Intelligent Game Reviews

Intelligamer
Intelligent Choice

Racing may not be “MTV” sports like the tooth jarring checks of the NHL, prime time plays of the NFL, or the high flying jams of the NBA. It does however have one of the most loyal fan bases of any sport. Ubi Soft has created a true Formula 1 simulation to take you through the rigors of a championship series and you can experience for yourself the thrill of victory, or the agony of defeat.

Basics of Play

Some of you may be thinking that you get enough racing from your daily commute to work. Well trust me when I say driving someone else’s car is much more fun, especially when that car can go significantly faster and it’s totally legal.

F1 Racing does an excellent job of “sweating all the details” of a simulation game, while delivering an excellent basic game as well. You see 2 difficulty settings to chose from, but in actuality you have 4. Easy, Realistic (Amateur, Pro, Expert). Each difficulty setting has its own set of options. For the arcade driver easy is a great option, you get much more computer help. Each notch up the ladder adds more complexity as well. On Amateur you still retain some “training wheels” to develop your skills.

Races can be run one at a time, in a championship series or for practice. F1 racing is all about practice so getting as much time on a track can only help you get a feel for all the subtle turns and speed lanes. Single races are the same as practice but there is much more preparation with practicing, qualifying and warm-ups. The championship series takes you through the 16 race circuit.

F1 Racing simulation did not keep things simple with the practice races. There are plenty of different modes to play with. You can do a time attack, racing just against the clock. There is a ghost racer option where a pro “shadow” races at the same time, this gives you someone to compare too. Training in F1 Racing Simulation doesn’t stop there. In the class room you can go even further in depth. You drive around the track of your choice but each tactic is explained. You are show the “popular” routes to take, how and why you down shift to take a turn, where good places to pass are. As if that wasn’t enough, you can watch your instructor do it.

In the championship race more options then you can shake a stick at. Some of the important ones are how many laps each race is (set using a percent of actual laps for that track) whether you need to pit and in the higher difficulty what car configuration you want. Use the practice rounds to get a good feel of the course and set options like gear settings, tires, drag, etc. After practice rounds analyze all the information you can to give you the edge. You’ll need it, the AI doesn’t make many mistakes.

Computer AI cannot be catagorized as aggressive, they’re just good. On easy you shouldn’t see much of them, but on realistic you will find yourself being passed if you miscalculate a turn. F1 racing isn’t like other races though and very rarely will you receive a bump from another player, like you need any help losing control. Don’t you have enough to worry about with downshifting and turning?

Multiplayer Features

Multiplayer is somewhat limited compared to other games, but I can’t really say that I expected more. Each player is required to own the game to play. There are three different options. You can split the screen, for a 2 player local game. You can play with 2 players over a modem or 8 players over IPX or a LAN. The manual explains the procedures to the point of being elementary.

Being as I have only one CD for this game the only way I could play was split screen. I went from using my smooth joystick to play the binary keyboard. There is no gradual turn, just yes or no. The screen split did not effect any important aspect of driving or enjoying the game. Multiplayer games are limited to single races. Seems like a few to many limitation for a game that seemed to give me more then enough to fiddle with, and plenty more options. Guess I’ll have to wait for the sequel.

Graphics, Sounds, etc.

For those gamers with the hardware, Ubi Soft has provided a product superior in the “extras”. There was excellent color, sound, animation and even physics. The spin outs were, well, out of control. If you were unfortunate enough to find a wall in a spin out you dented a bit of metal, leaving evidence on the ground as you speed away. No part of the car is safe from me.

Your first experience with F1 Racing Simulation is with the menu system. This is the only place I found an average product. The menu system was effective in providing you with a means to go where you want to but some times the little things just caught my attention. At times the flag as pointer was a little distracting and menu boxes would certainly simplify the design. It was not difficult to navigate however so you didn’t have to work too hard.

In the race the graphics are excellent. The only way to get a better feeling of being there would be to add the sense of smell to the game, but I don’t think that is feasible. The background are leaps and bounds above the “mats” I have seen on other games. The stands, high rise buildings and hills are all 3D and I never saw a flaw. Each weather circumstance is presented well with blue skies, clouds and birds to the dark dismal rain cloud. No, you can’t have snow, sorry.

I am not an expert when it comes to F1 Racing, but the cars look great. You can look at them from any angle, but trust me when I say there are only a few that you can drive in. The cockpit of your low flying aircraft is equipped with all the necessary buttons and your have a good view in your mirrors. An extra I found while playing was that when you drive on a surface other then pavement your tires pick up debry. So, when you miscalculate that turn and stray into the grass on the side of the track you see blades of grass on your tire.

The manual that comes with F1 racing is an example of what I would like to see others follow. Being ignorant of the technical side of F1 racing I was thrilled to see a breakdown of race car options. How the heck am I supposed to know that tilting your wheels effects performance, or you even have that option. Now I know why there are 3 practice rounds before the race. You have so many options to worry about and things you can tweak to get a better time that you always have the feeling that you might be missing something. Well the manual is not missing a thing. Bravo Ubi Soft.

Sounds in the game are as realistic as I can imagine for someone who has never been in a F1 car or even been to a race. The engine noise sounded a bit electronic but I’ll let you in on a little secret, it is! I am sure that if you play this game enough you can judge your speed by the sound of your engine. As I mentioned above, when you are unfortunate enough to find yourself off the track the sound of gravel, water and grass can be heard. Once you have these foreign substances on your tires, you are cruisin’ for a spin out, where once again I am happy to say you are greeted with an authentic screech of your tires.

The Verdict

F1 Racing Simulation is a superior racing game providing you with all the options you need to have as much or little control as you want. The customization of the game was a bonus while those many lazy times I just wanted to jump in the car were just as rewarding. I think that F1 Racers will love this game, and those people who buy one racing game just to curb the racing habit once in a while will find it a solid game with much replay-ability. Multiplayer is lacking enough to be weary if you are buying this game solely for playing with others. I don’t think it should stop you though.

F1 Racing Simulation Screenshots

Software rendered images are pretty good as seen here, but the 3D accelerated graphics are excellent.	Lots of camera angles and replays from every angle are fun… you can even watch the end of a race if you crash out!
You can tweak the setup of your car to your hearts content… to wring out that last tenth of a second on each track.

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