EA ships NASCAR 2001
Posted by @ 4:55 PM, EST
EA’s NASCAR 2001 should be hitting the stores any time now.
Here’s a bit of the press release:

NASCAR 2001 for the PlayStation 2 takes full advantage of the console's graphic horsepower and the game features the best graphics in EA SPORTS NASCAR franchise history. Improved car physics and computer driver AI allows EA SPORTS to add greater depth to real-life driver tendencies in the game. Each driver is rated in five categories that translate his real-life abilities and tendencies onto the 'living racetrack' that exists in each game session.

"This isn't just the best NASCAR game we have ever made," said David DeMartini, executive producer in charge of NASCAR production. "NASCAR 2001 for the PlayStation 2 is positioned to be the best race game for the platform. We are excited to bring in fans from all racing genres to enjoy a great racing experience, NASCAR style."

Moving on to game-play, Nascar performs well despite some minor problems. While the basic control is decent, the game does suffer from occasional frame-rate drops and minor slowdown. Specifically, problems seem to occur during scenes involving multiple vehicles including crashes. If you can get past the aforementioned quibbles however, Nascar is a simulation players dream. With realistic drafting and intensely competitive AI, the game has surprising replay value despite only having two main game-play modes; Single Race and Championship. Furthermore, considering there's a dozen tracks available and more than thirty drivers available, it's the definitive Nascar simulation.