What happens when you mix Mario Kart with NASCAR? This is pretty much it. NASCAR Rumble was released by EA Sports in February 2000 for the Playstation and PC. I played this game endlessly as a child and still find myself coming back to it. But enough of the personal bias, let's get to the knitty gritty.
Graphics (8/10)- The game opens with an FMV animation featuring NASCAR drivers such as Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin, Bobby Labonte, Scott Hansen, Tony Stewart, and Richard Petty. This game features a wide selection of vehicles to choose from, including 32 NASCAR Winston Cup Series drivers whose body textures were recycled from NASCAR 2000, another EA Sports title from 1999, also included is the Busch Grand National Series car driven by the late Adam Petty, as well as 6 Craftsman Truck Series drivers, 7 NASCAR Legends on Plymouth Superbird bodies, an EA Player car, and 9 other vehicles including a Loader, Sprint Car, Jet Car, Tow Truck, Chicken Truck, RV, Golf Cart, Hot Rod, and Road Captain. This game features 21 tracks ranging from the New Orleans Bayou to California-style beaches and roads all with their distinctive feel to them and are rendered beautifully for a 2000 title.
Sound (7/10)- The soundtrack is relatively nice featuring three songs from former Allman Brothers Band guitarist Derek Trucks. In the intro you're given a quick-paced rock song, the menus have a slower rock song, and each category of tracks feature their own songs. The in-game announcer (Voiced by Jess Harnell) that talks to you as you race has a clear voice that's easy to understand but can get tedious after awhile. Luckily you can change sound options in the Options menu for Effects, Engine sound, Music, and Voice. The car engines sound average at best but I can't really complain. A neat little feature I noticed is if you press Up on the D-Pad, your car will honk its horn.
Addictiveness (8/10)- With 21 tracks to explore, 3 classes of cars to choose from with differentiating speeds, and countless options for power-ups and opponents of choice, there is an endless amount of fun you can have with NASCAR Rumble. There are unlockable elements you can achieve by grabbing transparent golden wrenches at various tracks and winning the different championship series to become the Rumble Master.
Story (3/10)- There isn't much of a story to this game, the intro depicts the average stock cars of Jeff Gordon (24) and Mark Martin (6) fighting for the lead in a race, both cars collide and are sent through the outside retaining wall onto an on-ramp where the slightly modified cars and truck of Bobby Labonte (18), Scott Hansen (52), and Tony Stewart (20) come by and dispose of the regular cars of Gordon and Martin. So the assumed story is that everyone got tired of the average tracks and decided to take it to the open road.
Depth (6/10)- 21 tracks, 7 championships, countless power-ups, and so many opponent combinations add so much depth as to how much you can do. There are also game modes for single races & championships (Single Player or team with an AI driver), as well as Time Trials and a 1v1 Showdown with a car and at the track of your choice. Sadly, only 6 cars can race at once which I considered a big letdown. But if you don't want to spend hours trying to complete it; there is a password you can enter that unlocks everything. Odds are people will input said password anyway, so that takes away a bit of depth.
Difficulty (4/10)- This game has responsive and fluent controls that allow for the use of Analog sticks or the D-Pad, as well as a Hints and Tips menu to help the rookie learn the ropes of this arcade-inspired game. The truly difficult part is getting bombarded with weapons from your opponents, which can be turned off in the Main Menu.
So if you're in the mood to take people out with tornadoes, the proverbial chrome horn, or just send your opponents barrel rolling through the air, then this is the game for you. I give this game a 9/10. What happens when you mix Mario Kart with NASCAR? This is pretty much it. NASCAR Rumble was released by EA Sports in February 2000 for the Playstation and PC. I played this game endlessly as a child and still find myself coming back to it. But enough of the personal bias, let's get to the knitty gritty.
Graphics (8/10)- The game opens with an FMV animation featuring NASCAR drivers such as Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin, Bobby Labonte, Scott Hansen, Tony Stewart, and Richard Petty. This game features a wide selection of vehicles to choose from, including 32 NASCAR Winston Cup Series drivers whose body textures were recycled from NASCAR 2000, another EA Sports title from 1999, also included is the Busch Grand National Series car driven by the late Adam Petty, as well as 6 Craftsman Truck Series drivers, 7 NASCAR Legends on Plymouth Superbird bodies, an EA Player car, and 9 other vehicles including a Loader, Sprint Car, Jet Car, Tow Truck, Chicken Truck, RV, Golf Cart, Hot Rod, and Road Captain. This game features 21 tracks ranging from the New Orleans Bayou to California-style beaches and roads all with their distinctive feel to them and are rendered beautifully for a 2000 title.
Sound (7/10)- The soundtrack is relatively nice featuring three songs from former Allman Brothers Band guitarist Derek Trucks. In the intro you're given a quick-paced rock song, the menus have a slower rock song, and each category of tracks feature their own songs. The in-game announcer (Voiced by Jess Harnell) that talks to you as you race has a clear voice that's easy to understand but can get tedious after awhile. Luckily you can change sound options in the Options menu for Effects, Engine sound, Music, and Voice. The car engines sound average at best but I can't really complain. A neat little feature I noticed is if you press Up on the D-Pad, your car will honk its horn.
Addictiveness (8/10)- With 21 tracks to explore, 3 classes of cars to choose from with differentiating speeds, and countless options for power-ups and opponents of choice, there is an endless amount of fun you can have with NASCAR Rumble. There are unlockable elements you can achieve by grabbing transparent golden wrenches at various tracks and winning the different championship series to become the Rumble Master.
Story (3/10)- There isn't much of a story to this game, the intro depicts the average stock cars of Jeff Gordon (24) and Mark Martin (6) fighting for the lead in a race, both cars collide and are sent through the outside retaining wall onto an on-ramp where the slightly modified cars and truck of Bobby Labonte (18), Scott Hansen (52), and Tony Stewart (20) come by and dispose of the regular cars of Gordon and Martin. So the assumed story is that everyone got tired of the average tracks and decided to take it to the open road.
Depth (6/10)- 21 tracks, 7 championships, countless power-ups, and so many opponent combinations add so much depth as to how much you can do. There are also game modes for single races & championships (Single Player or team with an AI driver), as well as Time Trials and a 1v1 Showdown with a car and at the track of your choice. Sadly, only 6 cars can race at once which I considered a big letdown. But if you don't want to spend hours trying to complete it; there is a password you can enter that unlocks everything. Odds are people will input said password anyway, so that takes away a bit of depth.
Difficulty (4/10)- This game has responsive and fluent controls that allow for the use of Analog sticks or the D-Pad, as well as a Hints and Tips menu to help the rookie learn the ropes of this arcade-inspired game. The truly difficult part is getting bombarded with weapons from your opponents, which can be turned off in the Main Menu.
So if you're in the mood to take people out with tornadoes, the proverbial chrome horn, or just send your opponents barrel rolling through the air, then this is the game for you. I give this game a 9/10. |
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