NASCAR Thunder 2004 is a racing simulator by EA Sports, released in 2003 and available in separate versions for PlayStation, PlayStation 2, Xbox, and PC. It features the 2002 champion Tony Stewart on the cover with a scowling look to represent the new Grudges and Alliances feature. It was the only game as of 2002 to feature the previous Winston Cup (Sprint) Cup Champion on the cover. The game had the most extensive soundtrack of the series up from four songs from the previous game. The game also has a career mode, season mode, Lightning Challenge mode, SpeedZone, as well as a tutorial mode featuring Richard Petty. The game is an EA Sports Bio game, and is compatible with other EA Sports Bio games like Madden NFL 2004 and NCAA Football 2004.
The main feature of the game is the "Grudges and Alliances" feature, which is based on the player's driving style and attitude. If the player drives dirty and bumps into other drivers, even if it was an unintentional bump, that driver becomes a "Rival", and will bump into the player if they happen to encounter each other later in the race. However, if the player drafts the opponent, that rival's level in grudge severity drops. If the player drafts a neutral driver long enough, that driver will become an "Ally", and at times will let the player pass. However, if the player bumps into an ally, their alliance will slowly drop. The maximum amount of severity for both grudges and alliances is -100 and +100, respectively. The player can see his/her four highest grudges and alliances at the end of the race. In Season and Career modes, the grudges and alliances the player makes carry over to future races.
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