''NASCAR '14'' is a NASCAR video game. It is the third edition of the '' NASCAR The Game'' racing simulator series, and is the sequel to '' NASCAR The Game: Inside Line''. Developed by

Eutechnyx Eutechnyx Limited (formerly Zeppelin Games Limited, until 1994, and Merit Studios (Europe) Limited, until 1997) is a British video game developer based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. Since 1997, the company has focused on racing games. They a ...

and published by

Deep Silver Deep Silver is an Austrian video game publisher and a division of Plaion. History Deep Silver was announced in November 2002, with their first release to be '' Anarchy Online: The Notum Wars''. According to Craig McNichol, who ran Koch Medi ...

, the game was released on February 18, 2014, for the

PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE). It is the successor to the PlayStation 2, and both are part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. The PS3 was first released on ...

Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the Xbox (console), original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox#Consoles, Xbox series. It was officially unveiled on MTV on May 12, 2005, with detail ...

, and PC.

Cover vote

For the second straight game, Eutechnyx held a "drive for the cover" campaign, allowing fans to vote for the NASCAR driver they would like to see on the cover of ''NASCAR '14''.

Tony Stewart Anthony Wayne Stewart (born May 20, 1971), nicknamed "Smoke", is an American semi-retired professional auto racing driver, and former NASCAR team co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing. He currently competes in the NHRA Top Fuel class. He is a four-t ...

was chosen as the game's cover driver, succeeding

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Ralph Dale Earnhardt Jr. (born October 10, 1974) is an American professional stock car racing driver, team owner, and broadcaster. A third-generation driver, he is the son of the late 7-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Dale Earnhardt and relative ...

New features

New features for the game include online leagues, a server browser, DNFs, enhanced AI difficulty, the option to hire staff in career mode, and new car physics. Driver rosters and paint schemes for the 2014 season were updated, with DLC being released every month. The game also features all 23 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series tracks.

Reception

The game has received mixed reviews. Jeremy Peeples of ''Hardcore Gamer'' gave the game a 3.5/5, saying that "there’s a lot of fun to be had in the career mode tinkering with settings and getting things just right for a race, while the core racing action is quite exciting in any mode". ''

Game Informer ''Game Informer'' (''GI'' is an American monthly Video game journalism, video game magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of video games and video game console, game consoles. It debuted in August 1991, when the video game reta ...

'' thought the game felt like a stopgap and that the franchise felt stagnant without the addition of any new major improvements to this new iteration. ''

GamesRadar+ ''GamesRadar+'' (formerly ''GamesRadar'') is an entertainment website for video game-related news, previews, and reviews. It is owned by Future plc. In late 2014, Future Publishing-owned sites ''Total Film'', '' SFX'', '' Edge'' and '' Compute ...

'' praised the deep career mode, polish, controls, and online leagues while criticizing vague career mode, easily wreckable cars, and the lack of a minor league career circuit.

References

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External links

{{Eutechnyx games 2014 video games Eutechnyx games NASCAR video games PlayStation 3 games Xbox 360 games Windows games Deep Silver games Video games developed in the United Kingdom Simulation video games