NASCAR: The Game 2013

 PC
User Score
4.9

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 49 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 49
  2. Mixed: 14 out of 49
  3. Negative: 21 out of 49

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  1. aaosoth3
    Aug 5, 2013
    0
    I'm a huge racing fan, and play mostly racing games. This one is just garbage. The mechanics are solid, and running practice and qualifying rounds are fun, but as soon as there is any AI racing against you the game falls apart. The AI will crash you, themselves, your mother-in-law, any planes flying overhead, anything and everything.

    50 lap race on Bristol, 47 run under caution while I    I'm a huge racing fan, and play mostly racing games. This one is just garbage. The mechanics are solid, and running practice and qualifying rounds are fun, but as soon as there is any AI racing against you the game falls apart. The AI will crash you, themselves, your mother-in-law, any planes flying overhead, anything and everything.

    50 lap race on Bristol, 47 run under caution while I was involved in maybe 3 wrecks. I had pole position on Texas, and did 15 restarts in a row trying to get a first lap without a caution but it never happened. The AI would wreck each other before the first corner every single time. Also, if you're lucky enough to get through the first few laps and let the field spread out a bit, the AI will wreck you for no reason.

    Save yourself some money and steer clear of this game.    … Expand
  2. trujustin
    Jul 25, 2013
    1
    When I played NASCAR THE GAME 2013 for the first time, I must admit I was greatly disappointed. The game plays nothing like a racing simulator. You can't even do your own pit stops or restarts. The AI is awful regardless of the difficulty level. Real fans have waited since 2003 for an updated NASCAR racing simulator, and I had great hopes that this would be it. Instead it's just anotherWhen I played NASCAR THE GAME 2013 for the first time, I must admit I was greatly disappointed. The game plays nothing like a racing simulator. You can't even do your own pit stops or restarts. The AI is awful regardless of the difficulty level. Real fans have waited since 2003 for an updated NASCAR racing simulator, and I had great hopes that this would be it. Instead it's just another arcade game no different than any other. People prefer a racing simulator as opposed to an arcade game. If you make NASCAR games in the future you should take this into consideration and create a true racing experience for players and not just another bad game.… Expand
  3. flakerumia
    Jul 25, 2013
    2
    Absolutely terrible game! Don't get me wrong. I'm not one of crazy F1 fans who hates NASCAR. It's just the game... It's just a silly arcade game with good graphics. 10 years old game "NASCAR Racing 2003 season" is still better than this.
    First of all, AI is terrible and it crashes all the time.
    Secondly the physics are so unrealistic and forgiving Making a 180mph turn in    Absolutely terrible game! Don't get me wrong. I'm not one of crazy F1 fans who hates NASCAR. It's just the game... It's just a silly arcade game with good graphics. 10 years old game "NASCAR Racing 2003 season" is still better than this.
    First of all, AI is terrible and it crashes all the time.
    Secondly the physics are so unrealistic and forgiving Making a 180mph turn in Atlanta/Chartlotte with full throttle? Sure, why not... still without spinning the car. Of course I'm talking about "realistic" mode with all aids turned off.

    There are only two cool things about it when we compare "NASCAR: The Game 2013" to NASCAR Racing 2003 season Career mode and proper rules like: GWC finish, double-file restarts and so on.

    To sum up, don't buy it. Play NR2003 or iRacing if you like racing online.    … Expand
  4. jjhill001
    Jul 25, 2013
    7
    Let me start this off by saying that I am not a NASCAR fan, I get all I know from the sport off of sportcenter when trying to watch something I actually care about. But I do LOVE racing games, I'm pretty damn good at them too.

    PROs: Having never played a NASCAR game that was actually based on real NASCAR I've got to say that playing with a controller and less control in that big mob of    Let me start this off by saying that I am not a NASCAR fan, I get all I know from the sport off of sportcenter when trying to watch something I actually care about. But I do LOVE racing games, I'm pretty damn good at them too.

    PROs: Having never played a NASCAR game that was actually based on real NASCAR I've got to say that playing with a controller and less control in that big mob of cars trying not to crash at 170 mph is quite frankly one of the coolest experiences I've ever had in a racing game and truly had me on the edge of my seat. The racing experience is rather solid. A career mode is always a good thing and even though it's not fully fleshed out (as far as I can tell I just finished Daytona).

    Critiques: I'm putting these here because they may not be cons for everyone. I see a lot of reviews on here about how the AI crashes too much. I played my Daytona at 200 laps and almost every caution was my fault. I was in some pretty rough crashes and was able to continue, perhaps if big crashes like this happen you should be out of the race if that's your thing.

    Cons: It seems as if the game is unfinished almost like the Developers didn't get a chance to add everything they wanted. (wouldn't be the first time a publisher pushed a game out before it was ready.) There have been one or two freezes that were kind of bad. I think that being a rookie driver in NASCAR should be more difficult, I've seen how much trouble Danica Patrick has had making the transition on sportscenter. I'm playing on Hard difficulty and I finished 4th in Daytona simply by making my pit stop times add up correctly and being one of the guys who doesn't pit on lap 195, this could have been because I messed with the gas thing a bit. I'll know the next race. Let me create a driver with a portrait and do interviews and stuff in between races, these kinds of things add to the experience and allow you to make up your own story, having driver rivalries and stuff like that would also be cool.

    Overall Impressions: It's a solid racing game, with a better career mode than most (it has one). It had me a more tense than most racing games I've playing in a while. I had to actually work to get position despite the aforementioned ease in tricking the AI with pit stops. AI causing crashes there were only 2 in the 200 laps I ran last race, the other 7 were because I tried to move over or my car went a little too high.    … Expand
  5. xxkennerxx
    Jul 24, 2013
    3
    The AI in this game is absolutely awful. They constantly cause crashes (every 1-4 laps from what I've seen so far) that barely lets you get any race time in. I spent 1 hour restarting a 5-lap game over and over, trying to get 1 race without an AI-caused caution, and couldn't do it. I eventually had to turn cautions off to make the game playable, and even then they normally cause about 1The AI in this game is absolutely awful. They constantly cause crashes (every 1-4 laps from what I've seen so far) that barely lets you get any race time in. I spent 1 hour restarting a 5-lap game over and over, trying to get 1 race without an AI-caused caution, and couldn't do it. I eventually had to turn cautions off to make the game playable, and even then they normally cause about 1 red-flag per race (doing 2-5% length races).

    In terms of gameplay I've seen many instances where I can secure the pole by a hefty margin, but when put into the actual race every single car will out-accelerate my car, even off the start. It makes it feel like the game has shifty biases to try and make it feel like it is more challenging, when really it's just frustrating.

    I rate at a 3 hoping that multiplayer without AIs will have some saving graces, but how terrible the AI is makes single-player unplayable for me.

