Formula One Review - Long

Game: Formula One (PAL Version) by Psygnosis Reviewed by: Wayne Boxall (Australia) Date: 15/9/96 ------------------------------------------------------- This review was written after about 8 hours of gameplay. I mainly played in Arcade mode using QSound options on a standard PSX controller. Disclaimer: Excuse the typos! -------------------------------------------------------- Well the wait is over. Lets see if the hype matched the actual game. Let me tell you upfront, that this game is good, but has a few things that could have been improved. About the game -------------- Formula One has all the real tracks (17), the real teams, drivers, graphics and sounds of Formula One racing. It has two race modes, Arcade and Simulation. Many settings for sound, car setup and race settings. There is no split screen racing, but using the link cable, two players can race against each other. Split screen would have been a welcome addition. Support for all of the most popular controllers is also included. I have played it with the Mad Catz as well as the standard controller. First Impressions ----------------- I was a little disappointed in the opening introduction. It is plain boring. I thought that moving cars would have been much more appropriate. On my television I also noticed quite large borders. Graphically it was good and fast. Sound wise I was amazed! Load times also were quite long. To the real review.... Graphics -------- The level of detail is amazing. Speed is great and I haven't noticed any slowdown (but read below about pauses). There are many views to choose from but some are unusable (such as the bumper bar view). I like the view where you only see your front tyres and nose panel. There is no "dash view", no rear vision mirrors and no gauges to look at. I have no idea how you know when you are about to run out of fuel or need to change your tyres. I have yet to enable these options. I really like the look behind view, and although this is not as realistic as side mirrors, it is adequate. Overall the graphics are mostly impressive. However there were some negatives: 1) There is noticeable pop-up. It doesn't however detract from the game. 2) There are annoying pauses for no apparant reason. It has nothing to do with the number of cars on the road at all. 3) There are these black patches on the road that occur every 5 seconds or so. THESE ARE NOT THE LINES FOR BEST LINE DRIVING, but are there for no apparent reason. They are plain ugly and in some view modes it really detracts from the game. Maybe they are there to help recreate that sense of speed???? Graphically there a few glitches, but when considering what is being pushed around it is impressive. You have graphical options such as displaying the best line with faint tyre marks, a much better option than F1GP's white line, running it in a small hi-res window and running it in wide screen. On a normal TV only the Normal mode is usable. Graphics Overall: 8.5 Sound ----- Overall the sound is amazing. Commentary is cool (sometime repetitive, which is understandable), sound tracks are fine and the car sounds are the best. The only thing detracting from a perfect 10 is the lack of crashing sounds. All it does is go thump! Another problem I noticed today, is that you here other car engines when there are no other cars around. All of a sudden, you hear a car overtaking you and there is nothing there! Sound options include: Mono, Stereo, QSound (poor mans surround) and Dolby prologic surround sound. I always opt for QSound and was very impressed. Sound overall: 9.5 Control ------- I actually fealt that the control with the standard controller is BETTER than with the analog Mad Katz steering wheel. Maybe I am getting use to digital steering??? The extras of steering and braking assistance helps keep the game immensely playable. These options can be turned off. I remember playing the original F1GP on the PC and I never turned braking assistance off, because it used to be unplayable!! On this game it increases the challenge, but the game is still very playable. Stearing assist is fun, as on a straight you can take your hands off the "wheel" and let the computer put you in the best line. It also allows you to have a look behind you. It DOES NOT corner many corners, so it is still a challenge with it on. The cars respond superbly and I actually use a brake in this game! Control overall: 9.5 Gameplay/Longterm ----------------- Arcade mode is fun, but easy. Simulation mode will keep the most advanced player invlolved for some time. Spin outs happen realistically when in Simulation mode whereas in Arcade mode it is sometimes better to "cut corners" and take out the opponents! Slipstreaming is present in both modes. You have the option of racing in the dry or wet (very hard) and three skill levels for all sorts of drivers. The levels DO make a real difference to the longterm and challenge of the game. With so many tracks, drivers and options this game is a laster! However a serious concern is that it doesn't look like there is anyway of saving your fastest lap times!!! This is BAD!!! There is a high score table, but there doesn't appear anyway of saving any changes to this. I am not even certain if it is possible to beat these high scores (lap times). There is no way of entering your name at all. I hope I am wrong with this. Of course the manual doesn't help! Why did they not include a "Time trial" mode??? Wipeout and DD have one. You can practice, qualify and race on each circuit. As well as normal racing you can race against one car or get involved in "ladder" racing, where you have to beat a nominted opponent in a race. You have three attempts to win and then you race against a harder and harder driver. This adds to the gameplay. Other problems/ommisions include: the lack of flags (no checkered flag even), a serious lack of damage during crashes, no car flips, no computer car spin outs. It doesn't look like the cars can even gain any sort of air! I have also yet to see any retired cars from the race or seen any indication of my car taking damage. It also would have been nice if you got an indication of how many laps you are meant to do. You have to wait for Murray to let you know. How hard would this have been? When driving a percentage of a full race, you get no idea of how many laps you have to do. Aggh! Nice things include options to turn on/off: steering and braking assistance, best line indicator, damage, fuel usage. You can modify downforce and braking balance as well. I couldn't find any setting for tyre type. I haven't checked out the pit stop feature yet. You can replay the whole race from many angles, but there is no way of replaying during a race or saving those classic events. Gameplay/Longterm overall: 9 (or 8 if no way of saving your lap times) The Manual ---------- I have to mention the manual beacuse it is appalling! It hardly mentions the various options. For example you press start during a race and get an options menu. NONE OF THE OPTIONS are explained in the manual. Some can be worked out and you can see the difference, such as Arrow on car, Screen tilting but there are others which I can't work out: Camera Locked Surface smoothing Manual overall: 5 (not used in final calculation) Other things ------------ Because of the poor manual, I was a little confused what saving default options actually saves, but after some experimentation it actually saves everything from in race settings, to pre-race settings. This is a nice feature as F1 will automatically load these settings from the memory card when the game starts up. You will be pleased to know that you can drive around the courses backwards, but it doesn't allow you to race that way. A pity. Overall Thoughts ---------------- Basically a slightly flawed masterpiece! With a few extra additions: real crashes, graphical glitches removed and saving of lap times it would have been a 10! Hovever with the little problems it has it is still the ultimate driving experience on any console! Imagine if it also had split screen racing? Now if only the developers would give us a complete manual one day! Overall ratings: Graphics 8.5/10 A few glitches, but fast and sleek Sound 9.5/10 A few problems but the good stuff IS GOOD! Control 9.5/10 Excellent Gamplay/Longterm 9/10 Will be a 8 if it doesn't save lap times! Total 9.25/10

