F1 Career Challenge

"PS2: $180, Memory Card: $20, F1 Career Challenge: Worthless"

Now, I'm one of those hardcore racing fans that doesn't get held back by much. But this game, is by no means something in which should be purchased.

Gameplay: 4/10

The worst part of the game, gameplay. The game consists of two (that's right, two) modes, Career and Quick Race.

Career mode lets you go through four seasons, starting as a rookie in 1999 after completing your Superlicense tests, which are pointless and boring, plus there are only nine. The worst part is re-doing them each time you restart Career mode. You work your way up from rookie to F1 champion, which is the only innovative part of this game.

Quick race, however, is the same as any other game in the sense of just going out there are racing. You cannot practice, have limited tuning options, your tyre choice is chosen for you in Qualifying (which can be devastating on courses like Hungaroring), and unlike real F1 where you could go with one flying lap and use the rest to actually qualify, you have four flying laps and are returned to the pits after each complete lap. So instead of 10 laps, you get four.

Sound/Music: 6/10

The pit crew chief talks to you during the race which is nice, but nothing better than F1 World Grand Prix which was made for N64 back in 1998. The engine sounds are nice, which is the only thing bringing the score up. The music on the menu is quiet so you can't really hear anything except this repetitive tune. The sound and music was okay, but still a slight disapointment.

AI/Computer: 0/10

This is such an insult to F1 gaming, the AI.

I recently (30 minutes ago) found myself doing a half distance race at the Hungaroring, my personal favorite track. I was winning from the beginning, and was on dry tyres. I was told by my crew chief it would rain in the next couple of laps, so I went in around lap 8 for some wets. Around 5 laps later (which cost me a couple positions), it started raining. I brought myself back to around 7th, until it became sunny again. The crew chief said the rain would come back around the next lap. So I kept on my wets. Around 7 laps later (it hadn't started raining yet) I was driving behind two cars when suddenly they swerve in front of me at the fastest corner and my car flips about 8 times. I lost my tyres, wings, and my race.

This is why the AI is so low, for its stupidity. Nothing has blown my mind to the extent of this game. If they had a meter showing the grade of a game the meter should say Excellent at the top, Average in the middle and F1 Career Challenge at the bottom. You cannot comprehend the horrendous AI's stupidity until you have experienced it.

Replayability: 3/10

Your first time through Career mode you'll think

''Hey, this is pretty cool!''

But then you'll beat it, receive your reward (nothing) and watch the cutscene (that doesn't exist) and say ''been there, done that''

This game becomes repetitive ultra quick. Unlike games like F1 2002/2001 where you could do Domination, Quick Race, Single Race, Championship, Multiplayer, the list goes on. Don't plan on getting this game if it's the only one you'll get for awhile.

Graphics: 8/10

The thing that drags the score up to a 4/10 is the graphics. The cars look realistic and very good. The crowd looks like Gran Turismo where they are 2d but it is hardly noticable. It gets very choppy once there are about 6 cars around each other going through a corner, which is a problem. Another plus though is the pit crew moving around changing the tyres which looks very realistic. A plus, but nothing to jump about.

Rent or Buy: Forget it all together, unless you wanna give it a chance, then rent before you buy.

Overall: 4/10

Reviewer's Score: 4/10, Originally Posted: 07/21/03, Updated 08/24/03