Schumacher Isn't So Tough (Formula One 2003 (PS2))

Name: kenjohn

Hello doyoo user, You have to be logged in to use these functions... Login or register Close window

Send message to member

Product:	Formula One 2003 (PS2)
Date:	30/08/03 (342 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great graphics and gameplay.

Disadvantages: Highly addictive!

~ ~ I knew right from the start that it was going to be a bad move buying my wee lass a PlayStation 2 games console last Christmas. At around the €50 to €60 mark for the current best-selling games, plus the added expense of extra memory cards to store saved games, the money soon starts to dwindle in your wallet faster than Michael Schumaker taking off in his Ferrari!
Talking about Michael Schumacher, he is only one of the stars in the latest PS2 game to find its way into the “mad cabbie” household; the newly released (July, 2003) racing simulation game from Sony, “Formula One 2003”.

~ ~ Ever since I managed to get myself addicted to the thrills and spills of rally driving with the excellent “Colin McRae 3”, (see my opinion, plug, plug) I’ve been casting my eye around for another racing sim game to challenge my ever increasing ability on the PlayStation. Various and multifarious games have been rented from the local video store for brief periods to assess their potential, and one was actually purchased, the highly absorbing “Gran Turismo 3 – ‘A’ Spec” from manufacturers Polophony Digital.
But as good as Colin McRae and Gran Turismo are, they really aren’t up to speed once you have tested out your virtual driving skills with the real life stars of the tarmac in Formula One!

~ ~ Formula One 2003 is the only racing game that has an official sanction and licence from the actual Formula One organisation itself, (4-year deal) and from the first time you slot it into the PlayStation, it’s obvious why this is the case.
The attention to detail, the game play, and the graphics simply have to be seen to be believed, and make this game the nearest thing that most mere mortals will ever get to sitting in the cockpit of a Formula One racing car.
It follows on from where Sony’s previous best-selling game, Formula One 2002, left off, and is seemingl
y better, but in all honesty I can’t comment on that, as this is the first of the series that I’ve actually tried out or purchased.

~ ~ So what is it that makes this game such fun?
Well, obviously the authentic and realistic feel and nature of the actual racing experience itself. But many other games would also manage to achieve this, but not be nearly so much fun.
What makes Formula One 2003 so different is the incredible amount of work that manufacturers Sony has put into the detail. For starters, you can choose from any and all of the 10 current Formula One racing teams. They are all there; the giants like Ferrari, Williams, and Maclaren, and the minnows like Minardi. All the current crop of drivers are there too, with very realistic likenesses, so you can choose to race as current World Champion Schumacher, or one of the new breed of drivers like Montoya.
The cars themselves are replicated almost down to the last nut and bolt, thanks to info and technical specifications supplied by the teams themselves, and are turned out in their full livery.
All of the sixteen Grand Prix circuits are available to race on, from the ultra-fast German Grand Prix to the tricky and twisty streets of Monaco, and all are reproduced in astonishing detail on the screen, with not even the little details like cones and advertising signs on the track being missed.

~ ~ You might be worried that with all this attention to detail that the game will be so complicated and complex to set up and play that you would nearly need a degree in advanced mechanical engineering in order to master it. But this isn’t the case.
Certainly, if you are a seasoned gamer, then you will find a multitude of different options in this game to hold your attention and interest. All the cars can be customised in any way you wish, with things like the fuel load, gearbox ratios, brake balance, etc all tweakable to improve your cars performance.
But even for
the complete novice, there is much fun to be had, as you can select the level of difficulty of the AI (Artificial Intelligence) that controls the other cars in the race from easy up to advanced, and limit the damage control to your car, so that you aren’t constantly having to retire from races as you have crashed off the track once too often.

