NASCAR SimRacing

Previous NASCAR simulations have captured the excitement and speed of racing, but this latest entry from EA Sports is specifically designed for PC gamers with a strong knowledge of the sport. All the automobile settings, from the tire traction to the clutch dead zone, are customizable. Those of us still learning what everything does, however, can set most of the difficult manual controls to automatic. The result is an accessible racing game that's full of extra options for gearheads.

The demo lets you enter the Brickyard 400 or Banquet 400 races at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway or the Kansas Speedway, respectively. From the moment you get behind the wheel, you'll notice the cars feel more realistic than in other games. They're heavier, with more momentum, and the weight of the cars will shift at different speeds on different parts of the track.

The game looks and sounds fantastic, from the colorfully accurate cars and excellent track details to the roaring engine and the shifting transmission. Playing the game without driver aids is very hard for inexperienced racers, which creates a nice, long learning curve for hard-core NASCAR fans who want to control the whole race like their real-life counterparts do.