F1 RACING SIMULATION
Developed by: Ubi Soft (1998)
Genre: Formula One Racing Sim
System Requirements: Windows 95, P120, 3Dfx/Direct3D accelerator, 16 MB
RAM, CD ROM, Joystick (steering wheel recommended), 80 MB HDD Space.
OVERVIEW: As a HUGE F1 fan I was pretty excited when
I installed F1 Racing Simulation on my PC. I couldn't wait to have the opportunity to fly
around the any of the 16 F1 circuits in a Williams-Renault (the top car up to 1998). F1
Racing simulates my favorite season (1996) when Damon Hill drove his Williams-Renault to
the Driver's Championship. Noticing that Renault F1 was involved in the development of the
game made me even more jazzed up.
The result: a lot of positives and VERY few
negatives with F1 Racing. Like I said earlier, the game allows players to drive in the
1996 FIA championship season against the finest race car drivers on the planet. Sorry
NASCAR fans, Formula One IS the finest racing in the world- watch it and marvel! Players
can assume the role of not only the driver but the Chief Engineer and Pit Crew Leader as
up to 30 car tuning options are available- allowing players to modify just about every
aspect of the car. Pretty cool.
Other features include some of the nicest
3D rendering of cars and tracks I've seen in a long time! Even the pitstops are rendered
in 3D and look pretty good. The graphics can easily be modified to accommodate slower PCs
(mostly by dumping detail on the track and background stuff). The weather effects are also
easily modified- driving in the rain is no picnic as your visibility is reduced by the
spray kicked up by the cars in front of you. Traction is also affected by weather
conditions as well so don't tailgate. F1 Racing offers six racing modes from Training to
Championship (a kind of campaign game) and four different skill levels.
THE SCOUTING REPORT:
THE PROS:
- Excellent graphics! Looks awesome.
Use of real FIA F1 teams, drivers, tracks and graphics.
Realistic weather effects.
Great documentation and an easy to use menu interface.
Attention to detail.
May be the best F1 sim on the market.
THE CONS:
- Some ugly pixelization with Voodoo cards
(solved in patch).
Car sounds fall short- just doesn't sound like an F1 car!
Review by Steve Ellis