    I would love a refund on this game if I could get one, and I don't think I've felt that way about a game ever before.    … Expand
  6. Vermaas
    Jul 27, 2013
    8
    Game is really solid. All guys complaining about Ai at Texas, or Las Vegas, or hell, other tracks doesn't simply know how to race. I've finished a lot of races, and I still managed to win, not cause crash. Most people doesn't even know how nascar works, they don't know how to drive, and they whine about game because they can't play it. Most crashes are caused by inconsequence of player, ofGame is really solid. All guys complaining about Ai at Texas, or Las Vegas, or hell, other tracks doesn't simply know how to race. I've finished a lot of races, and I still managed to win, not cause crash. Most people doesn't even know how nascar works, they don't know how to drive, and they whine about game because they can't play it. Most crashes are caused by inconsequence of player, of course Ai causes crashes too sometimes (but not every lap, like some users here pointed out, which is complete bullcrap). They do make mistakes, and that's why this game is good. On steam forums there were numorous threads about AI not making cautions or crashes. Okay, so devs fixed it, and now, they are complain that there is too many? What the hell people? Otherwise game is good, graphics are solid, Career mode lacks though, it's a abit flat, and you cannot use your own skin, but hey, you can still use your skins for quick races, multiplayer. Game has really nifty eye candy modelling, they are sure improved from console counterparts, and even if it's console port, this game is very nicely optimised, has variety of options to adjust, not like most console ports today. OH yeah, multiplayer. It's good, has some lag issues there and there, but it's playable, hell, it's freaking fun. I also want to point out that most reviews here are to bash Nascar because of left turns. Don't listen to them. Nascar is all about door-2-door racing, bumper-2-bumper, and this game catches the beauty of this sport. It has good stimulating physics engine which gives you feeling of the car, very good sound, nice in-car view which adds a lot of depth to races (some games lacks interior view like GRID 2 for stupid reasons), and crapload of other stuff. I am giving this one a solid 8, this game is fun, heed the mockers, heed the haters. This game is really good provides very nice racing experience, that every nascar fan (or even just racing fan) would love.… Expand
  7. ArmCritic
    Jul 25, 2013
    1
    Graphics of Nascar haven't changed much car voices are awful the difference between cars are just speed and very little things AI is awful opponents are dumb in medium difficulty and they cause crashes
  8. AbyssionGaming
    Jul 24, 2013
    7
    Ultimately, NASCAR games have been one of the greatest stepping stones in the budding career of a sim racing enthusiast. Many drivers can recall countless hours spent fine-tuning their setups on NASCAR ‘99 for the original PlayStation, signing their first multimillion dollar sponsor on the legendary NASCAR Thunder 2004, or turning their daydreams into reality by purchasing a Nextel CupUltimately, NASCAR games have been one of the greatest stepping stones in the budding career of a sim racing enthusiast. Many drivers can recall countless hours spent fine-tuning their setups on NASCAR ‘99 for the original PlayStation, signing their first multimillion dollar sponsor on the legendary NASCAR Thunder 2004, or turning their daydreams into reality by purchasing a Nextel Cup team in NASCAR 07. While the occasional challenger appeared, offering innovating new career modes and racing series, EA’s long-running NASCAR franchise experienced both immense highs and devastating lows, going from critically acclaimed to universally hated in less than a decade. Incredibly detailed career modes were steadily phased out, extra tracks and game modes suddenly went missing, and by the final game in the series, NASCAR 09, even the four makes involved in the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup season did not appear in-game, in favor of a generic set of brand markings for all cars.

    If, like me, you’re not well-versed in NASCAR, you’re probably thinking there’s not much track variety at all, however if you only look at the shape of the tracks, you’re right. They’re mostly oval shaped tracks, though there is one track in the game that looks like a ‘normal’ race-track. While the tracks are all the same general shape, the size, banks, corners and pit area are all different. Some tracks are large and wide, allowing you to pull far ahead, driving solo. Some tracks are small and narrow, forcing you to stick with the pack. Some tracks are a mixture. It isn’t until you get out there and drive or in this case play the game that you realize how different these tracks really are.

    In NASCAR 2013 there are plenty of customization options to choose from. You can paint your car and stick it with sponsors of your choice. There is a lot of freedom in the design as you can make your own sticker using simple-shaped decals and turn it into one layer. Doing this allows you room to create detailed images and decals for use in recreating real-life stock cars or even creating your very own design Not that you’re likely to run out with 1200 layers available. Visual customization isn’t the only customization available. During season mode you can unlock new sponsors for your car and also upgrade the parts using your race winnings.

    There are many different ways to get first place. One is Drafting. Drafting can be driving behind a car to reduce drag, then shooting out from behind it to overtake it this is the type most people are familiar with but it can also mean ‘docking’ your car with another to allow both of you to gain speed. ‘Docking’ is a bit riskier as it can raise engine temperatures, but can have a larger pay-off if you do it correctly. On the other side of ‘Docking’, there’s Blocking. Blocking is simple and just involves positioning your car in a way that stops you being overtaken, but trying to keep this up can easily cause a crash and a caution this could cause loss of position. Interestingly, while crashing brings up a caution flag, you can use this to your advantage and gain some positions by bringing the whole pack closer to first place and gaining positions on driver who decide to pit under a caution. Finding a balance between all of these techniques can be fun and cause for experimentation.

    In my experience of multiplayer, coming into this as a rookie, I was destroyed. In the races I participated in online, everyone was much faster than me from the starting line, almost as if their cars were more powerful. I think the reason for this is single-player upgrades carrying over to multi-player. In multi-player, the only race option is a normal race. This was a little bit disappointing. There is plenty of control over the parameters of the race, which somewhat makes up for the lack of other modes.

    NASCAR 2013 does enough to redeem itself from the negative pre-conceptions of the sport, but only if you give it the chance to. While there are a few minor bugs to be found, they don’t detract from the well-polished and fun core experience. NASCAR 2013 is full of little touches that neatly tie the package together. From the ambient garage in the menus to your character’s feet moving in first-person view, there are lots of little touches that just tie the game together well.    … Expand
  9. Deadraque
    Feb 20, 2014
    2
    I hoped for a great nascar game but we received a piece of junk that will fast be forgotten. I bought this on sale just when 2014 was released, so for 4.99 $ i wasn't ruined. Well I love Nascar and been playing a lot of seasons on NR2003 and been playing on Iracing... but I miss careers So I hoped for a bit of joy....... wrong very wrong... The game is just undrivable, I have tried forI hoped for a great nascar game but we received a piece of junk that will fast be forgotten. I bought this on sale just when 2014 was released, so for 4.99 $ i wasn't ruined. Well I love Nascar and been playing a lot of seasons on NR2003 and been playing on Iracing... but I miss careers So I hoped for a bit of joy....... wrong very wrong... The game is just undrivable, I have tried for hours finding a good wheel g25 setup without success to have a good feeling, but i insisted and tried to get used to bad driving. So I went to my first Race, Daytona. I use 0 assists and was able to qualify as 1st! Great so the race started... Euh no Pace Car, no green flag adrenaline? The computer have control and release you on the line and then comes the worst You are in pole but your car seems sooooooo slow that they all catch you and don't seem to care a lot you are there so they bump you all sides and you crash. So you star 43th from pole....

    Ok my race is set to 50% of real time so 100 laps I managed to do 60 laps in a row and was 1st again! (that would never happen in real life) after a pitstop (well there is none the computer controls it again, and it's horrible) but then by passing a slow car he hits me and create an accident (pretty bad to my car) but no problem my car restarts 15th! 15th? why? you don't know because while you are crashing it suddenly cuts the action and you are in restart line. In the restarts they crashed me 3 times. I did repairs and restarted 43th again. 2 laps from the end i am 2nd again! (yeah jimmy looks like trash compared to my driving skill :) ) an what happened again another idiot ai crashed me again, and restarted 41st I was able to finish 38 in the 2 last laps. I was disgusted by the way things went. But I went to phoenix, and there my car barely can brake and handling get's absolutely impossible. So stop i give up keep your crap and I will replay 2003 with mods. 10 years and not one freaking descent Nascar game I am amazed.

    Oh and by the way where are the Truck? where are the Bush series? at least in Nascar 2009 they had that and was playable even if it was to arcade. And then they hope to sell you some dlc's with paints... really? how about making a playable game, pitting, pace car, no auto start, Trucks and bush series.... nope Paints at 5,99, it says all about the devs! and 2014 is what a patch from 2013 at full price... Great great attitude!

    The only positive thing is the career mode with sponsors an so on but not being able to go far enough to enjoy it. The game is an overall frustration.    … Expand
  10. KyleJPie10
    Jul 24, 2013
    6
    NASCAR: The Game 2013 is overall a solid sim-cade title. Much like Codemasters "F1" titles, it offers a semi-authentic racing experience with polished graphics. If you have the right equipment, it can actually be an extremely enjoyable experience.

    Using a controller can be quite frustrating, so I personally recommend a Logitech Driving Force GT wheel. The force feedback is absolutely    NASCAR: The Game 2013 is overall a solid sim-cade title. Much like Codemasters "F1" titles, it offers a semi-authentic racing experience with polished graphics. If you have the right equipment, it can actually be an extremely enjoyable experience.

    Using a controller can be quite frustrating, so I personally recommend a Logitech Driving Force GT wheel. The force feedback is absolutely atrocious in this game, so I also recommend using the centering spring in the wheel instead and turning all in-game feedback settings off.

    The online multiplayer is extremely buggy much like the console version. But the single player is very polished in comparison to the console version. The AI is more responsive, but they do still randomly brake check on super speedways in the lower difficulties. The car upgrade system is very basic and kind of pointless in my opinion. It is also virtually impossible to finish well in the harder difficulties in career mode until you have a vast majority of the upgrades.

