NASCAR Heat 4 Review - Should you Skip, Wait, or Buy?

My review of NASCAR Heat 4. I break down my first impressions, the physics, what has been improved, what hasn't improved, graphics, content, and value and rate the game on a Skip, Wait, or Buy scale. Let me know your comments, thoughts, and opinions down in the comments!
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[@RedRhinoMusic]

NASCAR Heat 5 releases in July so keep in that in mind when deciding if you want to buy this game or not. I will be reviewing that game when it comes out as well.

[@RedRhinoMusic]

A few things I missed: - Split Screen is back, I honestly didn't know it wasn't in the last game. - Day to night transitions. I knew they were there but forgot to talk about them. They only happen if you run stages and each stage gets progressively darker. - You can spectate online races. Instead of having to sit in the lobby and wait, you can now watch the race. - The online lobby host can now pause the countdown so the race doesn't start with only one other driver in the lobby. - Unfortunately, the NASCAR Heat World Challenge (nascarheat.com/world-challenge/) is only available to console players once again. Sorry I missed these things in the actual video review. This is pretty much all I missed as far as I know. Once again, if there's anything you have want to know about the game, feel free to ask. Also, if you decide to buy the game or already bought it, let me know what you think of it!

[@samyelts8498]

Great review, and TBH I might wait for game's to get on pre-owned 🤓 ($55) is steep TBH (new)

[@RedRhinoMusic]

@@samyelts8498 Apparently the physical copies are on sale for launch at $42 on Amazon.

[@samyelts8498]

@@RedRhinoMusic , yeah I don't really mess with online buying unless it's QVC,🤣

[@orangecarbad8892]

It's a very thorough review, but to me it's all about that terrible cockpit view. Refunded. There's no way I'm going to drive from the roof like Mr. Bean.

[@RedRhinoMusic]

Orange Car Bad I agree. I can put up with it just because I like the game a lot and don’t always want to play iRacing but still want to run ovals. I wish they would just let us change the camera settings.

[@herbertfarn9881]

Great review. Especially the comparison with Gran turismo Sport helped me to understand how real/arcade the game ist!

[@ZIGAG1999]

everytime you play the nascar heat games you gotta remember that Monster/704 games isn't very big and don't have much money they are literally like a small indy studio making a nascar game for the public and even tho nascar has fallen they are still pretty big.

[@orangecarbad8892]

Why do you need to be a big studio to have an FOV slider and a few graphics options?

[@RedRhinoMusic]

@@orangecarbad8892 Yeah, I agree with both of you. It is sometimes unfair to judge smaller studios work against the work of a massive studio but I find that in the racing category, most studios are pretty small and things like an FOV slider are pretty basic. I feel like they don't have one in NASCAR Heat because these games are more focused on consoles than PC and console games rarely have an FOV slider for whatever reason.

[@freegamer8313]

8:27 rip the flying car

[@metaldude55ify]

"Yup. Flying in the air, this is not good."

[@ZIGAG1999]

to bring up the dirt if you want to slide you got to use the throttle from what i heard. the throttle gives like an Auto Slide if you put the power down but if you don't wanna figure that out just put in a custom setup, custom setups help the dirt way better but also its a NASCAR game so it doesn't matter that much.

[@toddmcdonough]

As a wheel user, I really appreciate this review. I'm on Xbox One X and from my experience there are less options for wheel settings vs PC (typical for console sim-ish racers) and the graphic quality overall is really not much better than Heat 3. Different in that there is a TON of motion blur in the new game with no option to toggle it off. As for the wheel, the new game has less of a pendulum effect just off center so small adjustments are easier. I agree it would be nice to be able to turn off the wheel and driver hand animation as (like you mentioned) it does not match rotation with my actual wheel. I appreciate all the new AI, car physics, assists, and gameplay options. This makes it excellent for dialing in the racing experience to the way you want to play. If I had to pinpoint one aspect of this game that it really excels at, it would be immersion. It keeps me wanting to coming back for more. So far I've just done a bunch of quick races (25%, Assists off, full damage, 4x tire and fuel) with mixed results finally settling on 103 difficulty. I'm still learning and getting faster which feels good. Thanks again.

[@RedRhinoMusic]

Todd McDanger Does the console have V-Sync settings? It would be in a video or graphics options tab. On PC, I enabled it and it took away the motion blur.

[@toddmcdonough]

@@RedRhinoMusic On Xbox I can only choose "Quality" or "Performance". Its hard to tell the difference between the two and both have motion blur. The funny thing is that the FFB bumps in the track feel like a jackhammer in "Performance" mode. Probably just needs a patch.

