For many, this was the greatest NASCAR video game of all time. While NR 2003 is a huge game in its own right, the console entry of NASCAR Thunder 2004 reached a much wider audience when it was released.
The game features more improved features, including a deepened career mode featuring a new “Rivals” system and Lightning Challenges. There is also an incredible amount of Thunder Plates that can be earned throughout the game to get a slew of special paint schemes, fantasy tracks and drivers.
However, the biggest thing this game added was online play. It was the first NASCAR console video game to have an online capability. Sure, online gaming was still relatively new in those days, but this was the first game to include it.
It’s the highest rated EA Sports NASCAR console video game on Metacritic, and it is easy to see why. However, this would be the beginning of the end of this “Golden Age” of NASCAR gaming as EA Sports took the NASCAR license exclusively following the release of the 2003 NASCAR games. With that being said, the follow-up would still turn a lot of heads.
