NASCAR Arcade Rush Review – Not Exciting Enough

Compared to other motorsports, some might say that NASCAR is a bit boring. In any case, games based on the sport have historically been a bit dry, and often not all that fun. Enter NASCAR Arcade Rush, an attempt to make the sport young and hip and, more importantly, entertaining. It’s a shame that it misses the mark.

Forget realistic physics and the like, the clue is in the title of NASCAR Arcade Rush – this is an arcade racing game through and through. No matter what mode you jump into, after selecting a car and a driver, you pretty much just keep the accelerator held down, perhaps touching the brake from time to time if it doesn’t quite look like you’ll make a corner before veering off the track.

Another staple of arcade racing games also make the cut – boost. You start each race with a full Nitrous bar, and your use of it needs to be measured. Run out and you’ll find yourself at a disadvantage, though you can charge a little by driving over yellow/orange boost pads that litter the track. There are blue and purple boost pads, too, that often extend for a length of the track to give you a serious burst of speed.

Fully recharging your Nitrous bar requires you to pit in between laps, but it’s a pointless feature. The nature of the racing action here means that your competitors are never far behind, and so by entering the pit you’re guaranteed to go from first to last. It’s not too hard making up your lost positions if you’re competent enough, but if it’s the last lap you might struggle. It’s simply not worth the risk; thrifty use of your Nitrous as well as driving over as many yellow/orange boost pads as you can is much more effective.

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What’s really missing here is the ability to drift. Yeah, this is a NASCAR game, but there aren’t boost pads or Nitrous in the real world sport, either. Instead, you just hold a direction as you approach each corner and hope for the best. As a result, it feels like there’s little skill involved in the game. It also makes it rather boring. There’s no getting the back end out as you enter a corner, trying to hit the perfect angle before boosting out of it like you get in so many better arcade racers.

Given the price of NASCAR Arcade Rush, it’s also disappointing how little content there is. Cup Series mode present nine short championships for you to vie for success in, whether alone or with others via split-screen or online. Aside from that, your only other options are to take part in a quick race or time attack event. Longevity is forcibly drawn out with a large number of car and character customisation unlockables, but they’re not all that enticing.

It’s a shame that NASCAR Arcade Rush is so dull to play and lacking in content, as it clearly does have potential. We’re particularly taken by its tracks, which ask what if real world NASCAR circuits were ripped up and remade with the same ethos with which a Scalextric track is created. That means there’s a lot of elevation, jumps, and ridiculous bends. Along with bold and colourful visuals, NASCAR Arcade Rush tries its best to put a smile on your face, but the gameplay just isn’t there.

NASCAR Arcade Rush isn’t a total disaster – there are worse arcade racing games out there. It does disappoint with its racing action that just isn’t as much fun as it should be, however, and there isn’t much content considering its asking price. Pick it up at a discount and you might have some fun with it, especially if you play it locally with friends, but otherwise there are other, cheaper, arcade racing games more worthy of your time and money.