[@donmedrano85]

How much is a wheel and where could i get one

[@RedRhinoMusic]

@@donmedrano85 Depends on your budget. I use the Thrustmaster TX with their upgraded pedals and their shifter which is probably around $600 total. The Thrustmaster TMX Pro is $250 and comes with the wheel and the upgraded pedals but you'd need to buy a shifter (if you want one). The only difference between the TMX and the TX is that the TX Rim is removable and you can change it out, while the tmx is only that one rim and it can't be changed. Logitech makes some good entry level wheels as well like the G29 (PS4 + PC) or the G920 (Xbox + PC) but I find them to be a little notchy in the steering. On the higher end, Fanatec is great but be prepared to spend $700-$1500 depending on what you pick, but they are very high quality and have tons of options. The Thrustmaster and Logitech's are available on Amazon, Fanatecs are available on their website. I'd say that with whatever wheel you pick, the most important thing is whatever you have it mounted to, and a warranty. Wheels usually don't have the best quality control since their a pretty niche product so I'd invest in a good warranty.

[@donmedrano85]

I have 3 dollars 💸

[@Acreyman]

Buy it. There hasn't been a better NASCAR GAME on console period. The driving physics are definitely enjoyable both using a controller and a wheel. The draft is a little overpowering and there are a few issues here and there, but this game is a blast to drive.

[@davemilligan1171]

Hi there Red Rhino. I liked, I'm going to sub. this is the first vid of yours I have watched, and your knowledge is awesome. I really appreciate this review as I am now going to buy this game. The last NASCAR game I played was Nascar 15 victory edition. I noticed they have Heat 5 coming up. I refuse to pay anymore than $35.00 CDN for any game on Steam. I am going to watch your reviews next for American Truck Sim, as I have almost 1000 hours of time into it. I love big semis and the snarl of the diesel stacks. I hope you are healthy in this current crap storm we are all in now and I look forward to watching many more of your vids. Thank you, and play hard or don't play at all !

[@RedRhinoMusic]

Thank you! Hope you enjoy the game.

[@tomfreeman3640]

I agree. This version leagues ahead if it's predecessor!!!!! Thanks for the review!! Well done!

[@patrickdusenbery8712]

Very detailed review thanks man I just bought for the Xbox one. I loved the details that you give for this game and I hope you do that for all the games you review for that is the rain I subscribed to your channel. I will most definitely check out your channel more. Keep it up man.

[@RedRhinoMusic]

Thank you! I usually do the same format for all of my reviews. Hope you enjoy the game

[@clcbc97]

My biggest complaint is that the crashes and damage is still poor and unrealistic and you can’t dnf At least in the old nascar thunder cars caught fire and hoods and fenders crumpled up and ripped off. The damage is still lame you scrape the wall and the side of your car has no damage. Wish they would add better damage where parts fly off the car and engines blow up. Also the fact that they didn’t add caution replay. Can’t understand why they would leave something so important like caution replay out of this game

[@RedRhinoMusic]

That would be cool to have all of that stuff but I guess I’m not too bothered by it not being there because most racing games don’t really have that good of damage effects as far as fires or body panels flying off. The caution replay is pretty important though.

[@clcbc97]

Red Rhino Music I guess. Overall this game is a big improvement from heat 3 so it will be interesting what they do with heat 5

[@MultiTurbospeed]

@@clcbc97 the game is good I think release the game with all the schemes for the current game and release the next game in January and release dlc from February thru November

[@clcbc97]

Sam Turberville I just bought a thrustmaster Ferrari 458 spider racing wheel and this game is absolutely awesome playing with it. The feel of the steering,acceleration,and braking is awesome. i haven’t tried it in manual transmission to see how the paddle shifters work but playing it with automatic transmission is okay. The game just seems good. The last time i ever played a nascar game with a wheel was nascar thunder 03 and it was a mad cats steering wheel for playstation 2 the Thrustmaster seems better calibrated compared to the older mad cats wheels.

[@clcbc97]

Probably the most fun i have had with my steering wheel is the victory burnouts using the steering wheel it was totally awesome. Well worth the 90 dollars i spent at walmart. The Thrustmaster Ferrari 458 spyder racing wheel is as good as a $300.00 Logitech wheel.

[@INFINIEON1]

I just wish they offered maybe some different camera views while racing. Like the chase cam,I wish we had a “far chase cam” that backed the camera up a bit.Plus I wish the hood came was like the hood cam in NASCAR Inside line.that was like THE PERFECT hood cam!

[@tomturbo5296]

Wish in one hand and shit in the other and see which happens first

[@ckearney9932]

Cannot wait to play heat 4 in a few days just got ma thrustmaster tmx wheel super excited tha ks fir the review m8 subbed 👍👍🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[@RedRhinoMusic]

Awesome. Let me know what you think of that wheel, my buddy was looking into one. I have the TX.

[@ckearney9932]

@@RedRhinoMusic just got it delivered this morning and set up the wheel ,got a few teeeks to do but my oh my its a beast of a ganre when u get it right iv not been to bed yet and its 11.00 in the afternoon gonna play it constantly while im on holiday, tmx wheel is superb with the force feedback i luv it 👍👍👍

[@RedRhinoMusic]

@@ckearney9932 Awesome. Have fun!

