Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent F1 simulator, February 2, 2000
By A Customer
Durability:5.0 out of 5 stars Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars Educational:5.0 out of 5 stars
This game is by far the best, most comprehensive, and most realistic Formula 1 simulator to hit any gaming platform yet. The incredible attention to detail is something to marvel at, as well as the graphical prowess. Any F1 fan will greatly appreciate the level of detail that each car and track sports. The game has a full license from the FIA which allows them to have all the actual team names (i.e. Ferrari, McLaren, Jordan, etc.) and actual driver names (i.e. Michael Schumacher, Mika Hakkinen, Heinz-Harald Frentzen, etc.) The cars obvioulsy look exactly like each of their real life counterparts, and the tracks are precisely configured as they are in reality. The amazing part is, even the backgrounds and off-track scenery is spot-on in its accuracy. For example, on the track in Austria (the A1 Ring), while driving up the straight that follows turn 1, the horizon line of the mountains are *exactly* like they are if you watch the Austrian Grand Prix on TV! It's things like this that really put this game in a league of its own. Even the pit stops have wonderfully animated, polygonal crew members who take their proper positions, and carry out their tyre-changing and refuelling tasks in a very life-like manner. The number of options in the game are staggering. Everything from the standard fare of adjusting every possible aspect of the car (front and rear wing angles for downforce, transmission gearing, tyre choice, suspension stiffness, etc.), to analyzing the telemetry of practice and qualifying laps in order to improve your future lap times, are included. Altering weather conditions are also an option. Rain effects are wonderful, and it truly alters the handling of the cars (as it should). Given that this is primarily a Formula 1 simulator, the level of difficulty is fairly high. However, auto acceleration and braking, and adjustable opponent AI (artificial intelligence) are also optional, and they work wonderfully. This makes the game desirable for any racing fan, casual or die-hard. You can also view the action from almost any possible camera angle. You can race "as the driver" where you can see "your" hands turning the wheel (and, by the way, each of the different cars' interiors are faithfully reproduced as well... no generic F1 car interior here). But during the replay mode is when the camera angles really become appreciated. You can have views from any of the following: helicopter, front wing, rear wing, behind the driver's helmet, atop the car, and several others. Possibly the best camera angle of all is the TV angle. All the actual, real-life TV camera placements are accurately placed around the tracks, so you can watch your race as if you are watching a real Grand Prix. Simply put, it is amazing. GRAPHICS: 9 --- The beautiful look, and magnificent attention to detail make this the best looking and realistic F1 simulator to date in the graphics department. SOUND: 8 --- While the engine sounds don't quite have that beautiful, ear-piercing quality that actual F1 engines do, they are much better than average. Music is nothing special... but who cares? You're buying the game for the racing, not the catchy tunes. :-) GAMEPLAY: 9 --- Extremely realistic controls, and above average opponent AI make this an extremely satisfying simulator, while optional "aids" make it appealing to less fanatical race fans. PRESENTATION: 9 --- Beautiful, easy-to-navigate menus and the overall look of the game are immaculate. This gives the game a very polished and "finished" look to it. OVERALL (not an average): 10 --- All the attention to detail and immense amount of options add up to a near-perfect F1 simulator. This is the kind of game that will make you start scouring the TV listings for when the next F1 race is! It's going to be hard to top this one.
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
given the choice, I usually go for Monaco Grand Prix, June 13, 2000
By A Customer
Durability:5.0 out of 5 stars Fun:3.0 out of 5 stars Educational:5.0 out of 5 stars
But not always. F1 wins over Monaco GP in some areas. Mainly in presentation. As other reviewers mentioned, in F1, there is a little more dynamic atmosphere - crowds roaring, camera flashes from the grandstands, etc.Monaco GP, however, has a much better driving simulator. It wins hands-down for simulating spins and texture changes. F1 allows you to drive at nearly full speed doing hard turns (even on grass) and come out unharmed, but in Monaco GP you have a pretty good chance of slamming into a wall if you try that (even with ABS and traction control on). The one thing that F1 seems to simulate reasonable well is understear. If you try breaking too hard coming into a turn, your front tires lock up and you just plow straight forward... When I want to play a couple rounds of something flashy, I'll start up F1 WGP, but then I'll switch to Monaco for more realistic racing..
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Best "pure" racing game for the DC, May 3, 2000
By A Customer
Durability:5.0 out of 5 stars Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars Educational:5.0 out of 5 stars
I'm mainly writing this to counter the reviews that are saying that this is a horrible game. I don't see that at all. True, if you're not a fan of pure racing games based on a love of auto racing as a sport, you won't like this game. It's not an arcade game like Crazy Taxi, Tokyo Extreme Racer, etc. This game has depth and requires a little effort. But having said that, if you are looking for a racing simulation, this is a great game. The graphics are very good. Definitely good enough to show off to your N64 and Playstation friends. They could've been a little tighter in some areas, but overall they are definitely impressive. The control is good, making good use of the analog thumb triggers and analog "stick". You also have the option of making the steering more or less sensitive. This is entirely separate from the handling options dealing with adjusting the downforce, etc. It also offers many levels of play, from fairly easy to downright impossible. The sound is average overall. Adequate music and sound effects. But having the pit crew on the radio is great. Instead of looking at corners of your screen to see how the other racers are doing (when you should be staring at the road), your pit crew will chime in with remarks letting you know that you're 3 seconds back, or that you're up 2 seconds on the guy behind you, etc. Very nice. Also, the crowd sounds as you pass by them (while they wave flags and such) are a subtle, but nice, touch. There is a great illusion of speed and the frame rate is crisp throughout. You can choose among 5 views during gameplay. The track fly-bys before the race and the replay option after the race are just beautiful to watch. One of the biggest surprises (and what I believe sets this game apart from all other racers) is the incredible weather effects in this game. The rain is amazing! It affects your handling and vision and just looks incredible. And during the race, it can go from cloudy to raining within a few laps and then taper off. True realism. My one big complaint is that they should have tried to include the track from the upcoming US Grand Prix event in Indianapolis this August. But, other than that, I'm very happy with this game. All of the 1998 tracks (which are essentially all the tracks on the 2000 circuit) are captured in amazing detail. Good competition, good control, great graphics, many options--system, mechanical, race--, good sound. Easy to play, hard to master. (I can't comment on how this does on 2-play mode or with any other controller besides the original DC controller since I haven't tried them yet).
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