Drivers, start your engines and get ready to race against a field of NASCAR's biggest stars, where at speeds of up to 200 mph, rubbin' is racing and trading paint with Dale Earnhardt is just another day at the office.
NASCAR 2000 features all the major current NASCAR teams, tracks, cars and drivers as well as seven NASCAR legends including Cale Yarborough, Davey Allison and "The King," Richard Petty.
From rookie drivers to veteran racers, you are challenged to jump in for a quick race, enjoy fantasy road racing tracks or experience a complete NASCAR race weekend with multiple qualifying sessions and "happy hour" practice. Racing fans can delve deeper into the game in Season Mode as they compete in a series of races for the Points Championship. NASCAR 2000 also features photo-realistic graphics and exclusive TV-style commentary by Benny Parsons and broadcast legend Bob Jenkins, as well as crew chief and spotter audio assistance.
NASCAR 2000 also supports multi-player gameplay through a LAN, serial racing or online gameplay for up to three opponents. Online action allows you to go online and match-up against friends, or make new friends and form alliances.
The game features many NASCAR racers, including series champion Dale Jarrett, NASCAR Rookie of the Year Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon, Bobby Labonte, Jeff Burton and "The Intimidator," Dale Earnhardt. Other drivers include Dale Earnhardt Jr., Mike Skinner, Mark Martin, Ward Burton, Terry Labonte, Darrell Waltrip, Rusty Wallace, Jeremy Mayfield, John Andretti, Steve Park, Kenny Irwin Jr., Kenny Wallace, Johnny Benson, Kenny Schrader, Ricky Rudd, Michael Waltrip, Bill Elliott, Wally Dallenbach, Sterling Marlin, Kevin LePage, Bobby Hamilton, Chad Little, Joe Nemechek, Adam Petty, Geoff Bodine and Kyle Petty.
In addition to these current drivers, you can attempt to grab the checkered flag racing as past legends such as Richard Petty, Alan Kulwicki, Bobby Allison, David Pearson, Benny Parsons and others. All of the "Big Three" manufacturers are represented in the game, and each driver races in the car from his manufacturer, whether it's a Ford Taurus, Chevrolet Monte Carlo or a Pontiac Grand Prix.
Eighteen official NASCAR tracks are in the game, including Atlanta, California, Charlotte, Bristol, Darlington, Homestead-Miami, Indianapolis, Las Vegas, Martinsville, Michigan, North Carolina, Phoenix, Pocono, Richmond, Sears Point, Talledega, Texas and Watkins Glen. Five fantasy road-racing tracks are also featured that expand the racing possibilities and give you 23 total tracks to choose from.
To enhance the racing experience, EA SPORTS has incorporated a sophisticated sound engine that models 750+ horsepower NASCAR engines in close proximity while racing. The Staccato sound system will allow you to experience the changes in audio when they are close to the wall, passing other drivers, and moving through traffic. Also modeled in NASCAR 2000 are the dynamic crash noises and skid sounds, which now tracks all four tires for greater realism. EA SPORTS has integrated other audible race sounds such as the changes that occur when an engine drops a cylinder, throttles-down and shifts gears.
The NASCAR 2000 development team has gone to great lengths to bring the NASCAR experience to as broad an audience as possible by lowering system requirements for the game. However, high-end computer users should be aware that the game is optimized for use with Direct3D accelerator cards. NASCAR 2000 offers an enhanced graphical experience with richly textured 3D cars and track environments with real-time lighting, smoke and shadowing effects.
The AI (artificial intelligence) of the in-game drivers has been created to perform as close as possible to the real NASCAR drivers that they represent. The development team meticulously rated each driver for aggressiveness, defensiveness, skill level, qualifying, engine power, risk-taking and car rating to recreate each driver's distinctive driving styles in the game. Real drafting characteristics are also rated based on team, family and manufacturer loyalty.
For example, top drivers like Dale Jarrett or Jeff Gordon are tough to pass -- competitors may hook up and work with other drivers, forming temporary alliances to help them overtake drivers like Jarrett or Gordon, even if those drivers are outside their respective teams or manufacturers. However, just as in real life, when the final lap comes, it's every driver for himself.
-- Tara Hernandez, All Game Guide
