HOW REAL IS REAL?

Over the last two decades, the popularity of Nascar has been increasing at an incredible rate. This is apparent in the amount of attention it receives in the national media each week The sports division of Electronic Arts (EA) has released several Nascar products in the past with its clear aim at the console market, but its last attempt in the PC realm, Nascar Revolution, fell flat in sales and popularity. Its lack of realism did not provide what hardcore PC racing enthusiasts wanted. The arcade game-play did not make up for the beautiful graphics, and was destined for the bargain bins.

EA Sports has again decided to throw their hat in the ring with Nascar Thunder 2003 (NT2003), a racing game developed by the makers of F1 2002, Image Space, along with the technical expertise of Nascar Heat's creator, Ed Martin. Needless to say, my enthusiasm peaked upon hearing this�Ed Martin working with the publishing kings of sports games�you couldn't help but be excited about the possibilities. While this title was also used for the console market, a different developer was creating the PC version. EA Sports now has exclusive rights to the Nascar license after 2003, and this is to be the introduction piece.

While 730MB of disk space seemed significant, I had other software that wanted more. One very nice touch to the installation was an option asking if you would like to have the late great Dale Earnhardt installed as a driver in the game. Once installed, I went through the usual 3D Setup that is customary for most EA Sports products. The intro screen and movie were very nicely done, with several Nascar drivers and crewmembers doing the introductions. Once past the movie, I was asked to enter a driver name, hometown and other information to create a driver. The next step, selecting a car to drive, let you scroll through the 36 Winston Cup and 20 Busch Series drivers included with the game, as well as past legend's cars such as Alan Kulwicki and Elmo Langley. I selected my ride and went to the main menu.

At the main screen, you are greeted with an animated backdrop of a speedway with thunder and lightning rolling overhead. More interesting is the background music for the menu screens, which are in MP3 format that allows you to add your own music. Hearing Steppenwolf's "Magic Carpet Ride" really added to the overall attitude of this game.

On the main menu, you have 5 options to pick from:

• Quick Race - allows you to go to any track and run a single race with practice, qualifying and happy hour.
  
• Race Modes - from here you can do a solo testing session at any track, run a complete season, or race multiplayer through a network or over the internet.
  
• Features - you will find the player profile and replay option in this area.
  
• Settings - graphics, sound, difficulty and controller options are found here.
  
• Inside EA Sports - you can watch videos of other EA products, or view the opening intro movies to the game.