Falcon Guard
07-10-2003, 12:47 PM
I must say, for an F1 game that was released this year, it's like going back several steps and forward a couple, both at the same time. Weird I know, but here's how I see it.
First of all, where's the white flag to single Final Lap? And for that matter, I have yet to see anything but the checkered flag at the end of the race.
Which reminds me, do the developers of this game actually watch F1 racing? How many times last year did all 22 cars finish the race, or this year with all 20? I mean these cars are virtually indestructable, and in reality, they aren't. Now don't get me wrong, I prefer them not to be so fragile, but when a player chooses to have damage on, then the cars should actually get damaged and be forced out of the race.
Tire wear is very well done, you can really notice the difference when you pull in the pits with worn tires and pull out with a fresh set, and the added touch of having to wait a lap before your tires are up to temp was a nice touch. This is what I've envisioned for tire wear in any F1 game, nice job!
Fuel, done well with one minor and annoying problem. I ran out of fuel during a qualifying session, and yet I was able to drive at 44 mph around the track 3 times. Hello? If a player uses the fuel usage option, then when their car runs out of fuel, their session is done, whether it be Qualifying, Practice or the Race itself.
Graphics, well, no complaints there, the game looks good, the rain is awesome, but there is something missing. You have different views, 5 in total, but one is missing. There are two views from the cockpit, but I played an F1 game where you could drive the car through the tinted visor of the driver's helmet! That was sweet! But not in this game. The book says something about giving the F1 fanatics a true F1 experience...driving a race care through the tinted helmet, with the sound of the wind rushing by, that would do it for me!
Music...why? The sound of the rushing air, tires, crowd and engine is all I need, but I guess it's not enough for some. But I won't harp on this anylonger since I can turn the music off.
Driving line...where the heck is it? In all the F1 games I've played it's there, but I guess not in this case.
Engine wear, it is a factor, and it should be there. As the engine wears during the course of a race, the top speed decreases, and if left unchecked for too long (ie: no pit stop), the engine will fail altogether...oh right, the cars are indestructable in this game. Dumb!
No tobacco ads, great stuff, they have no place in video games!
The tracks are realistic enough, I've liked what I've seen all this time. Though each track has certain characteristics, and I'm not sure if that was taken into account.
Car set was described in this game, and finally I can tinker with my car to get the most out of it. I'm very pleased about that.
Pitstops are more interactive than I've ever seen, and I like that touch, that chance to improve my pitstop times.
Session times are there and that's a good thing. Qualifying should be 12 laps or 1 hour, which ever expires first. Of course next years game will have to be changed to the 1 lap pre-qualifying and 1 lap qualifying, but I'm looking forward to that, as well as the new point system. Anyone actually watching F1 this season will have to like what's been going on so far, this tire war is making things interesting with just 6 races left.
Real time, you know, peronsally, I find it hard to slot two full hours in order to complete one track. And you need at least 2 hours to do this. You need a few practice laps to figure out your braking scheme and to become familiar with the track. Then you need a minimum of two laps during qualifying, I recommend 3 to 4. Even if you skip the warm-up, you still need about two hours for the pre-race laps and the race itself when you bump up the race to full duration. There should be a save option that allows you to save your game after each session prior to the race, and during the race itself. If so, I'd be near the end of the season by now. Even if the developers had made the save feature only availalbe during the race, and only if the player selected full or half race duration, that would be a help.
Overall, I'm not happy with this game, there is so much left undone that I'm finding it boring. After five races, the only teams with points are the big three and BAR (the car I'm driving), no one else can get close. And in the constructors standings, I'm tied with Ferrari because I finish first, and the two Ferrari's finish 2nd and 3rd. Everyone's finishing the race, no one is dropping out, no crashes, no emergency pitstop due to wing or tire damage. Pretty sad.
Better luck next year, though I think I'll rent your game next time, because had I rented Grand Prix Challenge before buying it, I don't think I would have bothered.
First of all, where's the white flag to single Final Lap? And for that matter, I have yet to see anything but the checkered flag at the end of the race.
Which reminds me, do the developers of this game actually watch F1 racing? How many times last year did all 22 cars finish the race, or this year with all 20? I mean these cars are virtually indestructable, and in reality, they aren't. Now don't get me wrong, I prefer them not to be so fragile, but when a player chooses to have damage on, then the cars should actually get damaged and be forced out of the race.
Tire wear is very well done, you can really notice the difference when you pull in the pits with worn tires and pull out with a fresh set, and the added touch of having to wait a lap before your tires are up to temp was a nice touch. This is what I've envisioned for tire wear in any F1 game, nice job!
Fuel, done well with one minor and annoying problem. I ran out of fuel during a qualifying session, and yet I was able to drive at 44 mph around the track 3 times. Hello? If a player uses the fuel usage option, then when their car runs out of fuel, their session is done, whether it be Qualifying, Practice or the Race itself.
Graphics, well, no complaints there, the game looks good, the rain is awesome, but there is something missing. You have different views, 5 in total, but one is missing. There are two views from the cockpit, but I played an F1 game where you could drive the car through the tinted visor of the driver's helmet! That was sweet! But not in this game. The book says something about giving the F1 fanatics a true F1 experience...driving a race care through the tinted helmet, with the sound of the wind rushing by, that would do it for me!
Music...why? The sound of the rushing air, tires, crowd and engine is all I need, but I guess it's not enough for some. But I won't harp on this anylonger since I can turn the music off.
Driving line...where the heck is it? In all the F1 games I've played it's there, but I guess not in this case.
Engine wear, it is a factor, and it should be there. As the engine wears during the course of a race, the top speed decreases, and if left unchecked for too long (ie: no pit stop), the engine will fail altogether...oh right, the cars are indestructable in this game. Dumb!
No tobacco ads, great stuff, they have no place in video games!
The tracks are realistic enough, I've liked what I've seen all this time. Though each track has certain characteristics, and I'm not sure if that was taken into account.
Car set was described in this game, and finally I can tinker with my car to get the most out of it. I'm very pleased about that.
Pitstops are more interactive than I've ever seen, and I like that touch, that chance to improve my pitstop times.
Session times are there and that's a good thing. Qualifying should be 12 laps or 1 hour, which ever expires first. Of course next years game will have to be changed to the 1 lap pre-qualifying and 1 lap qualifying, but I'm looking forward to that, as well as the new point system. Anyone actually watching F1 this season will have to like what's been going on so far, this tire war is making things interesting with just 6 races left.
Real time, you know, peronsally, I find it hard to slot two full hours in order to complete one track. And you need at least 2 hours to do this. You need a few practice laps to figure out your braking scheme and to become familiar with the track. Then you need a minimum of two laps during qualifying, I recommend 3 to 4. Even if you skip the warm-up, you still need about two hours for the pre-race laps and the race itself when you bump up the race to full duration. There should be a save option that allows you to save your game after each session prior to the race, and during the race itself. If so, I'd be near the end of the season by now. Even if the developers had made the save feature only availalbe during the race, and only if the player selected full or half race duration, that would be a help.
Overall, I'm not happy with this game, there is so much left undone that I'm finding it boring. After five races, the only teams with points are the big three and BAR (the car I'm driving), no one else can get close. And in the constructors standings, I'm tied with Ferrari because I finish first, and the two Ferrari's finish 2nd and 3rd. Everyone's finishing the race, no one is dropping out, no crashes, no emergency pitstop due to wing or tire damage. Pretty sad.
Better luck next year, though I think I'll rent your game next time, because had I rented Grand Prix Challenge before buying it, I don't think I would have bothered.