[@AndyMick]

Hope you do a career with 50% race setting you got a for a great review

[@madzec]

I am much more F1 fan then a NASCAR fan but thanks to your review you helped me to make decision and try my first NASCAR game thanks nice review mate. Just one option you should answer in it, can you change measurements to Celsius and Kmh for us who are from Europe :P

[@RedRhinoMusic]

You can’t change to Metric which is surprising because it kinda screws over anyone not in the US.

[@Jack-gu7rr]

Subbed. Good video. Downloading it now for PC........thanks!

[@dF-sy7ch]

If you like those games by all means buy it but me personally i should have skipped it.

[@mikeshmidt5658]

Will clutch work on my thrustmaster tmx pro wheel ? Couldn't get it to work on Nascar 3 with paddle shifters , I'm ordering the shifter so hope all is good , any info would be appreciated thank you

[@RedRhinoMusic]

Unfortunately it won’t work. The setting to enable the clutch only works if you have the shifting type set to stick shift, which uses the individual gears button maps rather than the shift up and down button maps.

[@RedRhinoMusic]

@Brandon Devine I think he's asking if he can use his clutch with them to shift. On PC, the paddles and the clutch are two separate shift types.

[@ValkyrieIA]

How is no mouse support not a con?

[@Firewielder888]

Do you think I should buy this for $7.49 on the steam sale or wait for heat 5 to come out and pay full price? So basically do you think heat 5 is going to be $43 better than heat 4?

[@RedRhinoMusic]

Honestly there’s no way to know if 5 will be better than 4 or not until I get my hands on it. They’re apparently improving AI, adding a new testing mode for tuning your car, making some career mode improvements and that’s about all they’ve announced as far as I know. I guess it really depends on how much you care about having the updated rosters but I’m not sure how accurate the games 2020 season will be since everything is just starting to get back to normal in the real season.

[@joeyweinstock2272]

Is the game still enjoyable with a controller if someone can let me know

[@RedRhinoMusic]

I’ve used both a wheel and controller and the controller works just fine. You may need to adjust some settings for it as far as deadzones and stuff though. The only issue I’ve had with the controller vs my wheel is holding a smooth line is much harder but you can figure it out with some practice.

[@thatsrichie4580]

Thrust master 3x

[@Strollingwithpete]

could you do a vid on how you have your wheel setup

[@RedRhinoMusic]

Setup in the game or in my house?

[@Strollingwithpete]

In game

[@RedRhinoMusic]

There aren’t many settings for it. I have the Feedback effect slider one notch from all the way right. Sensitivity all the way down. And rotation depends on what wheel you’ve got. Everything else i left alone.

[@mikeshmidt5658]

YOU DA MAN 👊 THANKS

[@ardahstrk9982]

Playable with keyboard? I can play easy on Nascar Heat 3

[@RedRhinoMusic]

Honestly, not sure. I’ve never tried to set it up for the keyboard. I would assume if it worked on Heat 3, it would work for Heat 4.

[@ardahstrk9982]

Red Rhino Music Okay thanks!

[@EFANZPro]

Thanks for the review.... But as of this comment in... Does the online community still hugely active?

[@RedRhinoMusic]

It depends on the time of day. During the day theres usually a fair amount of lobbies but later in the evening there are less but still some. NASCAR Heat 5 comes out in a few weeks and I'm sure will take some people away from this game.

[@EFANZPro]

@@RedRhinoMusic thanks... Looking forward for heat 5 review from you. Keep up the good work.

[@dicloniusgames]

Can you still race in single stage races like the good old days of NASCAR instead of these staged races?

[@RedRhinoMusic]

Yep!

[@dicloniusgames]

@@RedRhinoMusic Then I might have to get 4 instead of 5 since all 5 is is Heat 4.5 and 4 is cheaper.

[@maxx9941]

👌👍

[@matthewsmith7981]

what about online play

[@RedRhinoMusic]

I haven't tried out the online in this game, I just play it for the solo stuff but it seems way more active, at least on PC.

[@matthewcarriveau6988]

The handling model is still garbage, racing with a wheel and custom setups and you can't hit the line the same two laps in a row, and the handling is just so inconsistent. Find myself wrecking more than not

[@dannewby8555]

I'd hit the subscribe button if you didn't sound like you were about to nod off

[@CountryboyForlife]

For the age verification I literally say I was born 1971 and I’m 16😂😂😂

[@xs_17gh88]

Alligence 1998 I’m 15 and I’m 2004

[@CallforthePriest]

How does this compare to Nascar racing 2003?

[@RedRhinoMusic]

I haven’t played that game in so long, I honestly couldn’t say.

[@mikeroberts3861]

Its pretty damn good i was impressed .

[@rudydoyle]

Nothing compares to Nascar 2003 from Papyrus

[@mtlnascarfan]

Seriously...that's like comparing a Fiat 500 to a Lamborghini Murcielago.

[@pizza_parker9689]

Skip

[@HolograpicTaco22]

Naw

[@pizza_parker9689]

HolographicTaco22 ok

[@tomturbo5296]

I feel like driving a nail through my head after 5 minutes of listening to your monotone voice

[@RedRhinoMusic]

Thanks for watching.