NASCAR Racing for the PS1 was a PC port of Papyrus's NASCAR Racing 2 released in 1996. This port had to have several cutbacks to make it on the PS1. For example, the PC game allowed a full field of 40 competitors at the same time, NASCAR Racing only allows 21 which is still good compared to the EA games that soon followed. The only other major cutback was that players can't race as their favorite drivers, only to be restricted to 3 liveries of the #96 Papyrus Racing Games Ford Thunderbird (Rookie & Ace) and Chevrolet Monte Carlo (Veteran).

Graphics (7/10)- The game starts out with an FMV intro featuring a decent quality rock song that was also used as the intro to the PC game. The car bodies are derived from the PC game as well but suffer the same problem as the PC game; not every part of the car is painted, the base schemes just stop suddenly which was normal for the Papyrus PC games until NASCAR Racing 3 in 1999. The tracks look the same as they were in the PC game but suffer a tad of a slowdown. The graphics of the PS1 version are somewhat close to the original game for the PC, but the slowdown may turn some people away.

Sound (8/10)- This game features nine songs, all instrumental rock that play at a very high quality which is amazing for 1997. Sounds including engines and wall impacts are the same as the PC version which sounded very lifelike at the time of the release.

Addictiveness (3/10)- Unless you're a diehard NASCAR fan, odds are you won't play this game for very long which is a common theme with racing games in general due to the stereotypical going around in circles with very little changes.

Depth (4/10)- This game features 4 racing modes; Arcade, Simulation, Championship, and Testing modes.In arcade mode you're given the option to run three different cars depending on your skill level; Rookie for the beginners, Veteran for the somewhat experienced, and Ace for the hardcore racer. None of which really matter since you can actually change between the three cars at any time during the race. In Simulation mode, you're automatically placed in the Ace car and are placed in a practice session. The Championship mode is as every other racing game, you compete in a series of races, gain the most points and try winning the 1996 NASCAR Winston Cup Championship. The Championship season is 28 races long, starting at Rockingham and ending at Atlanta. The Daytona International Speedway wasn't included in this game, or any other NASCAR game [officially] until NASCAR 2001 in 2000 from EA Sports due to Sega holding exclusive rights from the Daytona USA series. The only other track omitted from this game was Indianapolis for reasons unknown but made its way to NASCAR '99 in 1998 from EA Sports. In addition to the 19 official NASCAR-sanctioned tracks (With Bristol, Charlotte, and Richmond allowing Day & Night Races) there are two fictional tracks; Red Rock Raceway and Bull Run Raceway. These two tracks add a bit of flavor to an already deep game.

Difficulty (5/10)- The AI isn't much to talk about. The true difficulty is getting used to the controls. In most racing games, X is the accelerator, Square is the brake, Circle is to change your view, and Triangle is for going in reverse. But here, X is the brake, Square accelerates, Circle stays the same, and the Triangle button isn't even used. There is an options menu that shows the controls but it doesn't use the traditional Playstation controller as the example which is a bit of a pet peeve. In the options menu you're given plenty of options to set for Realism. For such things as shifting, braking help, race length, optional yellow flags, pace lap, car damage, and opponent strength. Just as in the PC Game, you can set how strong or how weak the AI will race against you with 80% being the lowest and 120% being the most difficult.

All in all, this is a pretty decent port of a very popular PC series title that kinda set the standard for NASCAR games from 1997 onwards. But with the controls sometimes a pain to get used to, I would take this game in stride and definitely give the soundtrack a try. So with this, I give this PC port a 7/10.

Great review! I liked that you had an intro, which many people don't do! One thing I wanted was, the actual score you give each category, right there. For instance: 

Graphics: bla-bla I give it a _/10 because _______.

Or just put it at the beginning... Your choice, but either way, it would improve your review!

Thanks for your words, obviously I'm new to this whole reviewing thing. I played most of the Nascar Playstation titles as a kid and thought I could enlighten some people on the games with this new section being added to the site.