Grand Prix Challenge : Web Wombat : Games

In the case of rally games, it's Colin McRae 3. For racing in general, Gran Tourismo 3 A-spec. Formula One…? Well lest just say the jury is still out on that one...

But Grand Prix Challenge is certainly in contention.

Atari's latest in F1 simulators has arrived and, truthfully, I grudgingly inserted it into the humble black machine expecting nothing more but a semi arcade-style trashy racing game with little AI and poor graphics.

Forgive me Atari; my initial judgment was way off track. Kicking off with a simple "quick race" eager to see what the game had to offer, I discovered two things. First of all the magnificent effect of several dozen F1 rev-heads with itchy feet flooring it at the sight of green, choking the crowd with burning rubber.

800 brake horse-power and wet roads... Hmmm.....

Second? Never, under no circumstances ever should you set the handling options to novice. I should really take more notice of game options… Kind of like installing software - "Yes I agree… No, I wouldn't even think about making illegal copies of this piece of software… No, I would never sell my CD key…"

Well anyways, I quit the race after the second turn, promptly changing the handling to 'advanced' (hence a simulator) and the computer AI on the optimal setting, in the hope I would stumble across a simulator as opposed to an arcade game.

I did.

The first thing to note would have to be the AI. It is, to say at the least, very impressive. When driving around the various courses, you can notice that the other cars really do compete against each other.

Maybe it's just me, but in almost every other simulator I can think of, the competitors just don't compete realistically. They race around the track in the most appropriate fashion, but never really challenge each other. Well in Grand Prix Challenge they do. ^_^

And it's really funny when you use them for cornering - sometimes they'll actually slow down and you miss them!

Note the helicopter: Replays will benefit

The graphics as briefly mentioned are very pleasing to the eye. Particularly at the start of each race when everyone simultaneously takes off. Rubber burns, smoke drifts, people cough. It's all very pleasing.

The lighting effects are fantastic. The cars are nice and shiny, reflecting all kinds of images and with the various camera views, you can also capture a really good perspective of a F1 racer.

One of the views is right behind the wheel, and you can see the steering wheel, your hands, some of the bodywork, and the front wheels. Very nice.

The other thing most people would be impressed with is the range of companies and real life racers in the game. From Michael Schumacher with Ferrari, to the others (Montoya, Webber, Raikonnen, Trulli, Verstappen - Ed.) who's names escape me! It's all there.

Last words? Well… it always, always comes down to this with car sims. Here is the 63 million dollar question… "Is it as good as GT3 A-spec?" And here is the constantly repeated answer… "Of course not you f***ing idiot!!! Don't be so stupid…" or words to that effect. But at the same token, both games are in different sub-genres, and on its own merits, GP Challenge is a very good game.

In short, GT3 is the bomb, G. Don't mess with it. But, as far as F1 sims go, Grand Prix Challenge is the next best thing - there are no F1 games better than this. F1 fans will love it, but for everyone else it's still more than worthy of a look.

Game: Grand Prix Challenge
System: PS2
Players: 1-2
Memory Card: Yes
Developer: Melbourne House (Atari)
Distributor: GameNation

Rating: 75%

(Ratings Key/Explantion)

Grand Prix Challenge is on the shelves now.

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