Somehow I had managed to qualify 5th...WHAM! the race is on, I get a great start....I quickly make my way up to 3rd and 2nd place is just ahead of me, the first corner is coming up really quickly, I'm going to brake late and make the pass...I hit the brake and start turning, all four wheels lose traction and I slide off into the sand trap. When I finally get back on the track I'm in 10th place. I finished in 4th.Wow. You really get into this game. It is without a doubt the best racing game I've ever played. The graphics are great, the physics are reallistic (execpt for crashing, it takes a lot to really mess up your car), and the courses are very challenging (especialy Monaco).
There is a lot of stuff you can do in this game. You can adjust the front and rear wings, the tires, suspension, gearing, stearing, and how much feul you have, and they all greatly affect how the car performs. If you don't know anything about cars you can select a preset for that track, and it will fix everything for you. However, a few tweaks will make you faster.
One very cool option is the 97 EVENTS option, which makes the weather work exactly as it did in the 1997 race season.
If you like games like Crusin' USA, you probably will not like this one. This is not an arcade racer, it is a simulator.
Gamespot.com said that there is a framerate slow down problem occasionly, but I haven't noticed it.
Once you buy the game, don't forget: It's just a game.
