Fortunately, the folks over at Turn 10 Studios had the wise idea of not leaving you to turn left for hours on end at a cost of $19.99. Nah, this expansion is somewhat smarter than that: you end up actually going outside the regular comfort zone of stock cars and race on regular tracks.
NASCAR Expansion
Mind you, I can tell you now that these cars were NOT designed for many of the more complex tracks, and some physics have been tweaked to allow you to compete with cars that would normally corner the hell out of a stock car. Regardless, it’s a nice touch, and I couldn’t help but smile at the idea that this gutted car packing a V8 was actually going toe-to-toe with anything other than another gutted car packing a V8. Your progression with your gutted V8 goes in a linear fashion, but without any real rhyme or reason, but instead themes of the choice of tracks. I say it again: all of it should have been unlocked and accessible from the get-go. Fortunately, it does hand you the usual, ample fixings of modes as well as the focused fun of situational scenarios known as Showcase Events. Unfortunately, the whole novelty wears off quicker than one would want, and you’re pulled right out of that Grand Touring illusion when you end up flat out on an oval for over 5 minutes. Additionally, you have to have a truly vested interest in NASCAR racing because there AREN’T any different cars. You see, what you’re racing are teams and racers: what you’re racing is reputations. The cars don’t vary: they’re all designed within a singular set of specs. NASCAR racing is about drafting and getting the edge by merely a few MPH. But then, in truly authentic NASCAR fashion, I found pile-ups happened a lot more than it normally does leading to an all-American chuckle. And THEN, they just had to put the cherry on top of the American cake and put in what they believe to sound like American music.
CHANGES
As said in the last DLC review, there’s not a whole lot that gets changed in a game like this. However, the NASCAR DLC does, in fact, add a new mechanic: Quick Stops. These pit stops add the real-life racing simulation factor of needing to stop to refuel and swap tires… except without any of that. The actual pit stop lacks any real effort other than a UI race position screen that blocks everything to hide the fact that there is no pit crew or any actual occurrence other than you pulling over. It’s a hit AND a miss at the same time. Good idea in concept (mostly because it’s realistic), but sadly it’s poorly executed.
CONCLUSION
You’re listening to a guy who absolutely loves racing sims. As a man who has spent easily 1000s of hours in racing sims from the ever-popular Gran Turismo to the more exciting Forza Motorsport and a touch of many random, lesser known sims in-between, the “expansion” DLC for Forza Motorsport 6 has been anything but. An expansion should add a proper racing discipline. For example: if there was a true rally racing expansion complete with its own dirt tracks, THAT would be fitting use of the word. The NASCAR DLC is for NASCAR enthusiasts only, because it serves little other than. Sure, it adds a new mechanic and makes a daring and charming move of pitting stock cars against everything else, but endurance stock car racing has to be your thing. If it’s not, you might find yourself struggling to even go through all of the DLC’s content.
I give the Forza Motorsport 6 – NASCAR Expansion DLC…
ZyroXZ2 Entertainment Gaming 