Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A quick attempt to get more money before F1 goes to Sony, July 5, 2003
EA has demonstrated the ability to master a sport when they put effort into it (NCAA Football, Madden, NASCAR Thunder, FIFA). So it's appalling (but probably financially successful) to see them slap out half-hearted efforts like F1 Career Challenge, Knockout Kings and the NHL and NBA series because they know they can cut costs and production because the hardcore fans will ensure a profit alone.
Similar to the NHL series, they add a few gimicky features to appeal to the console crowd but take away more specialized features like adjustable AI, car tuning, race length and individual stats. The graphics are slightly upgraded, but the framerate, draw distance and control are poor. The engine sounds actually cut out when you turn the wheel!
It's clear EA used old code and slapped together some poor cutscenes with bland presentation (which is an EA strength). It's like a bad expansion pack for F1 2002.
The worst new features include a "hot zone" where you score EA cards and points for driving fast through a designated portion of the track. The screen gradually turns red the faster you go (think of the "bluring effect" in the horrible movie "Driven"). And various EA cards pop up and distract you on screen when you overtake and take corners properly. Very distracting and childish. Console racers will never compete with PC sims, but at least give us the option to try.
The big career mode is a joke as you virtually have no customization options. Race length, damage, AI and even pit strategy are all set. You cannot even determine a tire compound!!
My recommendation is to get "Grand Prix Challenge." It is probably the best F1 racer ever to hit a console and it has terrific controls and graphics. Then wait and see what Sony does with the F1 license when Formula One 2003 comes out. I have a feeling they will take it very serious because of it's exclusivity and the uproar that would be caused in Europe if they screwed this up. The bottom line is EA would never treat the Madden franchise like this, so why should we tolerate it with the other sports.
Memo to EA...Loyalty is an important quality and one your customers exhibit enthusiastically to all your products. But if you cannot get better quality from all your development houses then at some point that loyalty will erode and more upstart companies will peck away at your bottom dollar. It may be 20 years from now, but this industry is fickle and your fan base is young, transitional and more acceptable to change.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not bad, but it cheats!, January 2, 2004
The career mode is interesting, and makes the experience more fun than the traditional F1 games. The game isn't hard to master after a little time, and you can find yourself scoring podium finishes consistently by the 2002 season. The main problem that I have with the game is this: numerous times while leading the race, I have pitted at the same time as the second place car. The pit graphics enable you to see down the pit road a portion of the time, and while I'm pitted, the second place car will simply drive through and take the lead. It is extremely frustrating, and they generally have a significant enough lead that it is generally impossible to retake P1. All-in-all good, but I wish that EA would have fixed that before release!
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not that evolved., September 7, 2004
Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars
I came to this game after a long drought from F-1 on the Playstation, since I used to have a PS1 Formula 1 game in the late 90's, I believe by Psygnosis. I picked F1 Career Challenge for PS2 up at half price, and while it's fun, I feel rather disappointed. I'm a little surprised if this is an official F-1 game. It definitely doesn't feel as sophisticated as I'd expect, 5 or 6 years after the last F-1 game I owned.
Some observations after a couple days with it:
The primary draw of this F-1 game over others is its basis on a career. You start as a rookie, and hopefully work your way up to the top tier teams. It's something I haven't seen since an old Ayrton Senna game for Sega I had. Very fun.
That being said, however, the racing feel is a little lacking. First thing I noticed is that the cars seem way too prone to sliding and skidding. Regardless of technique, touching the brakes almost always results in squealing and smoke. In regards to handling, sure I would expect tyre adhesion to be a delicate issue at speed, but even running slow, with partial throttle, it would get squirelly. I even had it spin out on me under 60mph a couple times. With that much rubber, the cars should behave a little stickier. And a big annoyance... every time I steer, it seems to lift off on the throttle. Was that a function of Traction Control, I don't know, but if so, where's the option to turn off the TC.
Usually, as software develops, more features are woven in. This title seems like it's been abstracted instead. In a great racing game, for example, armchair drivers want to see lots of useful data. Speed and tach... all this game shows is in a small digital readout in the upper right. A string of lap times and intervals would be a reasonable expectation, so you can tell if you're improving on your times, or how you're spaced from the guys ahead and behind. The old PS1 F-1 '97 (I think it was '97) had great, Speed Channel style timing graphics. Career Challenge seems a bit short on the timing data.
As for tuning, the options seem really simplified. Same goes for the racing. The races seem to be preset lengths of about 8 laps, and the team picks your pit strategy for you, i.e. pit on lap 5. I'd much rather see the old '97 mode, where you can pick your race length, how much fuel you want to take, tyre choices, etc, so you can make your own plan, and if you tyres are holding out, you can just go for it. Damage modelling seems a little strange too. I see other cars losing wings, etc, and breaking down on the track, but I can smack a wall at over 100mph, and just keep going.
Qualifiying is a bit disappointing. They start you out in the middle of a hot lap, and stop you when you finish the lap, and you can do that 3 times. I much prefer to just let me go out and run sequential hot laps without interruption. (Much better way to get in the groove, I feel.) The only plus is that they actually do let you make tuning adjustments in the pits between runs.
And while I will say the graphics look great, some of the tracks seem a little flatter (less elevation difference) than I expect.
One last gripe... ready to start a race, cars lined up on the grid, crowd roaring, red lights coming on before the start... and you can't even rev the engine up. The engine won't throttle up until the race starts. For anyone who loves F-1 or has ever even seen a start, that just does not feel right at all.
That kind of sums it up. F1 Career Challenge satisfied my F-1 thirst a bit, especially since I paid half price, but overall, it fails to feel right when you're at the controls.
(I continue to wish that the Gran Turismo gang would get an FIA contract.)
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