~ ~ As with the cars, there are different racing “modes” that you can choose from, depending on your level of skill.
The easiest mode is “Arcade”, where you simply pick a car, driver, and circuit, and blast off for three quick laps of the circuit. This is very addictive, and you can easily get obsessed with managing to beat either your best lap time or improving your position in the race against the other drivers.
You can even choose to complete a whole Grand Prix season in this mode, racing three circuits of all the tracks in sequence.
If three laps of the track aren’t enough for you, or you don’t like always starting last on the grid, (as you do in the Arcade mode) then you can choose a “Custom Race”. This is the same as the Arcade mode, except you can now select where you want to start from on the grid, and the number of laps (up to 10) that you want the race to last.
As your skill level improves then you can try out a full “Race Weekend”. Here you experience all the features that make up a Grand Prix race, from practice sessions to qualifying for grid position on a Friday and Saturday. Incidentally, all the new rules and regulations that have been introduced to actual Formula One racing are included here in the game. Your time in Friday qualifying dictates the order you run in during the Saturday qualifying session, and you only get the one “flying” lap to decide where you will line up in the actual race itself.
In “Hot Seat” mode you can take control of up to four drivers in any one race, although obvio
usly not at the same time. (this would be physically impossible)
You control each driver for a set period of time, at which stage you switch to another car and driver, and the AI takes over the other car for you. This can be great fun, as you can choose both drivers from a particular team, and then use race “strategy” to improve their position as the race progresses, either speeding up or slowing down as the race conditions dictate.
And lastly there is the “multiplayer” mode. Here you have various options. You can race against another player in split-screen, but I personally don’t like this, as it restricts the view of both drivers, often ending up with both crashing out more often than in a full screen game play. Or you can both compete in different cars in an actual race, so you are competing directly against each other as well as the other drivers. (but again, split-screen)
I prefer to simply take alternate shots on the same track against my wee lass, to see who can set the fastest lap time. (to date, she’s won about €20 of me in bets. Bah!)
By the way, at the end of each race you get an instant “replay”, which is a bird’s eye view of the race, with actual commentary from real life race commentators like James Allen and Martin Brundle. (a flick of a button stops this playback if you don’t want to watch it)

~ ~ Eventually, you will want to pit your skills in an actual World Championship.
This is a full World Championship season in its entirety, from the opening race of the season out in Australia, to the last race of the season in Japan. You compete in complete races (50 laps plus depending on the circuit) against the other drivers and teams, and are awarded points in the Driver’s tables depending on your performance.
You can tweak the set-up of your car in the practice sessions to obtain optimum performance, choose a light of full fuel load to speed up your c
ar, and have to be VERY careful not to sustain too much damage during the race, otherwise you will be forcibly retired.
Obviously, you don’t have to complete a whole season in one sitting at the PlayStation! (This would take about ten days!!) But in order to save your game then you have to have a Sony memory card. You can also pause the game at any point if you want to go off and have a cuppa. (or simply scratch your nose)

~ ~ The racing experience itself is simply awesome.
You can choose the on-screen driver’s view, so you can see the whole racing car in its entirety, or from the driver’s perspective in the cockpit. A quick flip of a button on the controller allows you to glance behind you to see if anyone is coming up fast on your tail, and on-screen graphics tell you at a glance when corners are fast approaching, the lay-out of the circuit, and your speed and position in the race. At various points you will also be informed of your progress by your pit team, and told how far ahead you are of your nearest challenger. (or in my case, usually how far behind. Bah!!) By the way, these on-screen graphics can be disabled if you so choose.
The sound effects are so realistic that you would almost swear you can smell the burning rubber of the tyres as you screech around a corner at 150mph plus, and the engine noise is totally deafening. (headphones required if you often play it late at night as I do!) I believe that the sound effects are also “surround sound” enabled, but I haven’t tried this out yet, as the PlayStation is plugged into the spare TV in the study, and not into my main system.
When you crash, then just as in real life, the amount of damage you sustain will depend on the severity of the collision. So if you wham up the rear end of another driver at 200mph plus then the result is usually “goodnight, Josephine”.
It takes quite a while to get used to choosing the correct lines to take wh
en approaching a corner, how fast you can go on different sections, when and how soon or late to apply the brakes, and spots on the track where overtaking another car is possible. (and where it’s not!)

~ ~ Complaints. Well, not a whole lot.
Sometimes the damage you sustain can be a little “over the top”, with a simple nudge literally sending you into orbit like the Starship Enterprise.
Another little niggle is the grating American voice over that informs you every time you crash.

“Oh no. You crashed your car” or “You’ve damaged your car”.

“Get a move on. It’s the last lap!”

REALLY!!!! Tell me news, why don’t you.
I’d really like to get a shotgun and put this guy out of his obvious misery.

~ ~ I paid €59 for Formula One 2003 in Smyth’s, a local toy’s and games mega-store here in Dublin. But I had some gift vouchers to use up, and my choice of participating outlets was limited. If I were paying actual cash money, then obviously I would search around for the best available price on the Web from all the usual outlets. (currently on offer at Amazon for £29 Sterling and at CD-WOW for £31.99)
Formula One 2003 comes highly recommended from the mad cabbie for all of you out there that enjoy this type of racing simulation game.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Copyright KenJ August 2003

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Summary: