Review of Formula One 2001 by SCEE on the Playstation 2

So... here's my review of Formula One 2001 by Sony on the Playstation 2. I didn't get too involved in reading the hype before this game came out - so therefore went and bought it (as my fourth PS2 game) not really expecting any specific features. I'll describe it as I experienced it. The game boots up fairly quickly taking you to a very straightforward menu system (bravo Sony) with no bells and whistles. The only downside to this of course is that you have to wait again to actually join the track (you do get a progress meter though while you're waiting). Once you do get out onto the track, there are several "driver aids" to help ease your way into playing it - and I have to commend Sony on them - they are done brilliantly. Gameplay. This is the first console racing game that really gave me the sense of immersion that perhaps GP2 and GP3 gave us. The sense of speed is fantastic, and the feeling of an 800bhp car weighing less than a Mini carries over very well. Lapping quickly with no driver aids is definitely a test of courage and skill rather than luck. For the first time in a console game, driving accuracy/efficiency is rewarded in your laptimes. The GPL brigade are going to eat the competition for breakfast if they get their hands on it. The tracks are modelled brilliantly, and the interaction between your car and the track is fantastic. Whole new games are there to be played with crests and cambers - in many cases your braking points are dictated by the lay of the land rather than the track layout. In addition, all the different surfaces grip as you would expect - put a wheel on the grass while braking heavily and the car snaps sideways just as you would expect in real life. With the aids switched off, you can all too easily lock tyres entering corners, and flat spot them in doing-so. Lock ups are another area where the game mirrors real life in an uncanny way - in many late braking panics, I've locked up and the car has fishtailed wide, but held the corner. Never seen that happen in a game before (it does in real life). One major thing that did occur to me when I first got into a powerful car (the cars all have appropriate performance) - was the Montoya/Australia feeling. Did anybody watch the Australian GP this year? Did you see Montoya sliding the Williams under power from the corners? While accelerating out of sweeping corners without traction control switched on, the cars do the identical thing - each time the clutch is dropped or the throttle pedal hit, the whole car lurches sideways from the power being put down. Fantastic. While lapping the track, the tyres go away from you much as you would expect in real life - you get a few really good laps, followed by a long sustained period - then they start to go off. I notice some people aren't too impressed by the amount the tyres go off - to notice it you're going to have to be driving without aids, and then you're only going to lose maybe a couple of seconds a lap if driving on the limit - which is what would happen in real life. Heavy braking on old tyres becomes a very dangerous pursuit :-) The Opposition drive as well (probably better) than any racing game I've ever played. They are hard but fair. On Pro level I went through 4 corners alongside Mika, with neither of us giving more room than absolutely necessary. It was all very "correct" from a racing standpoint. That's not to say that all drivers are going to do that though - I've been ploughed into by Frentzen a number of times (quite realistic really) - I can imagine him blaming me in the interview with Louise Goodman. Controls The pad is used very well, but of course is never going to be as good as a wheel and pedals. The sticks on the pad are nice and progressive - allowing fast reactions without being twitchy. I have got the impression though that you would need a wheel and pedals to compete at the highest level - and then the more talented of us would probably destroy the computer opposition. Graphics. The game looks gorgeous. It's not as polished as maybe GT3 or GP3, but it moves very quickly and smoothly - which I for one would rather have than out-and-out photo realism. The rain I would argue is better than GP3. The spray is certainly better than any other car game I have seen. Sound The game sounds good. Not great. Just good. What I would say though is that you can hear exactly what you are doing, and who's to say that F1 cars don't sound like this with a helmet and ear-plugs in? It's nice to hear an engine and clunking of a gearbox behind you and then notice another car in your mirrors. If anything (from real experience), the noise of other car's gear changes is not loud enough. Real F1 cars make a hell of a bang. Short-Comings (so far) You Cannot change the controller configuration. I would have loved to switch the axis around on the controller to put steering on a different stick, but having stuck with it for a couple of days it's not a major issue really - would have been nice though. The car damage isn't severe enough. Even on pro level, you can slam the barriers and other cars far too hard before damage is inflicted. While this is good for keeping you in the race, it's by no means realistic. Also, the cars don't break into enough pieces. It would be nice to see chunks of car in the track which you have to avoid. The options menu caught me out - you have to actively save and exit to keep your choices. If you just exit to drive the car, you lose your settings. You cannot save custom driver aids settings - they default to the difficulty level you have set in options (driver aids are switched on and off inside the game). It's a bit of a pain while learning on the lower levels to go back in and switch off the things you don't want. I had the game crash after completing the "challenge" mode (an international competition to see who can do the fastest three laps of Spa with a pre-defined car setup). Summary (for this newsgroup!) Formula One 2001 is probably the most complete F1 game on any format - console or PC. These are words from somebody who played GP2 to death, played GP3 a lot, and continues to play GPL when he has time (notice that as the games have come along and I've got older, less time has been available to play them :-)) The game is sufficiently good to cause my Fianc� to call me "obsessed" yesterday evening when I booted up the PS2 to have another go.... Being serious for a moment, it is probably the most accessible F1 game available. The scope for "just another go" is huge, as are the rewards of doing quick laps. Please feel free to e-mail me and we can rave about our "exploits" on the game :-) [email hidden] Appendix of abbreviations used... GP2 - Grand Prix 2 (PC Game) GP3 - Grand Prix 3 (PC Game) GPL - Grand Prix Legends (PC Game) GT3 - Grand Turismo 3 (PS2 - Out July)

