Software:NASCAR Thunder 2002

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Short description: 2001 video game developed by EA Tiburon and published by EA Sports
NASCAR Thunder 2002
Nascar2002.png
Xbox cover art featuring the car of Jeff Gordon
Developer(s)EA Tiburon
Black Box Games (PSOne version)
Publisher(s)Electronic Arts
SeriesNASCAR Thunder
Engineenhanced NASCAR Thunder engine
Platform(s)Xbox, PlayStation, PlayStation 2
ReleasePlayStation
  • NA: October 2, 2001
  • EU: October 17, 2001
PlayStation 2
  • NA: October 16, 2001[1]
  • EU: November 3, 2001
Xbox
  • NA: November 15, 2001
  • EU: November 29, 2001
Genre(s)Racing
Mode(s)Single-player, Multiplayer

NASCAR Thunder 2002 is a racing simulator video game developed by EA Tiburon and published by EA Sports that came out for the Sony PlayStation, Sony PlayStation 2, and Xbox. The theme song for the game on the six-generation systems is "Sweet Home Alabama" by Lynyrd Skynyrd. It is the fifth game in the EA Sports NASCAR series of video games, and is the first of the series to have a new title (the other games simply read "NASCAR", followed by the year). Notably, it is the first NASCAR game to feature alternate paint schemes on the cars. It featured the 2001 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Champion Jeff Gordon on its cover and 2000 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Champion Bobby Labonte on the disc.

NASCAR Thunder 2002 was the first NASCAR game released for the Xbox and the second released for the PlayStation 2. Game modes consist of Create-a-car, Quick race, Season mode, Career mode, and practice. Before every race, the player has the option to qualify for a position at the start of the race, get to know the track in practice, or 'race' other cars in Happy Hour. The game has 35 drivers from the 2001 Winston Cup season (minus Dale Earnhardt due to his death, but the game has many tributes to him including a black No. 3 screen on start-up) and several then-Busch Series and fantasy drivers that can be unlocked.[citation needed]

The PlayStation version was separate from the PS2 and Xbox versions, included only 36 drivers, and included an instant-replay feature, fantasy tracks, only 18 drivers per race, and all of the alternate paint schemes were removed. It also has a different intro without the #3 shown before the EA Sports logo. A system of power-up/cheat cards and challenges, similar to Chase/Thunder plates and Lightning/Dodge Challenges in later editions, was a major game mode in this version. It also included the Daytona Beach track.

Reception

Reception
Review scores
PublicationScore
PSPS2Xbox
EGMN/A8.17/10[5]N/A
Game InformerN/A8.5/10[6]9/10[7]
GamePro4/5 stars[8]4.5/5 stars[9]4.5/5 stars[10]
GameRevolutionN/AB[11]B[12]
GameSpot5.8/10[13]8.2/10[14]8/10[15]
GameSpyN/A(average)[16]87%[17]
GameZone9/10[18]9/10[19]N/A
IGNN/A8.3/10[20]8.5/10[21]
Next GenerationN/AN/A4/5 stars[22]
OPM (US)2/5 stars[23]4.5/5 stars[24]N/A
OXM (US)N/AN/A6.9/10[25]
The Cincinnati EnquirerN/AN/A4/5 stars[26]
Aggregate score
Metacritic69/100[2]85/100[3]82/100[4]

The PlayStation 2 and Xbox versions received "favorable" reviews, while the PlayStation version received "average" reviews, according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[2][3][4] NextGen said that the Xbox version was "Graphically, a solid game, with great reflections, sun wash, damage modeling, persistent skid marks, and more."[22]

The game was a nominee for the "Console Racing" award at the AIAS' 5th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, which was ultimately given to Gran Turismo 3.[27]