    The paint booth feature is a strong point for this game, you can get very in depth with your paint schemes and even recreate old obsolete schemes from your favorite drivers if you want to take the time to do so.

    Overall, the game is solid and much better than its predecessor and console counterpart. It includes all sprint cup tracks and regular drivers and offers a fun NASCAR experience for PC. That is something that we have not been able to say in over 10 years.    … Expand
  11. Patfox74
    Aug 16, 2013
    8
    I recommend this game with no doubt. Different from other categories of race, NASCAR has aggressive behavior if you remember like saw on tv, run about 190 MPH cars touch each other, big crashes occurs and is normal a runner that started above 10th place on the grid and get victory or a place into five first positions! This game put all this things togeter!!! I agree that changes andI recommend this game with no doubt. Different from other categories of race, NASCAR has aggressive behavior if you remember like saw on tv, run about 190 MPH cars touch each other, big crashes occurs and is normal a runner that started above 10th place on the grid and get victory or a place into five first positions! This game put all this things togeter!!! I agree that changes and improves must be available and talking with developers, this will come soon! 8 to a game that will receive better changes is very good!… Expand
  12. jce69
    Oct 5, 2013
    8
    The game is getting better, after patches tho. I think if they worked on the multiplayer and mimicked Nascar's 2007 career mode, and worked out all the bugs I think they could have a really good game.
  13. evanrm
    Nov 24, 2013
    0
    I'm re-reviewing this game. It is so colossally crap it's almost beyond belief. My car actually stops turning whenever I'm leading the pack. It literally just starts going in a straight line through the turn. What a pathetic game. The dev team ought to be ashamed of themselves. The AI crashes EVERY chance they get. In fact, if you're trying to get away from a crash, the AI just driveI'm re-reviewing this game. It is so colossally crap it's almost beyond belief. My car actually stops turning whenever I'm leading the pack. It literally just starts going in a straight line through the turn. What a pathetic game. The dev team ought to be ashamed of themselves. The AI crashes EVERY chance they get. In fact, if you're trying to get away from a crash, the AI just drive directly into you with ZERO braking. And if cars crash, there's a 99% chance your car will get turned around and around while other cars drive into you without even trying to brake. 50% of the time it crashes after a race. It crashes EVERY time after Texas. It now crashes after EVERY race where I get first place, which means it never saves the position and I have to try and get any position other than first. What a s#$! game.… Expand
  14. Fuby
    Aug 31, 2013
    5
    Well..it looks pretty.. the tracks are nice... that is all I can "honestly" say about this title.. They dropped the ball big time on this one..

    LAG LAG LAG.. the whole Multiplayer is screwed in this title.. very poor performance.. no ping limiter.. you will be hard pressed to get 5 people to go around the track 2 times without LAG! A MONTH after the first MP race weekend.. There is a    Well..it looks pretty.. the tracks are nice... that is all I can "honestly" say about this title.. They dropped the ball big time on this one..

    LAG LAG LAG.. the whole Multiplayer is screwed in this title.. very poor performance.. no ping limiter.. you will be hard pressed to get 5 people to go around the track 2 times without LAG!