did you ever try F1RC on PC ? For my point I think it is MUCH more beautiful than GP3, you HAVE flying debris on the track for 1 or 2 laps (then the marshalls take them away) and so on... Besides that ACT LABS is making an adapter for ther PS2, not released yet but then you will be able to connect a FORCE RS to your PS2, but I don't know how it will be if you can't change the controls on the game. "J Beckett" <[email hidden]> a �crit dans le message news: [email hidden]...

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> So... here's my review of Formula One 2001 by Sony on the Playstation > 2. > > I didn't get too involved in reading the hype before this game came > out - so therefore went and bought it (as my fourth PS2 game) not > really expecting any specific features. I'll describe it as I > experienced it. > > The game boots up fairly quickly taking you to a very straightforward > menu system (bravo Sony) with no bells and whistles. The only downside > to this of course is that you have to wait again to actually join the > track (you do get a progress meter though while you're waiting). > > Once you do get out onto the track, there are several "driver aids" to > help ease your way into playing it - and I have to commend Sony on > them - they are done brilliantly. > > > Gameplay. > > This is the first console racing game that really gave me the sense of > immersion that perhaps GP2 and GP3 gave us. The sense of speed is > fantastic, and the feeling of an 800bhp car weighing less than a Mini > carries over very well. Lapping quickly with no driver aids is > definitely a test of courage and skill rather than luck. For the first > time in a console game, driving accuracy/efficiency is rewarded in > your laptimes. The GPL brigade are going to eat the competition for > breakfast if they get their hands on it. > > The tracks are modelled brilliantly, and the interaction between your > car and the track is fantastic. Whole new games are there to be played > with crests and cambers - in many cases your braking points are > dictated by the lay of the land rather than the track layout. In > addition, all the different surfaces grip as you would expect - put a > wheel on the grass while braking heavily and the car snaps sideways > just as you would expect in real life. > > With the aids switched off, you can all too easily lock tyres entering > corners, and flat spot them in doing-so. Lock ups are another area > where the game mirrors real life in an uncanny way - in many late > braking panics, I've locked up and the car has fishtailed wide, but > held the corner. Never seen that happen in a game before (it does in > real life). > > One major thing that did occur to me when I first got into a powerful > car (the cars all have appropriate performance) - was the > Montoya/Australia feeling. Did anybody watch the Australian GP this > year? Did you see Montoya sliding the Williams under power from the > corners? While accelerating out of sweeping corners without traction > control switched on, the cars do the identical thing - each time the > clutch is dropped or the throttle pedal hit, the whole car lurches > sideways from the power being put down. Fantastic. > > While lapping the track, the tyres go away from you much as you would > expect in real life - you get a few really good laps, followed by a > long sustained period - then they start to go off. I notice some > people aren't too impressed by the amount the tyres go off - to notice > it you're going to have to be driving without aids, and then you're > only going to lose maybe a couple of seconds a lap if driving on the > limit - which is what would happen in real life. Heavy braking on old > tyres becomes a very dangerous pursuit :-) > > The Opposition drive as well (probably better) than any racing game > I've ever played. They are hard but fair. On Pro level I went through > 4 corners alongside Mika, with neither of us giving more room than > absolutely necessary. It was all very "correct" from a racing > standpoint. That's not to say that all drivers are going to do that > though - I've been ploughed into by Frentzen a number of times (quite > realistic really) - I can imagine him blaming me in the interview with > Louise Goodman. > > > Controls > > The pad is used very well, but of course is never going to be as good > as a wheel and pedals. The sticks on the pad are nice and progressive > - allowing fast reactions without being twitchy. I have got the > impression though that you would need a wheel and pedals to compete at > the highest level - and then the more talented of us would probably > destroy the computer opposition. > > > Graphics. > > The