Grand Management (Grand Prix World (PC))

Member Name: JPShooter

Product:	Grand Prix World (PC)
Date:	11/03/04 (868 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Best of a bad bunch, cheap, addictive

Disadvantages: Poor graphics, steep learning curve, old, hard to find

There is somewhat of a drought in F1 management games. There is one on the horizon - F1 Championship Manager - but other than that you're hard pressed to find one. And even more hard pressed to find one that's any good. In my opinion, Grand Prix World is probably the best one out there.

There are a few initial problems with Grand Prix World - it's set in the 1998 season (6 years old isn't exactly current), it's hard to get hold of and it has a few compatibility problems. However, if you do find it it would be about £5 and you can buy a lot worse for that.

The game is very varied and the learning curve is quite steep. You really do control everything - sponsorship deals, staff hire, car development, race instructions and team orders. These are split up into different areas in the menu quite well, all on a left-hand side menu. The size of each of these areas vary - the car development is quite large and can take some getting used to, whereas the sponsorship area is quite small and relatively easy to get the hang of. Everything is done with the mouse, and everything is menu based and you change options through menu boxes or scrollbars.

You start the game by choosing a team, and are then given a mandate for your objectives for the rest of the season. If you're McLaren, you have to win the Constructors' and Drivers' championship, if you're Minardi, you have to stay alive. At the route of all of these objectives is money-management. You must have a decent set of sponsors every season to make it all the way through. It is here where the learning curve comes in - there is no room for errors when negotiating contracts and this must be done from day one. The same is true of managing your staff, it is all to easy to lose your star driver to someone else if his contract expires in a year. It is for this reason that I would highly recommend thoroughly reading the manual before play. It took me about 5
or 6 goes at the first season to get it right - negotiating sponsors, signing staff, car development, testing miles, driver orders, hospitality. Like I say, you have a lot of fingers in a lot of pies at once.

The qualifying sessions and races themselves are displayed through a four-way split screen which displays what you want it to. There are mounted cameras all around the circuits to allow you to physically see the cars going past. The graphic quality is poor compared to today's standards, especially due to the fact the cameras are mounted and do not move. Then there are screens showing qualifying times, pitstops, retirements, race order and driver car status to name a few. One of the most useful is the circuit screen, which shows a 2D top-down plan of the circuit with circled numbers going round representing the drivers (imagine Championship Manager 03/04 numbers gouing round a track). This sounds tacky but is actually the most useful way to keep track of your drivers and other cars.

There are certain things you would expect - changing weather conditions, tyres that get knackered after a certain number of laps, drivers that want plenty of cash. But the game is hard to master - the furthest I've got is 6 years - mainly due to the fact that the money side of the game is difficult to get right. One season the money may be rolling in, but the next season may be dry as a bone. Trial and error is your best bet here, and you really need to get your negotiations right at every level, from sponsorship to staff contracts.

Sound is a mixed bag. The game does offer music but it's not great. There are also verbal messages from your drivers which are quite useful at times (like "Need intermediate tyres"). Both of these can be turned off if you don't like them. However I would recommend you leave the radio communication on, as you will get useful messages such as fastest laps, who's in the pits, responses to
your orders (like Back Off, Push, Pass At All Costs). It's a fair addition.

Grand Prix World was very addictive for me. I spent hours at a time playing this game, and found it thoroughly enjoyable. But don't expect a casual game, you really do need to pay attention and get properly involved to get the benefits. You really need some kind of F1 knowledge to help you here, and also a passion for it will help a lot!

Summary: