NASCAR Heat 3 Reviews
Whether in the shop or on the track, NASCAR Heat 3 delivers fun moments even if it's not the complete product
NASCAR Heat 3 is a fun and entertaining stock car racing game that needs to take more steps towards offering a simulation for racing fans.
While NASCAR Heat 3 is still a fun racer and a great representation of the sport and its support classes, it just doesn't do enough to differentiate itself from the previous two games.
While the gameplay and consistently improving modes are the obvious strong suits of NASCAR Heat 3, the game is still just a touch short of an elite racing title because it lacks personality and high-level presentation. That said, the groundwork and the second floor are in place for a complete racing experience, the developers and publisher just need to add a rough and some pops of color.
Ultimately, there is a difference between being easy and not very good. NASCAR Heat 3 is severely let down by the anodyne on-track action. Lacking any sort of driver enjoyment undoes the hard work put into the officially licenced lineup and career path options. Even for a racing game fan, this game is as dull as dishwater and extraordinarily derivative.
While it has some good ideas that are well-intentioned and will surely provide some entertainment to die-hards, NASCAR Heat 3 is missing all those things and, in the wider scheme of racing games, is still several laps behind.
Racing in circles or triangles shouldn't be all that much fun and yet Monster Games have managed to make the sport just that. Building on last year's title, the team has added great new features that go deeper with the sport than ever before.
Though Nascar Heat 3 is a solid racing sim overall, it could have raised to greater heights with more exciting content for those outside the niche market, and a few tweaks to the frame rate stability and cheesy voice acting.
Monster Games worked hard to make their game fun and accesible, but while enjoyable it will hardly impress anybody.
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The improvements to NASCAR Heat 3 are so profound that it's hard to believe that this is even from the same team. It's still no Forza, or even Driveclub, but the game is moving in a decent direction that makes it easier and fun to play than previous games.
There seems to be actual strategy involved in this game and let me tell you that came out of left field for me. As you move forward and get better, even your team can be leveled up and get better at what they do. So if you are looking for a full racing experience you will find that Nascar Heat 3 fits what you are looking for.
Stock cars are not nearly as sexy as other high-performance racing machines, but that doesn't mean they aren't fun to drive. While nothing has been done to improve on last year's graphics, a full dirt track series and fleshed out career mode are welcome editions in NASCAR Heat 3. There is plenty of bumping and grinding, but gamers of all skill levels will find a difficulty setting to suit their abilities, so strap in and put the pedal to the metal!
They won't let you complete your own NASCAR career or build your own team, but they have better physics and spectacular visuals. The choice is yours, and either way you'll be suitably entertained.
Overall though, if you’re a fan of NASCAR then there is no reason not to check out the latest entry in the series, but if you’re after a fully licensed experienced you may be a little disappointed
NASCAR Heat 3 is a good follow up to last year's version expanding some of the more fun points in that release. The additions in the dirt series were great, along with the career mode upgrades, so they have done a lot of solid work. The game handles just as great as last year's version, but it still struggles in the visuals department, with competitors out there that look much better, which is the one complaint I have about the game.
Some aspects of NASCAR Heat 3 are well done. The challenge mode is absorbing and addictive, thanks to its quick-burst nature and the interesting context of the scenarios. The career mode, too, has been improved somewhat from last year's offering, although it's nothing out of the ordinary. Unfortunately, these elements don't make up for the rest of it. The visuals are sub-par. The engine audio and the sound of the tyres squealing are some of the worst around. The physics, the collision detection, and the damage model are all terrible. Worst of all, the force feedback is so bad it performs like a Playstation 2 era driving game. This was the major issue with last year's iteration, so it's unacceptable that this hasn't been addressed. There was little point in adding new features like dirt racing, with these issues still present. Overall, NASCAR Heat 3 doesn't have its priorities in order.
Three years into its run, it's clear that NASCAR Heat is a series continuing to make a move to the front of the racing pack.
Monster Games does show improvement this year with NASCAR Heat 3 it's just not as big a jump as I would've liked to see.
NASCAR Heat is a game for the diehard fans of the sport. Your favorite series and drivers are all here for you to get behind the wheel with.