F1 Challenge

"Hysterical voices alone can't lift an average racing game"

Very much of this review is a direct copy of another review I have written, for Formula One Challenge. The reason is very simple - Formula One Challenge and F1 Live information is the same game, with only one difference. Live information is the Japanese version of the game, and while you are racing, there is no music. Instead, three Japanese commentators are discussing and giving comments about the race, to add more realism to the game. And that is needed, as this game lacks realism badly...

Overall, this is a *very* limited racing game, so limited it hardly deserves to have the official Formula One label on the cover. For a start, there is no championship mode. Only free practice and an arcade mode where you race a single race against time. You can only chose between five drivers, Michael Schumacher (Benetton), Mika Hakkinen (McLaren), Jean Alesi (Ferrari), Ukio Katayama (Tyrell) and finally Damon Hill (Williams), all top racers during the 1995 season, when this game is supposed to take place. As for the racing tracks, there are only three official tracks in the game, Hockenheim (Germany), Suzuka (Japan) and Monte Carlo (Monaco). Except for these three tracks, there are also three made-up tracks for this game only that have no relation to Formula One whatsoever.

And that's all. That's really all of it. Not to mention, when you have completed the arcade mode, absolutely nothing happens, it's game over and back to title screen! Fantastic!! Is that all a Formula One game could contain in 1995? What really bugs me about the game is also that the programmers put down an awful lot of work on absolutely trivial details, like stickers on the cars that are exactly 100% accurate with the 1995 season. The colors of the helmets are accurate as well. That is of course a good thing, but why on Earth did the programmers put effort into details that only die-hard devoted fans would notice, when there are not more logical things such as more tracks, more drivers etc available? I just don't understand...Just look at the Playstation versions...

Graphics - 7 points
The graphics are overall pretty nice, but I have seen much better on the Saturn. The graphic is a bit ''blocky'' from time to time, even the first Formula One game on the Playstation had a lot better graphic than this. Then again, 3D never was the strong point of the Saturn. The intro is OTOH very nice made, and so is the setup screen before the race. The camera zooms the car in very nice angles.

Sound - 8 points
While the sound of the engine, as well as other sound-effects are *terrible*, it is very amusing to listen to the commentators. They are filled with energy, yelling and screaming hysterically. Even if you don't speak Japanese (like me), you would most likely find this very amusing. You can set that the commentators are giving general comments about Formula One, or giving deeper comments about the race itself, reporting about crashes etc. This adds a lot of realism and makes the game of much more fun to play.

Control - 8 points
Some curves are a tricky to get through, such as the S-turn at the start/finish line at Hockenheim, but except for that there are no particular problems with the control. But if your tires are wearing out, go for the pit *immediately*, otherwise your car will be *impossible* to control. You will lose an awful lot of time if you don't.

Challenge - 5 points
The game isn't all that hard to ''complete'', even though there is not very much to complete at all, except for finishing first in a race. Something really frustrating about the game is that you just *happen* to start very last in the field, in 25th place without any chance to qualify for the race. That's extremely poor, in my opinion. Lazy programmers...Difficult levels are easy, normal and hard, and they represent their names very well, easy is easy, normal is normal, and hard is hard. Plain and simple.

Fun Factor - 6 points
With hardly no options, no championship, no qualifying, limited drivers and tracks, the game is hardly of any fun to play, not even for devoted Formula One fans such as myself. If you have raced all six tracks once (which would take a little bit more than an hour) in any mode, you have already seen 95% of the game. But the Japanese commentators are lifting the fun factor quite a bit, their hysterical voices made me laughing more than once.

Repeat value - 5 points
You get bored very quickly because of the game play itself, but thanks to the Japanese commentators, it is worth to play the game a couple of times. But even so, this game could have contained sooooo incredibly much more. The game is overall a major disappointment. The true capacity of the Saturn was certainly used in the creation of this game.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 02/24/04