Overall: Piece of EA junk. The online game is a joke. I waited for a year and spent $50 for this drink coaster? Horrible title. I am a huge NASCAR fan. Could not wait for the online version. I am sad that the release date ever came. What a waste of money. The lobby stinks. Cars jump around on the track. LAG. LAG. LAG. When and IF you do finish a game you get dropped form the session. No return to the lobby, just dropped. You cannot even talk in the lobby. You must "type" in your chat session. This game blows chunks. I hear that the single player is good but who cares? I buy games for their LIVE content. Also, it clearly states that EA has the right to drop online play 30 days after the 2004-2005 season or whenever they feel like it. Too bad I cannot rate this game below a zero. Gameplay: Multi-player is junk. Dropped games. LAG. LAG. LAG. EA should take notes from Project Gotham 2. It has spoiled me as far as good on-line functionality. It is only 4 player multiplayer. I can see why it is only 4 player. LAG. LAG. LAG. This game is a turd.
EA's servers must be running on a 486 DX/4 with 16 MEG of RAM. It is unplayable. It is unbearable. Also there is not rear-view mirror in 2 palyer mode. No way of looking back to see who you are about to run into. This game bites. Graphics: Visuals look the same as the past NASCAR titles. The sky looks more realistic. Way to go EA. Another EA title I can aviod next year.
Sound: Sound is good. Thank God for custom soundtracks. Other than custom soundtracks, the sound is nothing to even comment about. Suggestions: How about a user friendly on line lobby. How about being able to play a game then restart the game without having to re-create the wole !&%$@#* session. How about working out all of the bugs before release date. How about being able to race a multiplayer game without getting dropped or without the LAG.