References

  1. "GameZone.com - PlayStation 2 News - ASCAR Thunder 2002 Ships". 2001-11-18. http://ps2.gamezone.com/news/10_16_01_05_04PM.htm. 
  2. 2.0 2.1 "NASCAR Thunder 2002 for PlayStation Reviews". Red Ventures. https://www.metacritic.com/game/nascar-thunder-2002/critic-reviews/?platform=playstation. 
  3. 3.0 3.1 "NASCAR Thunder 2002 for PlayStation 2 Reviews". Red Ventures. https://www.metacritic.com/game/nascar-thunder-2002/critic-reviews/?platform=playstation-2. 
  4. 4.0 4.1 "NASCAR Thunder 2002 for Xbox Reviews". Red Ventures. https://www.metacritic.com/game/nascar-thunder-2002/critic-reviews/?platform=xbox. 
  5. EGM staff (December 2001). "NASCAR Thunder 2002 (PS2)". Electronic Gaming Monthly (Ziff Davis) (149): 244. 
  6. Kato, Matthew (December 2001). "NASCAR Thunder 2002 (PS2)". Game Informer (FuncoLand) (104): 93. http://www.gameinformer.com/Games/Review/200112/R03.0804.1717.34278.htm. Retrieved October 17, 2021. 
  7. Kato, Matthew (December 2001). "NASCAR Thunder 2002 (Xbox)". Game Informer (FuncoLand) (104): 108. http://www.gameinformer.com/Games/Review/200112/R03.0804.1816.37261.htm. Retrieved October 17, 2021. 
  8. Jake The Snake (September 13, 2001). "NASCAR Thunder Review for PlayStation on GamePro.com". GamePro (IDG Entertainment). Archived on December 12, 2004. Error: If you specify |archivedate=, you must also specify |archiveurl=. http://www.gamepro.com/sony/psx/games/reviews/16721.shtml. Retrieved October 17, 2021. 
  9. Air Hendrix (October 15, 2001). "NASCR Thunder 2002 Review for PS2 on GamePro.com". GamePro (IDG Entertainment). http://www.gamepro.com/sony/ps2/games/reviews/17302.shtml. Retrieved October 17, 2021. 
  10. Four-Eyed Dragon (November 29, 2001). "NASCAR Thunder 2002 Review for Xbox on GamePro.com". GamePro (IDG Entertainment). http://www.gamepro.com/microsoft/xbox/games/reviews/18621.shtml. Retrieved October 17, 2021. 
  11. Liu, Johnny (December 2001). "Nascar Thunder 2002 Review (PS2)". CraveOnline. https://www.gamerevolution.com/review/33598-nascar-thunder-2002-review. 
  12. Liu, Johnny (December 2001). "NASCAR Thunder 2002 - Xbox Review". CraveOnline. http://www.game-revolution.com/games/xbox/racing/nascar_thunder_2002.htm. 
  13. Provo, Frank (January 24, 2002). "NASCAR Thunder 2002 Review (PS)". Red Ventures. https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/nascar-thunder-2002-review/1900-2842285/. 
  14. Provo, Frank (October 16, 2001). "NASCAR 2002 Review (PS2)". Red Ventures. https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/nascar-thunder-2002-review/1900-2818184/. 
  15. Ahmed, Shahed (November 16, 2001). "NASCAR Thunder 2002 Review (Xbox) [date mislabeled as "May 17, 2006""]. Red Ventures. https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/nascar-thunder-2002-review/1900-2825363/. 
  16. Cauthen, John (December 5, 2001). "NASCAR Thunder 2002 (PS2)". IGN Entertainment. http://www.sportplanet.com/features/reviews/thunder2002/ps2/. 
  17. Bub, Andrew S. (November 30, 2001). "NASCAR Thunder 2002 (Xbox)". IGN Entertainment. http://archive.gamespy.com/reviews/november01/nascarthunder/. 
  18. Ovaldog (November 11, 2001). "NASCAR Thunder 2002 Review - PlayStation". http://psx.gamezone.com/gzreviews/r19000.htm. 
  19. Bedigian, Louis (November 4, 2001). "NASCAR Thunder 2002 Review - PlayStation 2". http://ps2.gamezone.com/gzreviews/r19000.htm. 
  20. Zdyrko, David (October 16, 2001). "NASCAR Thunder 2002 (PS2)". Ziff Davis. https://www.ign.com/articles/2001/10/16/nascar-thunder-2002-3. 
  21. Boulding, Aaron (November 8, 2001). "NASCAR Thunder 2002 (Xbox)". Ziff Davis. https://www.ign.com/articles/2001/11/09/nascar-thunder-2002. 
  22. 22.0 22.1 "NASCAR Thunder 2002 (Xbox)". NextGen (Imagine Media) (85): 28. January 2002. https://archive.org/details/NextGen85Jan2002/page/n29/mode/2up. Retrieved October 17, 2021. 
  23. "NASCAR Thunder 2002 (PS)". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine (Ziff Davis) (52): 146. January 2002. 
  24. "NASCAR Thunder 2002 (PS2)". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine (Ziff Davis) (51): 169. December 2001. 
  25. "NASCAR Thunder 2002". Official Xbox Magazine (Imagine Media). January 2002. 
  26. Kent, Steve (April 2, 2002). "Xbox titles zoom into overdrive". The Cincinnati Enquirer (Gannett Company). http://www.cincinnati.com/freetime/games/reviews/040202_xboxoverdrive.html. 
  27. "5th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards: Winners". http://www.interactive.org/awards/IAA-5/winners.asp. 

External links

Template:EA Sports NASCAR series