As soon as you start up NASCAR Heat 2, you’re going to be greeted to a nice clip of the world of NASCAR and it really instills a nice feeling of playing a NASCAR based title. Then when the video ends you’re going to see a menu filled with different game modes and that’s when you’re going to realize how much you can do in NASCAR Heat 2. Right off the bat, we’re going to flat out say NASCAR Heat 2 has a ton to do and that is great for a game like this. Racing games can become quickly boring when they rely on one or two modes. However, thanks to NASCAR Heat 2 having so many things to do—which we will explore in a moment—you’ll find that your $49.99 entry fee is worth it, if you’re looking for content.

As we stated, NASCAR Heat 2 has several different game modes to choose from and within those game modes, most have different means of playing. That’s due to the whole truck racing and Xfinity series on top of the Monster Energy Cup Series that you can jump into. This allows each mode to have an even wider berth of assorted styles to enjoy. Will you play Quick Race to jump right into the game, Championship mode or Career mode? Speaking of Career mode, let’s talk about that for a moment.

Career mode is easily one of our favorite aspects of NASCAR Heat 2. The feeling of you being part of the NASCAR is captured incredibly well. As you play and win you’ll see real life sponsors message you—in game obviously—offering you deals to race for them. Even other racers will at times message you various words of confidence or advice that makes the experience of Career mode even more immersive. We know that if we were left to our own devices we would be playing Career mode for several hours and not even realize it.

Another great aspect of NASCAR Heat 2 is the split screen mode. Folks, most games nowadays are losing split screen. That’s why when NASCAR Heat 2 announced players could enjoy racing against friends on the same screen we were ecstatic to see it. You could even jump online and play with up to 39 other players for some huge life-like NASCAR races. Alright we’ve praised NASCAR Heat 2 a lot, are there any bad things about it? Short answer: a few things so let us explore those.

Graphically, NASCAR Heat 2 isn’t horrible but compared to other racing titles like the Forza series or even Need for Speed, NASCAR Heat 2 looks poor. The cars look decent and show real life damage when you hit other cars or the walls of a circuit but it still looks more akin to a game that could have passed for a later last generation game. Though luckily the sound quality of NASCAR Heat 2 makes up for the weak visuals as the car sound great and the soundtrack used during the end of an event or during the menus sounds great.

Then let us also mention NASCAR Heat 2’s other minor flaws: the overly simple mechanics and niche theme. NASCAR Heat 2 compared to again more modern racing titles is very simple meaning don’t expect to have to worry much about car status and how everything is performing. Also, as much as we like NASCAR and have a great appreciation for the sport, not everyone is going to feel the same about it thus affecting your enjoyment of NASCAR Heat 2. This is made for fans and while newcomers can enjoy the simple modes of play, most will grow bored if they don’t invest themselves into the NASCAR world with in NASCAR Heat 2.

NASCAR Heat 2 is a solid NASCAR game and we’re happy to report that. The ho hum graphics, simple racing mechanics and obvious niche theme may put off most from picking up NASCAR Heat 2 and that is understandable. Though we here at Honey’s Anime enjoyed NASCAR Heat 2 and we’re sure those who love the NASCAR world will probably love it as well. Now let us ask you what are your thoughts about NASCAR Heat 2? Are you thinking of picking up this new NASCAR title or are you going to wait a while? Comment down below so we can hear from all of you beautiful people out there and be sure to stick around to Honey’s Anime for more great game reviews and articles.