NASCAR The Game 2011

Which brings us to the crashes. I'd be lying if I didn't admit that marvelling at the mayhem of multiple-car pile-ups is part of the attraction of NASCAR. What a disappointment, then, that while accidents in NASCAR 2011 feel reasonably convincing when in-car (an incident that saw me plough through a cloud of tyre smoke to grab first position, just as a competitor barrel-rolled overhead, would have had Don Simpson rise from his grave in approval), they look so feeble in replays. Cars comically pile into each other without suffering body deformation while accompanied by the stingiest display of particle effects.

If you want spectacular crashes, you'll have to go online. Here up to 16 players will get to witness cars clambering to get on top of each other, frantically flipping through the air, or bouncing energetically across the track – and that's on the formation lap.

At time of writing the online portion of NASCAR 2011 is fundamentally broken, with the majority of encounters descending into ridiculous displays of programming bugs. From driving through the pace car or seeing competitors floating above the track, to spending an entire race under yellow flags while the game continuously failed to tame the hysterically raucous behaviour of the cars in order to enable a restart, only the tiniest proportion of attempted events play out without incidents. Eutechnyx is reportedly hard at work on a patch, but until that materialises the game should be considered an offline proposition only.

Offline, the NXP (NASCAR Experience Points) gained from racing manoeuvres – and, in a nice touch, performing victory burnouts and donuts – have no discernible influence on the core game. Levelling up doesn't reward you with access to a better car (because there's no such thing in NASCAR) or even a wider selection, so what you're left with in terms of rewards are things like driver paint schemes. Hardly the strongest of incentives for anyone but the most dedicated NASCAR follower.

Die-hard NASCAR devotees looking for a sim racing experience may bemoan Eutechnyx's slightly more mainstream approach, but you get the feeling the developer has done its homework and more general followers of the sport should find much to like here. The 720p visuals do a fine job of recreating the liveries and details of the cars, and the tracks are faithful recreations of what you see on TV. They're not as crisp as GT5's equivalent, perhaps, but they feel more organic and atmospheric.

Generally, presentation is of a good standard, with attractive selection menus and loading screens, while pre-race sequences featuring commentary from Performance Racing Network broadcasters Doug Rice and Mark Garrow set the right ambience. But the growl of the 6.8L V8 powering a NASCAR should sound like Satan is shouting in your ears, and here you could be forgiven for thinking His Devilishness has a soul or two caught in his throat.

Ignore the inexcusably damaged online portion, and NASCAR 2011's offline game still has a tendency to slam into the wall just as it's got you engaged in its admittedly rewarding racing.

As the first official game of the sport since EA's disappointing NASCAR 09, Eutechnyx's effort was always bound to find a large, enthusiastic audience willing it to succeed upon release. Many will leave disappointed, yet the more reasonable should still welcome this faithful yet flawed interpretation of their sport. Come the inevitable sequel, though, the developer will need to really turn the corner.