"Geoff Crammond has done it again - a brilliant formula 1 simulation"

As a formula 1 fan, I was very excited when Geoff Crammond's Grand Prix 4 was announced. It looked very realistic, and it seemed like it would be a very good formula 1 simulation. As soon as it came out, I snapped it up, and I have to say my first impressions were very good. As I played it more, I began to appreciate more how good this game was. Let's go into more detail:

Graphics - 9/10

The graphics in Grand Prix 4 are incredible. Everything looks very realistic; the textures look good and have the right tone of colour. The car models are very detailed, and look just like the formula 1 cars of the 2001 season. The graphics are very smooth, with very few noticeable corners in polygons in what would be a smooth curve on the car in real life. In cockpit camera mode, the steering wheel is very detailed, and displays all of your race stats, such as current position, lap number, fuel left, and lap times, so there is no need for panels displaying stats at the top of the screen, as in most racing games. But, it looks very strange in cockpit camera mode, because there are no arms turning the steering wheel! But you don't notice it, because you are concentrating on the race. The driver arms are visible in all other camera modes, anyway. The people in Grand Prix 4 look very good, and move realistically, because movements were recorded with help from an F1 team. If there is an incident ahead, or any other reason to warn drivers of something, marshals will run out and start waving the appropriate flag. I was very impressed with this, as it is an important part of F1 racing, and I have never seen it in any other F1 game. The marshals also come out at the end of the race, and wave lots of different coloured flags in celebration, just like in real life.

But there is one problem with the otherwise incredible graphics in Grand Prix 4. There is bad slowdown during play. Even if you turn down the detail of the graphics, it doesn't help all that much. You will notice a big difference in game speed when coming off of the start line at the beginning of a race, after doing many practice and qualifying laps on your own. Even so, it doesn't hinder gameplay, so it doesn't matter all that much.

Sound - 7/10

The sounds in Grand Prix 4 are good, but not great. The engines sound very realistic, and give the best false impression that you are driving an F1 car that I have ever seen in a game. Your team communicates with you via a radio, and it sounds appropriately fuzzy, although it is very repetitive, and their phrases are limited. Once, there was a pile-up in front of me, and I heard, "Watch out for debris." "Watch out for debris." "Try and get back!" "Watch out for debris." Yes, they did repeat it all those times, and it got quite irritating and put me off driving! Anyway, the crash sounds aren't very good, and sound WAY too quiet. For example, if you hit a barrier head-on at 220 mph, all you hear is a soft thud, when in real life you would hear the loudest boom and crunch, merged together to sound very sickening. Ah well, if you drive well and don't crash, you won't ever have to hear it.

Gameplay - 10/10

Aha, this is where it shines. Good old gameplay, what every game needs, and this has bucket-loads of it! There's nothing more satisfying than winning a marathon 70-lap race, after having the ominous sight of Michael Schumacher in your wing mirrors half the way. To a non-racing fan, this game would be really boring. But to a racing fan, this game is heaven. The AI in this game is amazing. Drivers react when you go near them, plan out overtaking maneuvers and abort it if it is may cause an accident, and lap relatively inconsistently, as any human would. There are loads of things to tinker with in car setup. But if you aren't into setting up cars, and trying out different wing settings degree by degree, then the game has pre-set setups for you. It supplies you with either personal or game setups for dry qualifying, wet qualifying, dry race, and wet race. You can change anything from ride height to anti-roll bar settings. There are also plenty of options in the game to have a play around with. You can change opponent difficulty, driver names, damage realism, weather, graphics quality and sound quality just to name a few.

There is one major problem with this game, though. In the version that you buy from the stores, the game can suddenly close down and go to the desktop. This mainly happens when you switch from menu to race or from race to menu. Although this is relatively common, and happens about once every 4 or 5 races, it doesn't hinder the gameplay, although it is quite annoying. But overall, brilliant gameplay.

Replay value – 8/10

There isn't much to say here, really. This s a great game to come back to every now and then, but you can't play it for hours on end. If you an F1 fan, you will come back to this game often, guaranteed. If you are not, you will never, ever touch this game again. The many options to change mean that there are many possibilities, making for one, big game.

Physics - 10/10

I had to include this, as this is a major part of a simulation racing game. In Grand Prix 4, the physics are brilliant, with the car handling very realistically. You will spin if you turn in to a corner too far, bump around if you drive on the grass, and drive painfully slowly in the gravel. There is one thing in this game that happens in real formula 1 and I have never seen in any other f1 game before, and that is if you touch another car's tyre with your own tyre, your car will go flying in the air. This is a neat little touch, and will make you stomach lurch when you suddenly tip on your side after hitting a car you didn't see. The crashes are very realistic. The tumbling of the cars is perfect, and cars react against the ground very well. Overall, excellent physics.

Reminders:
Graphics - 9/10
Sound - 7/10
Gameplay - 10/10
Replay value - 8/10
Physics - 10/10

Positive points:
+ Excellent gameplay
+ Brilliant car physics and AI
+ Astounding graphics
+ There's nothing like beating Michael Schumacher in a good race!
Negative points:
- Major slowdown at busy times
- Sometimes the game closes of its own accord
- Non-racing fans will hate this game

Overall score - 9/10

If you are a Formula 1 fan or racing fan, get this game. NOW. If you are not either of these, avoid this game, you will not like it at all.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 06/01/05