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NASCAR Thunder 2002
Xbox cover art featuring the car of Jeff Gordon
Developer(s)	EA Tiburon
Publisher(s)	Electronic Arts
Series	NASCAR Thunder
Engine	enhanced NASCAR Thunder engine
Platform(s)	Xbox, PlayStation, PlayStation 2
Release	PlayStation NA: October 2, 2001 PlayStation 2 NA: October 15, 2001 Xbox NA: November 15, 2001
Genre(s)	Racing
Mode(s)	Single-player, Multiplayer

NASCAR Thunder 2002 is a racing simulator video game developed by EA Tiburon and published by EA Sports that came out for the Sony PlayStation, Sony PlayStation 2, and Xbox. The theme song for the game is "Sweet Home Alabama" by Lynyrd Skynyrd. It is the fifth game in the NASCAR series of video games, and is the first of the series to have a new title (the other games simply read "NASCAR", followed by the year). Notably, it is the first NASCAR game to feature alternate paint schemes on the cars. It featured the 2001 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Champion Jeff Gordon on its cover and 2000 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Champion Bobby Labonte on the disc.

NASCAR Thunder 2002 was the first NASCAR game released for the Xbox and the second released for the PlayStation 2. Game modes consist of Create-a-car, Quick race, Season mode, Career mode, and practice. Before every race, the player has the option to qualify for a position at the start of the race, get to know the track in practice, or 'race' other cars in Happy Hour. The game has 35 drivers from the 2001 Winston Cup season (minus Dale Earnhardt due to his death, but the game has many tributes to him including a black No. 3 screen on start-up) and several then-Busch Series and fantasy drivers that can be unlocked.

The PlayStation version was separate from the PS2 and Xbox versions, included only 36 drivers, and included an instant-replay feature, fantasy tracks, only 18 drivers per race, and all of the alternate paint schemes were removed. A system of power-up/cheat cards and challenges, similar to Chase/Thunder plates and Lightning/Dodge Challenges in later editions, was a major game mode in this version.

Reception

Review scores

Publication	Score
	PS	PS2	Xbox
Game Informer	N/A	8.5/10	9/10
GamePro
GameSpot	5.8/10	8.2/10	8/10
GameZone	9/10	9/10	N/A
IGN	N/A	8.3/10	8.5/10
Next Generation	N/A	N/A
Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine			N/A
Official Xbox Magazine (US)	N/A	N/A	6.9/10
The Cincinnati Enquirer	N/A	N/A

The PlayStation 2 and Xbox versions received "favorable" reviews, while the PlayStation version received "average" reviews, according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. NextGen said that the Xbox version was "Graphically, a solid game, with great reflections, sun wash, damage modeling, persistent skid marks, and more."

References

1. ^ "NASCAR Thunder 2002 for PlayStation Reviews". Metacritic. Red Ventures. Retrieved August 23, 2015.
2. ^ "NASCAR Thunder 2002 for PlayStation 2 Reviews". Metacritic. Red Ventures. Retrieved August 23, 2015.
3. ^ "NASCAR Thunder 2002 for Xbox Reviews". Metacritic. Red Ventures. Retrieved August 23, 2015.
4. Kato, Matthew (December 2001). "NASCAR Thunder 2002 (PS2)". Game Informer. No. 104. FuncoLand. p. 93. Archived from the original on November 13, 2004. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
5. Kato, Matthew (December 2001). "NASCAR Thunder 2002 (Xbox)". Game Informer. No. 104. FuncoLand. p. 108. Archived from the original on November 13, 2004. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
6. Jake The Snake (September 13, 2001). "NASCAR Thunder Review for PlayStation on GamePro.com". GamePro. IDG Entertainment. Archived from the original on December 12, 2004. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
7. Air Hendrix (October 15, 2001). "NASCR Thunder 2002 Review for PS2 on GamePro.com". GamePro. IDG Entertainment. Archived from the original on December 22, 2004. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
8. Four-Eyed Dragon (November 29, 2001). "NASCAR Thunder 2002 Review for Xbox on GamePro.com". GamePro. IDG Entertainment. Archived from the original on December 22, 2004. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
9. Provo, Frank (January 24, 2002). "NASCAR Thunder 2002 Review (PS)". GameSpot. Red Ventures. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
10. Provo, Frank (October 16, 2001). "NASCAR 2002 Review (PS2)". GameSpot. Red Ventures. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
11. Ahmed, Shahed (November 16, 2001). "NASCAR Thunder 2002 Review (Xbox) [date mislabeled as "May 17, 2006"]". GameSpot. Red Ventures. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
12. Ovaldog (November 11, 2001). "NASCAR Thunder 2002 Review - PlayStation". GameZone. Archived from the original on August 13, 2006. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
13. Bedigian, Louis (November 4, 2001). "NASCAR Thunder 2002 Review - PlayStation 2". GameZone. Archived from the original on January 1, 2007. Retrieved Octobe 17, 2021. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
14. Zdyrko, David (October 16, 2001). "NASCAR Thunder 2002 (PS2)". IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
15. Boulding, Aaron (November 8, 2001). "NASCAR Thunder 2002 (Xbox)". IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
16. ^ "NASCAR Thunder 2002 (Xbox)". NextGen. No. 85. Imagine Media. January 2002. p. 28. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
17. "NASCAR Thunder 2002 (PS)". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine. No. 52. Ziff Davis. January 2002. p. 146.
18. "NASCAR Thunder 2002 (PS2)". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine. No. 51. Ziff Davis. December 2001. p. 169.
19. "NASCAR Thunder 2002". Official Xbox Magazine. Imagine Media. January 2002.
20. Kent, Steve (April 2, 2002). "Xbox titles zoom into overdrive". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Gannett Company. Archived from the original on May 28, 2008. Retrieved October 17, 2021.

External links

• NASCAR Thunder 2002 at MobyGames

Template:EA Sports NASCAR Series

• 2001 video games
• PlayStation (console) games
• PlayStation 2 games
• Xbox games
• NASCAR video games
• EA Sports games
• Sports video games with career mode
• Multiplayer and single-player video games
• Video games developed in the United States
• Simulation video games
• Simulation games