NASCAR Racing 3 is in my books the best racing simulation ever.

Ok so I'm biased. The fact that I love the American oval racing scene does somewhat sway my judgement but it is a truly brilliant simulator. In the UK it will not yet get the credit it deserves as this type of racing is not seen live in the UK... yet. This is all going to change with ASCAR (see my website www.ascarracing.com) and Rockingham, which will get fans loving this wonderful style of racing and probably boost Papyrus' sales figures. All I can say to the people in the UK is give this game a go. You may be turning left an awful lot but its a very skillful and paint swappingly difficult business.

Fans of the NASCAR Racing series have been begging for better Internet play, and Papyrus has obliged by incorporating a feature that lets you seamlessly connect to a WON.net server from within the game. I think that this Internet play is wonderful although connection speeds can make for dissapearing and then reappearing in the middle of a race. Still, its great to race against the ultimate competitors and the unpredictability of an online race makes for a spectacle that has to be experienced.

Close online racing!

The graphical effects - especially skid marks, smoke from tires, the "line" on the track, and lighting effects - are staggering in their realism and add immensely to the overall racing experience. Force feedback in the game the best implementation of force-feedback effects ever. And if you don't think it's strong enough, you can tweak it to suit your perception of how it's supposed to feel.

The game features all of the tracks, bar Daytona, on the Winston Cup and BGN schedule providing the most ever seen in one game. All of the drivers from both series are present but these are from the 1999 season. If you want the 2000 drivers you can find them on the net and they plug-in seamlessly. That's the beauty of this game. I have made cars for the new ASCAR series and you can just slot them in for any user to enjoy.

My home-made ASCAR plugin cars!

The skill level of the AI competitors can be set perfectly to suit your skills so you can really enjoy this game, whatever level of driver you are.

What makes NASCAR Racing 3 so incredibly special is the racing. This game puts you into the driver's seat and just feels perfect. I'm not going to write anymore about this game because I can't do it justice. I've not said a bad word against it so far and thats because I can't find one to say. All I can say is play the game and you won't be dissapointed. WOW!

Drafting the pack - you just have to feel it for yourself!

C.Wiseman WMWD

September 1999