F355 Challenge

"Realistic racing on DC?? surely not"

When I first saw this game it was in the arcades I brushed it away saying ''hmph its just Sega trying to tempt me to waste loads of money on a game ill never complete'' and thought nothing of it. But months later I was eager for more simulated driving (having completed Colin Mcrae Rally 2, F1 2000, Gran Turismo 2, Toca 2 and Toca World touring cars) so I purchesed the Japanese version of F355 challenge for a huge amount of pound coins and shoved the thing into my DC.

The first thing that hit me was the graphics. They looked bloody gorgeous and the game was still able to keep a steady 60fps with no slowdown. The amount of graphic details in this game are imense going down to the smallest sponsor on rear of the car and to the hugest advertising board. Even while racing there are some really nice touches, like the track marshals waving there little flags and real pit crew who actually change your wheels. There are still a few downfalls to the graphics, like the cardboard cutout crowd and the annoying un tire like tire walls at every chicane on Monza. Another good thing is the chance to drive on some of the nicer international circuits like Spa and Laguna seca. Two player mode was also very impressive because there was no noticable reduction in game quality no slowdown, no popup, nothing!

The racing physics engine is also in my opinion the best one Sega have produced ever, which is harsh but realisticly fair and it does punish you for pushing the car too hard (unlike gran turismo) but does give beginners traction control and all that gumph.

But there are several annoying points to the game. Firstly the Dreamcast controller is no way as good for racing games as the PSX controller (i.e using both the anolog sticks, one for turning and one for accel and brake) and takes allot of getting used to those annolog shoulder buttons. Also THERE IS NO WAY OF GETTING THE CAR INTO REVERSE which for a racing simulation I thought very bad, this is another downfall of the DC controller not having enough buttons. Also the ai controlled cars although challenging are somewhat racing by their own set of rules. For example they are able to travel across gravel traps and grass as fast as you can travel along tarmac, they also tend to teleport if you nudge them into something, appearing on the other side of you.

This is a good game if you are a either a fan of the F355 one make racing series, or a racing simulation buff. But if your looking for a pick up and play game RUN FAR AWAY FROM THIS and try Metropolis Street Racer instead.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 10/08/00, Updated 10/08/00