    A MONTH after the first MP race weekend.. There is a “second” Beta running that suppose to fix some issues.. nothing is mentioned in steam forums as to what and when this will happen. You would think a company that makes games would know how to update their community..as broken as it is.. I assume they will add some steam server list thing and nothing else for multiplayer. The whole title is just an assumption at this point. disgraceful... buyer beware...    … Expand
  15. AWG
    Aug 13, 2013
    6
    The worst AI from a racing game I've ever experienced. Cars will keep driving on their prearranged paths no matter if there's another one (including you) blocking the way. "AI balancing is still on-going and the team is hard at work on it". Too bad this would have been done BEFORE the game release, not three weeks later.
    I don't know. I tried to love this game because I really wanted to    The worst AI from a racing game I've ever experienced. Cars will keep driving on their prearranged paths no matter if there's another one (including you) blocking the way. "AI balancing is still on-going and the team is hard at work on it". Too bad this would have been done BEFORE the game release, not three weeks later.
    I don't know. I tried to love this game because I really wanted to enjoy some different race experience (different from F1 and Rally) but I've never been able to. I'll be happy to change my vote when the Ai is still fixed but for now it's just a 6.    … Expand
  16. Calvinhermse
    Aug 23, 2013
    3
    The game itself has several modes. A career mode, a single season mode, and even a testing mode. That cannot take the fact away that this game is very buggy. Replay camera bugs, sound bugs, so on, so on, and so on. At some point, it makes the game unplayable.
  17. AkihiroK
    Oct 3, 2013
    4
    Good game overall, however certain things most likely included to make the races more difficult like the fact that in a short race of 15 laps within 7 laps, 5 of the actual race length, the tires wear out and the car ceases to preform.
  18. Motcritic
    Nov 30, 2013
    2
    This game lacks both the realism to be a simulator and the intensity and fun to be a good game.

    The graphics don't look very good for 2013, they look like 2007 (give or take) graphics. The gameplay is just about getting a better car and hit the accelerator, if you choose any other difficulty than the hardest it won't be a hard game, but the hardest mode is just impossible to compete at    This game lacks both the realism to be a simulator and the intensity and fun to be a good game.

    The graphics don't look very good for 2013, they look like 2007 (give or take) graphics.
    The gameplay is just about getting a better car and hit the accelerator, if you choose any other difficulty than the hardest it won't be a hard game, but the hardest mode is just impossible to compete at the start of the career.
    The racing usually goes into a dull car train, no crashes, no cars trying maneuvers, just driving around a track at max speed, really boring.
    The crash physics are astonishing bad both realistically and graphically, I mean, if you cant make a good racing game, at least give us some eye candy. I chosen full damage options, even then I stop my car in the middle of the track, I get a car to slam into me at 300km/h and the damage on my car was a partially damaged frontal suspension... seriously? seriously?    … Expand
  19. wbgs-gaming
    Dec 26, 2013
    1
    This game is bad Graphics are spot on tracks are spot on but the physics are not, I cannot use my Fanatec wheel and pedal or even use my Lighting SRT shifter at all.I tried to use my controller Logitech Dual Action but the car keeps moving right forcing me to correct steer, Making my car spin this game is not suited for pc at all. With no dedicated servers people will lag, With no moddingThis game is bad Graphics are spot on tracks are spot on but the physics are not, I cannot use my Fanatec wheel and pedal or even use my Lighting SRT shifter at all.I tried to use my controller Logitech Dual Action but the car keeps moving right forcing me to correct steer, Making my car spin this game is not suited for pc at all. With no dedicated servers people will lag, With no modding support this seems like a get ritch scheme for the devs. The physics were the issue for the Console and now its the same.Pc version should have dedicated server and wheel support along with shifters very poor game go back to Rfactor or NR2003 hell even Nascar Heat smokes this.… Expand
  20. XDavidX
    Nov 23, 2015
    10
    The game is just amazing. I love play this game. For me this game is amazing ! Nothing more to comment because this game is amazing ! I rate this 10/10

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
64

Mixed or average reviews - based on 7 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 7
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 7
  3. Negative: 2 out of 7
  1. Thunderbolt
    Oct 1, 2013
    30
    For some, it may be enough to simply have a new Nascar experience, but as a game, it’s not going to hold an appeal for anyone beyond those who simply want a straightforward replication of the sport.
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  2. Gamereactor Sweden
    Aug 23, 2013
    40
    Despite a lot of content, Nascar: The Game 2013 is lacking in almost every gameplay aspect. Please let someone more talented do the Nascar series in the future.
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  3. Hooked Gamers
    Aug 14, 2013
    65
    If you are a casual racing fan or someone who has not played a racing simulation with any regularity, NASCAR 2013 is not the game for you. The lack of a comprehensive tutorial pretty much prevents you from gaining any sort of entertainment out of it past the first hour or two. But, if you are a fan of NASCAR and its simulations, or if you have plenty of experience with racing simulations, I think you will be able to look past the obstacles and find a relatively enjoyable game within.
    Read full review
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