"Don't Bother."

Sure, F-1 Race is fun, but...it's just not that great of a game. It's way too simple and there aren't enough options to choose from. The only modes are the championship, time-trial, and racing. I think the third option might allow you to play against someone with a link cable, but I haven't tried it out since I know no one else who made the mistake of buying this game.


Gameplay - 4/10

The racing is kind of fun, but very bland. There are only 2 cars to choose from, and about 12 courses. The road is just a stretch of gray that reaches across half the screen. In fact, you can't even tell which way to turn just by looking at the road. You have to use the signs on the screen to figure out which way to go. If you can't stay on the road, you'll almost automatically hit a sign and wipe out. If you hit another car, your car will blink periodically and slow down until you hit the brake. The only way to win is to use the up button to use turbo engines. The game isn't much of a challenge, except for making crazy turns at blind right-angles.

Graphics - 3/10

Blah. Shades of gray clash on the screen to bring a rather non-enjoyable look to the game. The cars and courses are poorly drawn. It honestly looks like something a teenager would make in his spare time. The only things that looks the least bit nice about this game are the Nintendo characters that you get to meet after you win a race in tournament. Well, I guess you can't expect jaw-dropping graphics on a black-and-white system.

Music/Sound - 4/10

There aren't many music tracks in this game. In fact, I can only think of the one that is played after you win a race. The sound effects, however, are fairly bad. Not only do you have to listen to a monotonous vrrrrrrrrooom sound while racing, but the screeches and crashes sound low-quality. Basically, the game has your standard retro-gameboy beeps and blips.

Overall - 4/10

Well, F-1 Race has marked the bottom of the racing game pit. Aside from being a racing game, it's a BAD racing game. I wouldn't bother playing this game. It would be a waste of your time. You should try looking for a racing game on a more powerful platform, such as the new next-generation systems. It could be fun for like...10 minutes. But that's all.

Reviewer's Score: 4/10, Originally Posted: 09/19/02, Updated 09/19/02