[lots of snipping throughout] After intial booting all the menu screens are in memory and once it is time to play the game it only takes 30 seconds to load everything. To get back to the main menus it also takes 30 seconds. That's the one I use usually. It flashes up a low fuel warning although once I wasn't able to complete the lap to get back to the pit to fill up. Yeah, it's there but not so bad. It just seems to stop for about 0.5sec but it only tends to do this towards the begining of a session/race. It can just occasionally slow down a little, particularly into the first corner in a wet race with all the transparent spray. On some tracks largish patches are visible, like the polygons are not being textured. On most tracks dark lines appear on the track just in front of the car. This maybe a consequence of the routines designed to reduce the polygon shear problems of the PS. The ploygons in possible problem areas are split into smaller polygons. Yes but a few of the glitches are unforgivable. Through the nose and rear of the car and the suspension arms appear to go out in front of the wheels (from the 'in car' cam). I tried a MadKatz in a shop very briefly and found it rather cheap feeling and the pedals were a too light. I am using a neGcon which is, I think, one of the best controllers I have used. I have jumped my car a bit by drastically cut the chicane on the Nurburgring. The spoilers will eventually fall off. During the Grand Prix mode races the TAG Heuer display at the bottom of the screen will display laps done and laps to go at various times. Not braking balance. Only a choice of five downforce settings, slicks or wets and fuel. I have yet to get the replay feature to work. The option is always greyed out and choosing it has no effect. How did you get it to work. If you save the file as 'Default'. Rich. -- --------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------

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> Game: Formula One (PAL Version) by Psygnosis > Reviewed by: Wayne Boxall (Australia) > Date: 15/9/96 > ------------------------------------------------------- > This review was written after about 8 hours of gameplay. > I mainly played in Arcade mode using QSound options on a > standard PSX controller. > [snip] > look at. I have no idea how you know when you are about to run out of > fuel or need to change your tyres. I have yet to enable these options.

