASCAR 2011: The Game was horrendous at launch, with no ability to change your driver once you select one, weird glitches when a race starts, and sudden disconnections. Eutechnyx has promised all of that is fixed, and sadly, it is not.
First off, cars in the front of the pack at the beginning of the race still get a good 2-3 second head start over everyone else. Not only that - but cars will still go through each other during a caution - which will sometimes mess up the order before the race restarts.
Once the actual racing begins, it's extremely inconsistent. There are times where you will complete a race with no problems at all. Then there are times where lag and the problems previously mentioned rear their ugly heads and make the online simply unplayable.
It's 16-player races online, so you can't fill up a full 43 car field. Honestly, that's a good thing. With their net code, there is no telling how bad the game would be if 43 human players could race at the same time. The lobby system is similar to the previous installment. You can veto tracks if you want and you can actually change your online car at any time, unlike like last year where you would have to start a new save to do so.
The paint shop makes a return. So for those artists out there, you can make a design for your race car and show it off. Tuning is also here again, and for most, it's vital to the online experience. The same tuning features are available offline in the single player as well, but to get the upper hands on your online opponents, you will need to know a good setup. Neither the paint shop or tuning received significant improvements, but they didn't really need any, it's just nice they are both back.
Suggesting Inside Line as a multiplayer game is something that can not be done at the present time. There are far too many lingering issues that have yet to be fixed. That's too bad, because the PlayStation 2 NASCAR games were insanely fun to play online with friends, and even random players. After two unsuccessful attempts, we're not really sure if Eutechnyx can actually make a properly working online experience.
Online play in NASCAR 2011: The Game was horrendous at launch, with no ability to change your driver once you select one, weird glitches when a race starts, and sudden disconnections. Eutechnyx has promised all of that is fixed, and sadly, it is not.
First off, cars in the front of the pack at the beginning of the race still get a good 2-3 second head start over everyone else. Not only that - but cars will still go through each other during a caution - which will sometimes mess up the order before the race restarts.
Once the actual racing begins, it's extremely inconsistent. There are times where you will complete a race with no problems at all. Then there are times where lag and the problems previously mentioned rear their ugly heads and make the online simply unplayable.
It's 16-player races online, so you can't fill up a full 43 car field. Honestly, that's a good thing. With their net code, there is no telling how bad the game would be if 43 human players could race at the same time. The lobby system is similar to the previous installment. You can veto tracks if you want and you can actually change your online car at any time, unlike like last year where you would have to start a new save to do so.
The paint shop makes a return. So for those artists out there, you can make a design for your race car and show it off. Tuning is also here again, and for most, it's vital to the online experience. The same tuning features are available offline in the single player as well, but to get the upper hands on your online opponents, you will need to know a good setup. Neither the paint shop or tuning received significant improvements, but they didn't really need any, it's just nice they are both back.
Suggesting Inside Line as a multiplayer game is something that can not be done at the present time. There are far too many lingering issues that have yet to be fixed. That's too bad, because the PlayStation 2 NASCAR games were insanely fun to play online with friends, and even random players. After two unsuccessful attempts, we're not really sure if Eutechnyx can actually make a properly working online experience.
Final Thoughts
NASCAR the Game: Inside Line's improvements on the single player front are immediately noticeable. From being able to drive in multiple seasons, to the car upgrades, and the challenges, the single player aspect of Inside Line is there. It's just a real shame that is not the case for online multiplayer, which is still stuck in pit road.
Learning Curve: Falling somewhere between easy and hard, NASCAR the Game: Inside Line, might take awhile for some players to get used to . A quick two-lap race when you first start the game does a good job at teaching you the basics if you are new to these type of games, but expect to have some trouble during your first couple of races. The assists in the game do enough to make the game more enjoyable for the casual audience.
Visuals: An improved overall look to the game. Each track looks outstanding and the car models are detailed down to the last sponsor. Shadows are a bit off in night races and the pit crew could look better, but even those can't hold back the overall look of the game Inside Line is easily the best looking NASCAR game yet.
Audio: Commentary is featured from Mike Joy and Darrell Waltrip, but only before a race. The spotter is really not needed and he can get annoying at times. But hey, at least all the cars sound great.
Customization: The paint booth is back, so you can put any design on your race car. Driver assists and difficulty can also all be tweaked to your liking. Setups and tuning are something fans will be glad to know are still here. You can even purchase driver setups from your favorite pro driver.
Value: For a full $60, it's an easy game to recommend for those only interested in the offline play. From the challenges, to the revitalized career mode, you can easily enjoy what the single player has to offer. However, once you hop online to play the game, you'll immediately regret purchasing it. Hopefully the multiplayer issues get ironed out with a future patch -- but for right now -- it's safe to say wait on picking up NASCAR the Game: Inside Line if multiplayer is the main attraction for you.
Score: 5.5 (Average)
NASCAR the Game: Inside Line's improvements on the single player front are immediately noticeable. From being able to drive in multiple seasons, to the car upgrades, and the challenges, the single player aspect of Inside Line is there. It's just a real shame that is not the case for online multiplayer, which is still stuck in pit road.
Learning Curve: Falling somewhere between easy and hard, NASCAR the Game: Inside Line, might take awhile for some players to get used to . A quick two-lap race when you first start the game does a good job at teaching you the basics if you are new to these type of games, but expect to have some trouble during your first couple of races. The assists in the game do enough to make the game more enjoyable for the casual audience.
Visuals: An improved overall look to the game. Each track looks outstanding and the car models are detailed down to the last sponsor. Shadows are a bit off in night races and the pit crew could look better, but even those can't hold back the overall look of the game Inside Line is easily the best looking NASCAR game yet.
Audio: Commentary is featured from Mike Joy and Darrell Waltrip, but only before a race. The spotter is really not needed and he can get annoying at times. But hey, at least all the cars sound great.
Customization: The paint booth is back, so you can put any design on your race car. Driver assists and difficulty can also all be tweaked to your liking. Setups and tuning are something fans will be glad to know are still here. You can even purchase driver setups from your favorite pro driver.
Value: For a full $60, it's an easy game to recommend for those only interested in the offline play. From the challenges, to the revitalized career mode, you can easily enjoy what the single player has to offer. However, once you hop online to play the game, you'll immediately regret purchasing it. Hopefully the multiplayer issues get ironed out with a future patch -- but for right now -- it's safe to say wait on picking up NASCAR the Game: Inside Line if multiplayer is the main attraction for you.
Score: 5.5 (Average)
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