NASCAR Rumble/Gameplay

The Basics
Being a racing game, the obvious way to win is to make your way round the track to reach the finish line. You will have to beat up to 5 other players to it, using a combination of taking shortcuts, using powerups and plain outspeeding your opponents. You can also knock cars out of control, taking them temporarily out of the race as they get reorientated. A common way to do this is to use sheer speed or to knock an opponent's car from behind, a little to the sides. If you get knocked out, pressing psx: T will reset your vehicle, placing you back on course and getting a short period of invincibility. However, there is a short delay between resetting the vehicle and regaining control of it, during which your opponents can overtake you. Like how the game's announcer aptly puts: "Use it, don't abuse it."

Racing modes
There are four racing modes available:


 * Single Race: Pick a track and race. In the Race Options menu, you can set the number of opponents and laps.
 * Championship: A series of three races with four laps each. Racers earn points depending on where they finish. Earning a gold trophy will unlock legends and other locales.
 * Time Trial: A four-lap race with no other drivers on the track.
 * Showdown: One lap against either the AI opponent of your choice, or a friend.

In the Single Race and Championship modes, there are additional settings that can be toggled:


 * Standard: Just you against your opponents.
 * Cyber Team(s): Team up with an AI “cyber driver”. The final point totals are determined by combining your points and your AI teammate’s points. Except for the Twister, offensive power-ups will not affect your AI teammate. In 2 Player mode, each human player gets an AI teammate.
 * Co-Op Team: Team up with your friend. The same Cyber Team rules apply.
 * Legend (Championship only): After winning a championship in Standard or Cyber Team mode, you can race against the locale’s NASCAR legend. The legends’ AI is slightly smarter than the other racers, as they will always take shortcuts. As the game’s menu puts it, you can learn all the tricks when racing against the legends. Winning a legend championship unlocks the legend’s car.

Power-ups
NASCAR Rumble is quite unconventional in that it features a variety of power-ups, not something you would expect from a stock car racing game. Each power-ups have varying degrees of usefulness, from buffing yourself to harming your competitors, and the range of power-ups you get is dependant on your current place in the race. If you're leading, you will get a lot of Jokers, but if you're far behind the other racers, you can get Twisters more often. In the default controller configuration, psx: R2 activates your power-up.


 * Super Traction: Gives you extra traction while driving, letting you take turns easier and nullifying the effects of an Oil Slick or a Storm.
 * Nitro: Gives you a simple speed boost, useful for catching up to your opponents.
 * Invincible: Makes you ignore any harmful power-ups, letting you race without worry.
 * Joker: Grants you a random power-up, though you can opt not to risk it by waiting until the time limit runs out. You'll usually get a negative effect whenever you use it, but get lucky and you can easily cement your lead.
 * Shockwave: Blows away nearby cars. Try to save it for when you're within a group of racers.
 * Big Rumble: Forms a barrier in front of you that will knock any cars you bump into skyward.
 * Bad Gas: Drops a cylinder on the ground, causing any racer to run across it to lose speed. You can be affected by your own Bad Gas, so remember where you drop them.
 * Oil Slick: Drops an oil slick that reduces traction for any racer that runs into it. Like the Bad Gas, you can also get affected by your own Oil Slick.

These three power-ups are the most powerful in the game. They have a few common features: they travel along the track and will afflict any car in their path with their harmful effects. You can dodge them by slowing them to a near stop, taking a shortcut (though not if the power-up is launched in that shortcut) or have the Invincible power-up active.


 * Storm: Creates a stormcloud over afflicted racers, dramatically reducing traction.
 * Freeze: Coats the racer with ice, freezing up its steering.
 * Twister: Sends any opponent in its path into the air for a short while. Has a shorter duration than the other two, but can hit more opponents.

You can toggle the power-up density on the main menu. The options are None, Some, More, and Mayhem. The first three are self-explanatory. Mayhem is the same as More, except power-ups respawn in two seconds rather than five. As a result, races can get pretty chaotic; expect to see a lot more Twisters.