I'll spare everybody reading the typical "driving in a circle making a left hand turn" cliché, because there really is a lot more depth to NASCAR racing - and EA has shown this with their past titles in the game, such as NASCAR 06: Total Team Control. Unfortunately. There's a reason that the latest installment, NASCAR 07, has no subtitle attached to the name like every game since - technically - the 2001 edition; because there's nothing worth bragging about to put in there.

The first thing you'll notice about NASCAR 07 is how much like the real thing it is, both on and off the race track. Throughout the menus there are advertisements everywhere, much like the actual sport has - when it comes down to it, I'm sure NASCAR fans would prefer to see the real brands on their favorite cars rather than not, so for once the constant product placement is welcomed in an EA title. If you're new to the NASCAR series, the next thing you'll notice is how ridiculously hard it is to come into the game without having played one in the past, which is shocking for a game based on driving in circles (couldn't help it!) - NASCAR just throws you into a huge world and Career mode, expecting you to know how it all works. Full of menus and options, new players will have absolutely no idea where to start - even the team controls, which I'll touch on later, aren't explained, as you're expected to understand them from last year's version.

A good place to begin is with the Allstate Qualifiers; in this mode players race a single lap around different tracks, attempting to achieve the best lap time possible. It's harder than it sounds, but if you can get a solid time then the contracts offered in early stages of the Fight to the Top mode are substantially better. The Allstate Qualifiers is a nice idea, but not a huge new feature - nothing sets apart single lap time trials from anything else in the series and it can actually get quite boring, but it is cool that it has a direct impact on the early stages of your career.

Fight to the Top is the main course of the numerous modes, offering an in-depth and exciting experience for fans of NASCAR. Here you build up the ultimate team and, well, fight to the top of the ranks by winning various cups, signing big contracts and taking on the world's best. You need to sign contracts to compete with specific series and events, and you receive messages along the way to help further immerse you in a NASCAR career. It's done well, the only downside being that all the constant races can get a bit old after a while - the ultimate challenge is getting yourself to finish the thing! Luckily, the Total Team Control from last year's game makes a triumphant return, making those long races a lot more exciting.

Using the right analog stick, players can give commands to their other team cars on the track. For instance if you're in first with a team mate behind, you can order him to block for you, by pushing right on the analog stick. Other commands include simply following you or working with you, but the coolest team command is probably the ability to switch to another team car in real time and help him work up the ranks - but be careful, as you need to make sure that your first guy has a good lead and a blocker with him before you attempt to get the rest of the team in good positions. If you manage to get your team to place in first, second, third and fourth in one race, you get a huge skill point bonus.

The skill point system is quite a nice one that adds even more needed depth to the NASCAR genre. Pulling off feats such as drafting for five seconds, making rivals, passing cleanly, intimidating racers, holding the lead, etc., adds to a skill point meter on display during your race. Careful, because it's easy to lose skill points for this race as well - luckily, when you finish the race the points are yours to keep, for good. You can use these skill points to unlock new cars, sponsors, tracks and more, but also improve your Driver Attributes. This is one of the new features of NASCAR 07, where certain racers have distinct advantages over others. The instruction manual gives Elliott Sadler as an example, who is distinctly better than a Rookie simply due to experience. Other racers may perform better on short circuit tracks rather than endurance races - the Attributes aren't a significant addition to the series, but they are welcome one. Like the game though, my review seems to be overshadowing the actual gameplay with a barrage of features and ideas, instead of the actual racing aspect of NASCAR.

There's a reason for that, too - in NASCAR 07 the actual racing just isn't a lot of fun for those who don't adore the sport. Those who do will obviously really enjoy NASCAR due to the overwhelming amount of features put into the game over the years, but those who don't will find a lot to hate. The racing itself isn't much fun, with the cars not controlling that well and feeling very jerky - with many cars it's difficult to make slight adjustments to your racing line and you often end up looking like a fish out of water as you go around large turns or slightly adjust your car going into one - and personally I feel that the PS2 thumbsticks just aren't cut out for racing with. When it comes down to it, NASCAR feels a lot more like an arcade racer instead of a simulation, despite being able to adjust your tire pressure, downforce, suspension and gear ratios with user friendly slide meters. The sometimes-drab gameplay is masked by all the substantial simulation features that keep your focus on many things other than just where you're racing, including an Intimidator ability that allows you to put off the racers in front of you by simply existing!

The team commands really are a nice touch, but they're nothing new to owners of NASCAR 06. They're implemented well and fairly easy to pull off once you know what you're doing; the HUD also accommodates not only the team controls well, but your skill points, draft meters, and just about everything else you need in a nice and easy to see fashion. This might just be the only compliment I give to the visuals - it simply is not a great looking game, even with the new blur effects added to make it appear like the fastest NASCAR title yet. In reality, the blur effects likely cover up what would be otherwise horrible graphics and only make them simply bad. The backgrounds are blocky and everything comes off as very dry and jagged. NASCAR 07 just doesn't accomplish the goal of making the player really feel like they're out on the track, racing that car, even in the cockpit view (which doesn't have any modified sounds, despite being inside) - it really shows its age and does not push the PS2 anywhere close to its limits. We all know that the PlayStation 2 can create a great looking racing game, but it requires developers to not re-release it every year and actually focus longer on making it look as polished as possible.

While the graphics fail to create much of an impression, the sound does do a much better job. Unfortunately I'm not talking about the engine, or even the crowd, but merely your teammates; as you come around corners you can hear your crew warning you of other cars, certain turns, or just trying to lift your spirits when you're racing like garbage. They talk to you as things heat up and really help get you into what I would consider an otherwise boring race. This is the only immersing feature; even the presentation is quite bland, with some truly awful looking - and typical EA - menus. The more and more you play, the more apparent it is that NASCAR 07 is a very uninspired yearly cash in for which many sports games are infamous.

With annual releases NASCAR is running a bit stale these days. Where 05 and 06 both had significant updates and features, 07 has nothing really exciting for dedicated fans of the genre and buying it again comes with a large warning from this reviewer. The career mode can get very tedious if you don't absolutely love the gameplay as well, especially if you've been playing it for years now. Online play has been included again this year, although only up to four people can compete. It seems like a bad thing, but in the end I wouldn't want a track full of real-life racers competing at such a close proximity - it's hard to find a game of Project Gotham Racing 3 where you don't get rammed off the track, so imagine doing it in NASCAR. The bottom line here is that the online mode is available and works as advertised, if that's what you're after.

If you're looking for a game that understands NASCAR and implements most of what people enjoy about it then you'll be happy with this offering - unless of course you played the last one. NASCAR 07 is a hard recommendation even if you do like the sport - there are tons of tracks and some great features to be sure, but it's all been-here-done-that for veterans. If you just can't help but get your fix then NASCAR 07 has a long career mode with many appealing aspects for followers. However, fans of racing - not NASCAR racing! - should steer clear of this wreck and I advise anybody looking to buy it to approach with caution, and likely draft it until deciding to cleanly pass by it until next year.

Reviewed by Christopher Martin for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).