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Show Thrills in 'NASCAR 2005' run at lull speed the driver and force him to make mistakes, or you can share your wind draft. Both paths have benefits and ' pitfalls. Intimidation gets you-t- the front of the pack the fastest, but other drivers will hound you mercilessly. Allies, on the other hand, won't ram you off the road, but you need to be a skilled driver to avoid collisions while pass- Victor Godinez THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS Presidential candidate John reportedly among us does not love NASCAR?" Well, if you take Electronic Arts' new "NASCAR 2005: Chase for the Cup" out for a spin, there's a good chance you'll develop at least a mild crush on the sport. "NASCAR 2005" ($49; suitable for all ages) is hitting Xbox, PlayStation 2 and Game-CubI revved up the Xbox , B.C PiSO FARALL PTBF& PftAP V (tm) FOR. I it" MMM CUATOtS Itf THE wTeR . v Sir SYHUCAT--. INC FOXTROT SO WHEN CAN I EXPECT To WAND- WHAT?! - TWOOFYOU WANT To QUINCYWOO TELL ME A I CHILDREN? WELL, IF THE OH, DEAR. DID MY LITTLE MY SON TELLS ME THE TWO Of YOU ARE PLAN-SNtN6 TO GET MARRIED. CANOODLE FiB? ARE S IH v 14 SH THAT'S - THE QUES, IT BE A SN WHEN 1 KILL YOU? TtON ing. You also can collect prestige points to graduate faster to high-levracing series and gain fans, who will buy more of your merchandise so you can upgrade your car. There is also a great collection of racetracks, both real world and imaginary. You can race the traditional ovals if you prefer realism or engage in street racing in New York City and other major metropolitan areas. Unf prtunately, in terms of graphics, these street races don't compare well with other games that focus strictly on street racing, such as EA's own "Need for Speed: Underground." Still, "NASCAR 2005" has a ton of great game play and solid graphics under the hood. Xbox and PS2 gamers can also enjoy the online mode if they want some human e; el versioa There are a lot of changes from EA's previous NASCAR titles, the biggest being the Fight to the Top mode, where you start as a rookie driver in a minor-leagu- e circuit and work your way up to NASCAR champioa This career mode is a blast, and you get to race funky featherlite cars as well as trucks before graduating to stock cars and eventually regular muscle cars. If you don't have the patience for the career mode, you can jump into an instant race in any vehicle category. On the track, there are all sorts of cool innovations, especially the Ally and Intimidator features. If you get close enough to another car, you can intimidate RHYMES WITH ORANGE dveRY ONce in TH6 a wmie.soMe neuron finally fire? IN OUR 8RAAN? AND VWrenoTjwsT Wt HAAJE YfI cn A HU6t REALIZATION: Y I I'm n adult-do Wjjflt great friend?., were in love! ? i ODAT iT REALl TATtON ( UtHe Jack ?fer gave1 toff thermic Dragon mwet: gjipg ywx, not i" job. Ceiling" wo... CRANKSHAFT om,ou.... I THIS K.6TARTIM6 fKi'simissria Yk 11,1 I flUWNtMe SAc-"TH- H han't eaievesHe DDN f AU, B.THe I i ! ' Astro Boy doesn't live up to hype Tom Ham SPECIAL TO THE WASHINGTON POST game started out with story (it's based 1950s a Japanese cartoon) and a great team (it was developed by the creators of Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog series), but it fails to capitalize on either advantage. A adventure, it lets players take on the role of the title character, a robotic kid who must save Metro City from the evil Dr. Tenma. The deck is slightly stacked in 's favor: He can fly, see with vision, shoot lasers from his hands, punch through any obstacle and pick up and throw cars. Just as in the animated series, game play consists of Astro flying around, knocking around some bad guys (sometimes in the air, sometimes on the ground) and then doing it all This third-perso- cult-class- n As-tro- y v over again. Unlike most games, Astro Boy doesnt split its action among different levels or stages; instead, the game is divided into four large, visually distinct zones, from Metro City's soaring skyscrapers to the Brokken Volcano's bubbling, flowing lava. After you've made their way through each zone, you'll face a Boss, and the resulting fight is usually epic. But the run-u- p to those climactic clashes gets boring, with too much time spent flying around and talking to random characters to move the story along. Some of these segments felt like they would never end but the entire game took only four hours to finish, making it a lousy value even as a rental Fans of the series who own a Game Boy Advance would do better with a simpler, cheaper ($20), but more interesting GBA release called Astro Boy: Omega Factor. MARY WORTH "11 1 I I OKAY TOWMy, FOK6FT ABOUT SCHOOL. FOR THE TIME 0BNG! MAKE A CHOICE TO GET A PECeNTOWTHAT IPlII C I j """7I W VOU CAN START SHALL WORK YOUR WAV UP! WT-- l "Z FJVr- FRANK AND ERNEST A SMALL TOvtN IN ibAflO f tON6&6ATOfi. PO TW tfANT $0M FttAM vlTfl THAT) ill - |