I think a message flashes up on your screen (like "Time Extended") with "Fuel Low" or "Tyres Worn". [snip] is a couple of straights which pass right next to each other. On one straight you hear the other cars on the other straight going in the opposite direction. (If you know what I mean!) [snip] Once you pass the start/finish line, information at the bottom of the screen shows your lap time, then number of laps remaining. Apart from that, a fair review. Thanks.

[Snipped] I have know figured out that you need to use the normal PS controller to get the replays. This is because it uses the Select button to change the camera view. Using the neGcon, as I have been all the time, removes the replay feature despite there being buttons free. I am not pleased. Rich. -- --------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------

Wayne Boxall wrote:

Quoted text (222 lines)

> Game: Formula One (PAL Version) by Psygnosis > Reviewed by: Wayne Boxall (Australia) > Date: 15/9/96 > ------------------------------------------------------- > This review was written after about 8 hours of gameplay. > I mainly played in Arcade mode using QSound options on a > standard PSX controller. > Disclaimer: Excuse the typos! > -------------------------------------------------------- > Well the wait is over. Lets see if the hype matched the actual game. > Let me tell you upfront, that this game is good, but has a few > things that could have been improved. > About the game > -------------- > Formula One has all the real tracks (17), the real teams, drivers, > graphics and sounds of Formula One racing. > It has two race modes, Arcade and Simulation. Many settings for sound, > car setup and race settings. > There is no split screen racing, but using the link cable, two players > can race against each other. Split screen would have been a welcome > addition. > Support for all of the most popular controllers is also included. I have > played it with the Mad Catz as well as the standard controller. > First Impressions > ----------------- > I was a little disappointed in the opening introduction. It is plain > boring. I thought that moving cars would have been much more > appropriate. > On my television I also noticed quite large borders. Graphically it > was good and fast. Sound wise I was amazed! > Load times also were quite long. > To the real review.... > Graphics > -------- > The level of detail is amazing. Speed is great and I haven't noticed > any slowdown (but read below about pauses). There are many views to > choose from but some are unusable (such as the bumper bar view). I > like the view where you only see your front tyres and nose panel. > There is no "dash view", no rear vision mirrors and no gauges to > look at. I have no idea how you know when you are about to run out of > fuel or need to change your tyres. I have yet to enable these options. > I really like the look behind view, and although this is not as > realistic as side mirrors, it is adequate. > Overall the graphics are mostly impressive. However there were some > negatives: > 1) There is noticeable pop-up. It doesn't however detract from > the game. > 2) There are annoying pauses for no apparant reason. It has > nothing to do with the number of cars on the road at all. > 3) There are these black patches on the road that occur every > 5 seconds or so. THESE ARE NOT THE LINES FOR BEST LINE DRIVING, > but are there for no apparent reason. They are plain ugly and in > some view modes it really detracts from the game. Maybe they > are there to help recreate that sense of speed???? > Graphically there a few glitches, but when considering what is being > pushed around it is impressive. > You have graphical options such as displaying the best line with faint > tyre > marks, a much better option than F1GP's white line, running it in a > small > hi-res window and running it in wide screen. On a normal TV only the > Normal mode is usable. > Graphics Overall: 8.5 > Sound > ----- > Overall the sound is amazing. Commentary is cool (sometime repetitive, > which is understandable), sound tracks are fine and the car sounds are > the best. The only thing detracting from a perfect 10 is the lack of > crashing sounds. All it does is go thump! > Another problem I noticed today, is that you here other car engines > when there are no other cars around. All of a sudden, you hear a car > overtaking you and there is nothing there! > Sound options include: Mono, Stereo, QSound (poor mans surround) and > Dolby prologic surround sound. I always opt for QSound and was very > impressed. > Sound overall: 9.5 > Control > ------- > I actually fealt that the control with the standard controller is > BETTER than with the analog Mad Katz steering wheel. Maybe I am > getting use to digital steering??? > The extras of steering and braking assistance helps keep the game > immensely playable. These options can be turned off. I remember > playing the original F1GP on the PC and I never turned braking > assistance off, because it used to be unplayable!! On this game > it increases the challenge, but the game is still very playable. > Stearing assist is fun, as on a