game looks gorgeous. It's not as polished as maybe GT3 or GP3, but > it moves very quickly and smoothly - which I for one would rather have > than out-and-out photo realism. The rain I would argue is better than > GP3. The spray is certainly better than any other car game I have > seen. > > > Sound > > The game sounds good. Not great. Just good. What I would say though is > that you can hear exactly what you are doing, and who's to say that F1 > cars don't sound like this with a helmet and ear-plugs in? It's nice > to hear an engine and clunking of a gearbox behind you and then notice > another car in your mirrors. If anything (from real experience), the > noise of other car's gear changes is not loud enough. Real F1 cars > make a hell of a bang. > > > Short-Comings (so far) > > You Cannot change the controller configuration. I would have loved to > switch the axis around on the controller to put steering on a > different stick, but having stuck with it for a couple of days it's > not a major issue really - would have been nice though. > > The car damage isn't severe enough. Even on pro level, you can slam > the barriers and other cars far too hard before damage is inflicted. > While this is good for keeping you in the race, it's by no means > realistic. Also, the cars don't break into enough pieces. It would be > nice to see chunks of car in the track which you have to avoid. > > The options menu caught me out - you have to actively save and exit to > keep your choices. If you just exit to drive the car, you lose your > settings. > > You cannot save custom driver aids settings - they default to the > difficulty level you have set in options (driver aids are switched on > and off inside the game). It's a bit of a pain while learning on the > lower levels to go back in and switch off the things you don't want. > > I had the game crash after completing the "challenge" mode (an > international competition to see who can do the fastest three laps of > Spa with a pre-defined car setup). > > > Summary (for this newsgroup!) > > Formula One 2001 is probably the most complete F1 game on any format - > console or PC. These are words from somebody who played GP2 to death, > played GP3 a lot, and continues to play GPL when he has time (notice > that as the games have come along and I've got older, less time has > been available to play them :-)) > > The game is sufficiently good to cause my Fianc� to call me "obsessed" > yesterday evening when I booted up the PS2 to have another go.... > > Being serious for a moment, it is probably the most accessible F1 game > available. The scope for "just another go" is huge, as are the rewards > of doing quick laps. > > Please feel free to e-mail me and we can rave about our "exploits" on > the game :-) > > [email hidden] > > > Appendix of abbreviations used... > GP2 - Grand Prix 2 (PC Game) > GP3 - Grand Prix 3 (PC Game) > GPL - Grand Prix Legends (PC Game) > GT3 - Grand Turismo 3 (PS2 - Out July)

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>>Formula One 2001 by SCEE >What is the configuration? Are you forced to use a separate >analog stick for acceleration/braking, or are the accelerator/brake >on buttons? > >Somehow, I can't get into twiddling 2 sticks ..

Steering left stick, throttle right stick.

I was interested in taking a look at this game, but as of now there is no US release date.

Hopefully Sony's plans are to release this title in time for the USA Grand Prix later this year. Eugene

>Formula One 2001 is probably the most complete F1 game on any format - >console or PC. These are words from somebody who played GP2 to death, >played GP3 a lot, and continues to play GPL when he has time (notice >that as the games have come along and I've got older, less time has >been available to play them :-)) Following another night of playing with Formula One 2001 (well, for as long as I could get away with), my view is changing slightly. I went to Spa in "Test Drive" mode, where you can just play with the setup and watch your laptimes. Perhaps I'm expecting something more like GPL, but the car seems to have a LOT of grip when you lose it - enough to do some hilarious slides... A good example would be coming out of Eau Rouge - cresting the hill at about 260/270kph, with hardly any wing, the back end can very easily vanish on you - but fighting with full lock either way and still with your foot down, you do a massive fishtail along the road (usually ending in tears and bits mind you). It just seems that you shouldn't be able to catch high speed slides at all. I wonder if they've modelled downforce on speed of the car, and not included the direction it's pointing? Jonathan