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Best of Both Worlds Racer

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 16 / 17
Date: January 04, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Let me just start by saying I'm a Formula 1, sports car and dirt track racing fan and have always vowed to never own a NASCAR game; too much left turning without enough sliding. I'm also a dedicated PC racer having put in many hours with Grand Prix Legends, F1 2002, Sports Car GT to name a few. I haven't ever given much thought or credit to console racers.
I bought this game for 3 reasons; it has Dirt track racing, my sons wanted a good racer for the Gamecube, it's made by the same team that created NASCAR Heat for the PC which has a good reputation. All I can say is that I'm very glad I took a chance with this game.
I've played all 3 of the Dirt Track Racing PC games by Ratbag, so I've had my fair share of good dirt track simulation. I have to say that the dirt series in this game is quite good. There's isn't many dirt tracks, but they're very well done and look quite realistic. The dirt cars' handling is also good and well modeled. What's surprised me the most with this game is the MODs series. These cars are definately very cool; have very sensitive handling and are just a blast to race! I'm even now enjoying the Cup series despite all the left hand turning!
This game has many other great things going for it; an incredibly deep career mode, good graphics and sound, personal difficulty settings, great car tweaking in the garage! If some of this sounds a bit too complex, you can just play the games fast action modes with the easiest settings and have a great arcade racing experience. On the other hand if you want, you can make this game a challenging racing simulation by cranking up all of the difficulty settings. I've also been quite surprised that a console controller can be made to deliver reasonably realistic control. That being said, I'll definately be trying this out soon with a wheel connected to my cube. The inclusion of high-end TV and Prologic II support shows that the company pulled out all stops in making this game.
This is the game that should have been made a long time ago for the other consoles and the PC for that matter. It has a bit of something for everyone and delivers the best of 2 worlds, both dirt track and NASCAR. It's not often that a game changes your opinion about something, but this game has definately got me enjoying NASCAR racing.

A fun Nascar game that manages to nad second place.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 10 / 10
Date: November 23, 2002
Author: Amazon User

NASCAR: Dirt to Daytona is a fun game, but it is not up to the standards set by Nascar Thunder 2003. You take a car from dirt races up to the Daytona 500, and you will have a lot of fun doing so. The graphical engine is simply awesome, and control is great. however, crashes are not as good, and sometimes races can feel like bumper cars. But still, NASCAR: Dirt to Daytona is incredibly fun, thanks to good control and an incredibly unique career mode. This product is definetely a must-buy, but you might want to pick up Nascar Thunder 2003 first.

Exellent Racing Game!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 6
Date: November 22, 2004
Author: Amazon User

In my search for a great racing game, this is my favorite. It has an entire mode that you can use to do serious racing and do an entire career. It also has the other stuff that all racing games have- a racing mode. You can go through an entire weekend and mess around or try to get ponts and unlock new special modes. It is easy to crash if you set some settings right, but you can adjust the settings to make it so that it is almost impossible to crash too.

the only cons to this game would have to be the unrealistic damage. you can turn up the damage to full, and then ram the wall and drive away.

otherwise, this game is exellent.

THIS GAME IS SOLID

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 9
Date: November 25, 2002
Author: Amazon User

This is more of an intitial impression than a review with about 3 hours playing time in.

PROS:
Solid frame rate and the IGN review said it remains solid in split screen.

Control is tight and responsive without being overly sensitive.

Physics are more sim than arcade..I really like the balance they struck.

Dust and tire smoke effects are excellent. It's great driving through a bunch of white smoke or dust when there's a spin or wreck in front of you.

Car setup is extensive for those that like that. The default cars do pretty well and you can adjust the AI.

Graphics are pretty good but not stellar.

Sound is good but not great. The engine sounds are pretty good. Feedback from drifting and sliding is done very well on pavement, you don't hear much on the dirt.

Car views include bumper cam(my favorite for sense of speed), hood view which is actually a kind of see-thru chassis view, cockpit view, and outside behind view(near and far I believe).

AI is adjustable in 5 steps plus a slider that goes up to 105%. Haven't played enough to say how good the AI is yet.

Lots of different play modes available including championship, career, race the pro, single race, Beat the heat(34 challenges in which you can earn gold, silver, or bronze).

Options settings are plentiful for things like length of race, flags, wear factor(for pitstops), damage level, AI strength.

The damage and random breakdowns are a great feature. Slam into a wall and feel the difference it makes in handling. You're racing along in your groove doing well and suddenly your transmission, power steering, or some other system breaks down. I've managed to blow an engine. You can turn these things off if you want.

There are four classes to race in. Nascar Dirt(no pits), Featherlight Modified, Craftsman Truck, and Nascar Cup. The "Draft Meter" is available only in the "Truck and Cup Series"

You can do a custom paint job on your cars.

The manual does a good job of explaining adjustments on the car.

The replay feature is great with the ability to jump from car to car and different view points. It plays the whole race back.

CONS:
The only con that comes to mind with my limited play time is the AI strength. Don't know how challenging it will be as you get good with the game.

In summary: I don't write reviews or impressions because it gets kind of subjective what people like. This game is loads of fun for me and if you're a race game fan you should at least give it a rent.

Happy Racing :-)

Simply the best physics in any console title to date

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: April 17, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Unlock the realistic physics bonus (it takes some commitment), and you're good to go. What you find lacking from games like the Gran Turismo series is actually represented here: losing traction in turns, losing balance during braking, independently-locked wheels, peeling out, internal and external damage, etc. The Gamecube's controller is wonderful for this game, if you don't have a wheel. This is the way you imagined the analog triggers going to work as throttle & brake, with button shifting (although there are other schemes too, if you'd prefer). Quite impressive. This title just misses out on a little polish - not all tracks are playable in every mode, and with just three road courses, the great physics model is sadly underutilized. NASCAR: Dirt to Daytona is a hidden gem, that won't be given its due in video game or racing sim history.

nascar dirt to daytona

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 3
Date: July 10, 2005
Author: Amazon User

The first time i played this game was at a friends house and we would turn the damage up and wreck the other drivers you can race in trucks,cars,dirt cars,modifed this game is awsome if never have played you have to if you watch nascar and wait to see the big wreck then you need to play nascar dirt to daytona you can cause a huge wreck

BEST GAME EVER!!!!!

If not race fan need not buy

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 0 / 9
Date: August 30, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I`m sure it is a really fun game. I mean the graphics are great however it mite to realistic, for example it is way to easy to crash.I have an other reservation about the game it needs a slight knowlegd of low rank racing to datona. If you don`t you won`t make it pass the first race

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