straight you can take your hands > off the "wheel" and let the computer put you in the best line. > It also allows you to have a look behind you. It DOES NOT corner > many corners, so it is still a challenge with it on. > The cars respond superbly and I actually use a brake in this game! > Control overall: 9.5 > Gameplay/Longterm > ----------------- > Arcade mode is fun, but easy. Simulation mode will keep the most > advanced player invlolved for some time. Spin outs happen > realistically when in Simulation mode whereas in Arcade mode > it is sometimes better to "cut corners" and take out the opponents! > Slipstreaming is present in both modes. > You have the option of racing in the dry or wet (very hard) and > three skill levels for all sorts of drivers. The levels DO make a real > difference to the longterm and challenge of the game. > With so many tracks, drivers and options this game is a laster! > However a serious concern is that it doesn't look like there is anyway > of saving your fastest lap times!!! This is BAD!!! > There is a high score table, but there doesn't appear anyway of saving > any > changes to this. I am not even certain if it is possible to beat these > high scores (lap times). There is no way of entering your name at all. I > hope I am wrong with this. Of course the manual doesn't help! > Why did they not include a "Time trial" mode??? Wipeout and DD have one. > You can practice, qualify and race on each circuit. > As well as normal racing you can race against one car or get involved > in "ladder" racing, where you have to beat a nominted opponent in a > race. You have three attempts to win and then you race against a harder > and harder driver. This adds to the gameplay. > Other problems/ommisions include: the lack of flags (no checkered flag > even), a serious lack of damage during crashes, no car flips, no > computer > car spin outs. It doesn't look like the cars can even gain any sort of > air! > I have also yet to see any retired cars from the race or seen any > indication > of my car taking damage. > It also would have been nice if you got an indication of how many laps > you > are meant to do. You have to wait for Murray to let you know. How hard > would this have been? When driving a percentage of a full race, you get > no idea of how many laps you have to do. Aggh! > Nice things include options to turn on/off: steering and braking > assistance, best line indicator, damage, fuel usage. You can modify > downforce and braking balance as well. I couldn't find any setting for > tyre type. I haven't checked out the pit stop feature yet. > You can replay the whole race from many angles, but there is no way of > replaying during a race or saving those classic events. > Gameplay/Longterm overall: 9 (or 8 if no way of saving your lap times) > The Manual > ---------- > I have to mention the manual beacuse it is appalling! It hardly mentions > the various options. For example you press start during a race and get > an options menu. NONE OF THE OPTIONS are explained in the manual. Some > can be worked out and you can see the difference, such as Arrow on car, > Screen tilting but there are others which I can't work out: > Camera Locked > Surface smoothing > Manual overall: 5 (not used in final calculation) > Other things > ------------ > Because of the poor manual, I was a little confused what saving default > options actually saves, but after some experimentation it actually saves > everything from in race settings, to pre-race settings. This is a nice > feature as F1 will automatically load these settings from the memory > card > when the game starts up. > You will be pleased to know that you can drive around the courses > backwards, but it doesn't allow you to race that way. A pity. > Overall Thoughts > ---------------- > Basically a slightly flawed masterpiece! With a few extra additions: > real > crashes, graphical glitches removed and saving of lap times it would > have > been a 10! Hovever with the little problems it has it is still the > ultimate > driving experience on any console! Imagine if it also had split screen > racing? > Now if only the developers would give us a complete manual one day! > Overall ratings: > Graphics 8.5/10 A few glitches, but fast and sleek > Sound 9.5/10 A few problems but the good stuff IS GOOD! > Control 9.5/10 Excellent > Gamplay/Longterm 9/10 Will be a 8 if it doesn't save lap times! > Total 9.25/10

I wonder if the PC version will be any better. With any luck someone can tinker around with it like Gp2 and get cool stuff going.

[222 line of replied to post snipped] : I wonder if the PC version will be any better. With any luck someone : can tinker around with it like Gp2 and get cool stuff going. In the future could you please help us out and "edit" the post you are replying to? There was no need for you to repost 222 lines from the post for your small reply. -- **************************** Michael E. Carver ************************* Upside out, or inside down...False alarm the only game in town. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=<[ /./. [- < ]>=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=