I have always had a passion for multiplayer racing because of the opportunity to compete against human opponents as well as the pleasure of meeting new people from around the world doing something we enjoy. I was under the impression that since NSR required every player to have a broadband connection that the multiplayer game would not be dragged down by people joining with low connection speeds. The hope was for more cars racing and less warp. Unfortunately they missed the target wide left. Every single person that joins a server lags all other joined connections until the connection is completed. This means that every racer who is qualifying or practicing loses control of their virtual racecar at that moment. Various cheats remain undetected by the dedicated server applet. There are very few necessary remote server controls or pass-worded administration commands. The capability to see 40+ drivers online is nowhere close to reality because processor usage on the server is just too high. The magical watermark of 40+ drivers in an online venue is certainly a lofty goal--a goal derived more from hype than necessity. I would be perfectly satisfied to race against 25 drivers if I was guaranteed minimal warp and all 25 had to finish the race. One consideration this title does possess in multiplayer mode is the ghosting of a car when it does experience lag. This will allow a car that is warping to regain its connection to the server and not destroy the event for the other competitors that might be affected during the lag and the ensuing carnage. The outcome and experience of many online racing events has been ruined by a few seconds of latency or packet loss. It is refreshing that considerations are being given to latency in online racing.

The sound effects in any sim are crucial to the immersion as well as to provide feedback. In absence of a motion platform the sounds are important information given to the player. NSR provides sounds that are realistic in nature but lack the feedback needed to create the illusion of speed, position and attitude of the car. The volume of the cars around you drowns out the sound of your car as well as the crew chief and spotter’s transmissions. I have adjusted the sound options, text tweaks, and the volume sliders and none of them produce accurate volumes. One of our forum members discovered that by switching the external [_EXT.wav] sounds with the internal [_INT.wav] the in-car volume was corrected. The spotter volume is still barely audible but the fix did allow for better feedback and gave the audible sensation needed to feel the car. As a driver in a simulation, I need to feel the power under my foot through those sounds since there is no other feedback to create that sensation.

If EA Sports and Tiburon are guilty of anything it is that they have tried too hard to appeal to the masses. There is music playing in your ear when you load up the game. There are jets flying over the track before you race. Who is that supposed to impress? Sim-Racers don’t care about that stuff. We come to race. Period. Despite what you might think by now, I actually enjoy this sim. For the first time in this review, you heard me call it a sim because it is. NSR is a sim and it is a game. Many people judged this game on the hype and what they perceived as real. Using one game as the yardstick to measure the legitimacy of another is just ridiculous. Quite a few racers confuse their ability to excel in a computer game with their self-worth. Challenge the validity of that prowess and then things get personal quick!
There is a balance. All of the name-calling, false accusations, and half-truths that have been spewed around on both sides have left me with an extremely sour taste. There is no question that EA used the media machine to its full extent. No one can blame them for promoting their product. What producers would release a statement saying they were going to come to the market with a mediocre effort? What do you expect them to say? One thing their media blitz did do however was create exposure for a product that many people would have written off well before the release of the NSR Demo. They even got me to buy it because I had to see for myself what all the commotion was about. To be perfectly honest, I think it is pretty darn good. If you consider what people claim to like most about simulation software, get in and drive. I think you’ll like it. Is it perfect? Nope, none of them are perfect. Does it need work? Yep. They all do. Is it worth buying? Yep. BUT???---- and it is a major but and there is a problem. EA Sports has confessed (or more accurately “leaked” to the media) the game in its current state needs a patch. Actually it needs more than one. If we are expected to believe they are going to support the title until they get it right, there needs to be proof of their commitment. That support has not yet materialized. If some of these issues are addressed, NSR might possibly move to the head of the class. This Sim definitely has potential but that potential has not yet exceeded the hype.