Nascar '14 review – a 'Marmite motorsport game'

4 / 5 stars
PS3, PC, Deep Silver, cert: 3
nascar 14
Nascar '14: 'winning never felt so good'. PR

Nascar is Marmite motorsport. Fans eulogise about 43 cars racing inches apart at the far side of 200mph while a hard wall waits to bite those who err. And then there are people who just don't get it: the "anyone can turn left" brigade who deride the simplicity of the machinery and go on about how the sport is stuck beneath the Mason-Dixon Line.

How can something apparently so simple be so hard? Why should anyone persevere with a game where you seem destined to end up stationary on the infield grass with all four tyres pointing at the sky just because of the tiniest twitch of the wheel? Stick with it, tinker with the settings and try to ignore the slightly retro graphics. Persistence pays, and winning never felt so good, particularly when you ramp up the difficulty level. Nascar '14 is challenging and strangely addictive, but sadly many potential fans will be lost before they can feel the joy.