F355 Challenge

""Way harder than my driving test!" or "The REAL driving simulator""

I had never played this game either in the arcades or on Dreamcast before getting it recently. Its very low price made me think: "You can't go wrong anyway, this is an AM2 game!" The only thing I can say now is that I should have gotten it a long time ago: this is the best driving simulation I have played in a while! Actually, I think this game compares to the more recent Playstation 2 game 'Gran Turismo 3 Spec. A' in many areas. Still, the reason why this game never became very popular remains a mystery. Shall we blame it on Sega's poor marketing skills, on a bad-timed release, or on the game itself? Probably on all three combined. However, seeing games of this quality makes me wonder how Sega managed to go wrong with such a promising system. Now let's get on with the review!

Gameplay 9

This game has the word realism written all over it. I personally have never had the pleasure of driving a Ferrari, but this seems to be as close as it can get to reality. You will need to time your curves perfectly, because this game is not forgiving at all! This aspect can be very frustrating for the players who are used to arcade racers such as Daytona USA, but for the purists F355 looks like a gift from heaven.

Prestige, legacy and pride... This is where it all begins

Your car -perhaps one of the defaults of the game, as the title hints there is only one car available- is very sensible, and releasing the accelerator button right before a curve will only make you lose precious seconds. It seems this game takes almost every factor into account, contrary to most other racers: as a result, you really feel like driving a car, and the game is very intense. One tiny mistake and you have already lost the race. This is why you will need to memorize every track before being able to finish first. Mastering this game can take a while, but even a beginner will take a lot of pleasure by trying to beat his records, I think.

Of course, you have a choice between manual and automatic shift, and what's more, you can use "assist functions" to get used to the game. There are four of them, namely Intelligent Brake System, Stability Control, Traction Control and Anti-Lock Brake system. To get used to the tracks (which are based on real ones), you can also use the practice mode: you are alone on the track and the ideal path is indicated on the ground. You can choose between arcade mode and league mode, too. However, it does not have a career mode a la Gran Turismo: this game is a true simulation, and nothing else.

You have always dreamed of driving a Ferrari but you are not a multi-millionaire? This is the perfect game for you!

The controls are perfect, and playing F355 is really fun even with the Dreamcast controller. However, even though the triggers are accurate enough to control the brake and the accelerator, this game is a lot better when played with a steering wheel, like in the arcades. The only things I think are really lacking are an external view -I know most "harcore" fans seem to prefer the inside view, but I am not one of them-, and a more complicated A.I. for your opponents. Most of the time they simply make a perfect course, rarely miss a curve and do not try to attack you. I also wish that the collisions were better, despite the fact they are already more realistic than in the GT series. As usual, it would have been great if there were a way to actually damage the cars, but the Ferrari would not have let Sega do that anyway.

Graphics/Animation 9

I personally did not know that the Dreamcast was capable of that... It is truly impressive. It looks much better than any other racer I have seen, to the exception of Gran Turismo 3 maybe. And even compared to the aforementioned game, it still looks more than decent: I would even say that the backgrounds look more detailed and original in F355. In one of them, you can see an attraction park; in another one, there is a beach. The weather and time of the day change and make the tracks look very different. There are nice light effects and numerous reflects on the cars that make them look very real. There is a great number of details during the races: you can see the different meters, a speed gauge, a small map of the track, a mirror, and even a radar on the top of the screen to help you judge your position on the road.

The menus are clear and look very cool. The introduction of the game is quite nice but still mainly composed of replays from the game. The replays look good but the developers had the weird idea of making them extremely short, which is rather disappointing.

One, two, three... GO!!!

The impression of speed is good and there is virtually no slowdown, even in 2-player mode. In this mode, the screen is split: it is a lot harder to anticipate the curves, but the fun is decupled. To put it simply, no matter how you look at it, this game looks awesome.

Sound 6

The sound of the engines is very realistic, and the only other thing you will really hear is the sound of your brakes, which is also very well rendered. The voice of the announcer is not too annoying in my opinion.

Passione rossa? Now I regret ditching Italian in high school...

The music is quite good even for a non-rock fan: the tunes are entertaining and intense. But sadly, there are not many of them, and they are quite short. Therefore, the soundtrack is somewhat repetitive, and you might find yourself putting the BGM on off and listening to a good CD while playing.

Online play 6

Note: I am basing this review on the European version of the game, and am not sure whether the American version features this option. I have been told that it does not, but I cannot confirm this affirmation at the present time.

I have only played this a few times, but the fact that the game gives you this option is already surprising. The servers are not really good, and you get disconnected very often for some reason. The game itself is not exactly a direct confrontation like in Daytona USA. You can only play against one opponent at a time, and you cannot see how good he is playing until the end of the race, when the times show up on your screen. It is pretty much like playing a ghost race, in fact. It is a shame that you cannot see your opponent during the race, but I guess Sega did not have much money to put in the servers, especially with Phantasy Star Online in the works.

Replayability 4

The number of track is rather big, and there sure is a lot to master in this game. But the game does not have much replay value by itself: there are not many extras to unlock except a few bonus tracks. The most frustrating aspect of F355 is that it is very hard to finish first on certain tracks. But if you have a lot of time to invest in a game, you might be interested in knowing that it is possible, the learning curve is just extremely steep. The 2-player mode is truly a gem and adds a lot of replay value to this game.

Buy or rent?

This is an older game, so it must not be too hard to find a copy for cheap. But if your rental store has it, I would definitely recommend trying F355 before buying it. It is the most realistic racer I have ever played, and this might be a bit confusing for fans of Daytona USA or MSR for instance. Keep in mind that this game is an impressive demonstration of what the Dreamcast is really able to do, kinda like Shenmue or SoulCalibur. If you are looking for a nice game to help you take the dust off your steering wheel, you can pick it up without any worries. Why Sega has not advertised F355 more I do not know, but it is never too late to discover a great game!

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 07/15/01, Updated 02/02/03