NASCAR Racing II
$14.95		(DOS) (Jewel Case w/ manual) (NASCAR2PO)

Sierra

Game

Ratings:

9 out of 10 from boot

A from PC Games

Authentic Racing from Qualification to Championship

As you round turn four and enter the tri-oval at Talladega you're pushing 200MPH and it's 150 degrees inside your car. Behind you, Terry Labonte is inching closer and at this rate he'll take the air off your spoiler. As you speed through turn one you hear your spotter on the two-way: "Trouble in turn two. Stay low." Staying clear of the apron, you maneuver behind Dale Earnhardt in the #3 car and draft him for one more lap until you can slingshot past him in turn three leaving both Labonte and Earnhardt in the dust. This is racing as real as it gets.

New Features:

1996 season cars, drivers and tracks provide up-to-the-minute realism.

Crew chief and spotter audio alert you to track conditions.

New fast and easy Arcade Mode lets you jump in and start driving.

New mouse-driven interface makes it easy to get into the race.

Network play allows up to 8 friends to race over an IPX network.

Includes 16 tracks.

Faster frame rate and beautifully detailed SVGA graphics.

Race in authentic events on 16 different tracks:

• Atlanta Motor Speedway
• Bristol Motor Speedway
• Martinsville Speedway
• New Hampshire International Speedway
• North Wilkesboro Speedway
• Pocono Raceway
• Richmond International Raceway
• Sears Point Raceway
• North Carolina Motor Speedway
• Phoenix International Raceway
• Charlotte Motor Speedway
• Darlington Raceway
• Talladega Superspeedway
• Watkins Glen International
• Michigan International Speedway
• Dover Downs International Speedway

Requirements: Win95/DOS 5.0+, 486/66 (Pentium 75+ preferred), 16MB RAM, soundcard w/DAC, mouse, 2x CD-ROM drive (4x preferred), VGA 320x200 (SVGA 640x480x256 colors preferred). Supports: joystick, wheel/pedal combo, mouse, modem (9600 baud or greater).

Reviews:

boot, February 1997

"Papyrus has fixed the original's poor frame rate, using the improved IndyCar Racing 2 engine. So although the stock graphics are much improved, this new version still outperforms the original. And the new game ships with a version tweaked for Verite-powered 3D accelerator cards that sports even better graphics (bilinear-filtered texture maps) and blazing performance.

"Audio was also upgraded, but it's the addition of a crew chief/spotter on the radio that'll really grab you. His speech is smooth and, most importantly, it's useful. "Slow car down low," he says, allowing drivers to focus on what's ahead. Your spotter also alerts you to trouble on the track: 'Big wreck in turn three; stay low.'

"NASCAR veterans will find their prayers answered, and rookies will welcome new features that make this ultrarealistic simulation friendlier, such as arcade damage and steering help.

"The push for intense realism may not be welcomed by all players. Real race cars don't have speedometers, so you won't find one here. Instead, you rely on the tach. And real racers can't stop the race to pay the pizza man at the front door. So, the developers removed the Save-Game feature. While this is sure to upset some, it's hard to argue with Papyrus' devotion to realism."

PC Games, March 1997

"...NASCAR Racing 2, a title that's superior to its predecessor in nearly every way - and is possibly one of the year's best sims.

"For starters, NASCAR 2 includes all the tracks from the original game plus the add-on track pack, totaling 16 circuits, including the Sears Point Raceway and Watkins Glen International. All tracks feature the same banks, billboards, and bleachers as the real thing. The tracks also have a lot more detail, with sharper-looking grandstands and backgrounds, more ads on the wall, and an infield with people and RVs. Believe it or not, all this extra detail comes without sacrificing frame rate, something unheard of in the original."

"While the original NASCAR was so real it discouraged all but the most devoted simmers, the NASCAR 2 learning curve can be as steep or shallow as you want. For rookie drivers who prefer to throw realism to the wind, an arcade mode offers supergrip traction and forces the computer opponents to drive at the player's level, as well as offering autobrake and autoshift features."

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