NASCAR Heat 2 – Bringing Back What Fans Want

The sequel to 704 Games re-entering the racing foray, NASCAR Heat 2, will bring back many of the features the fans have been clamoring for.

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After a successful launch of NASCAR Heat Evolution on consoles and mobile devices in the last year, game developer 704 Games is ready for their next adventure. The owners of rights to stock car racing video games will create the newest edition of the series, NASCAR Heat 2, bringing in new features that many fans are excited about.

News came out this week that the newest game will include all three NASCAR national touring divisions, marking the first time the Xfinity and Camping World Truck Series are included since the NASCAR 09 game from EA Sports. Fans have been hungry to see these series return to the game, instead of using drivers from each division to fill out the Cup Series fields.

Additionally, six new tracks are coming to the game, including three road courses, two ovals, and one dirt track. It is widely assumed that the new dirt facility will be Eldora Speedway, which hosts the Truck Series each year in a midweek race. Also expected to join the list of tracks are Canadian Tire Motorsports Park, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, and Road America, all road courses used by Xfinity and Trucks. The two new ovals are likely to be Iowa Speedway and Gateway Motorsports Park.

While these additions are likely to excite many fans who desperately clamor for the days of old in NASCAR video games, other improvements are hoped for as well. An average gameplay with an unrealistic crash ability for cars and solely and a primarily arcade-style format leave the game ranking behind many others. Additions to the gameplay like a more in-depth career mode, full season mode, and a “franchise style” mode like in NASCAR 07 would all be praiseworthy if seen.

The other unanswered question will be how many teams will be included from each of the three series in 2017. While other previous games like NASCAR The Game included smaller organizations like Premium Motorsports, they and Tri-Star Motorsports were not included in either the current console or mobile format. Other games that previously included the Xfinity and Truck Series only used a handful of top teams, and filled out the field with “fantasy” organizations. Certainly NASCAR fans would prefer to see those fields be more representative of the teams that currently compete there if at all possible.

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Be on the lookout for NASCAR Heat 2 to arrive on store shelves for Xbox One and PlayStation 4 on September 12. Kyle Busch, in partnership with Toyota, will grace the cover in its sophomore year. In the meantime, NASCAR Heat Evolution remains available for play on consoles and on your mobile devices through the iOS or Android store.