Updated review   January 18, 2004

I even enjoy playing in the most difficult level. I'm always in the last position, but it's fun, because you try to reach the cars, a Minardi, and is real, very difficult, and you feel like someone give you the opportunity to race with the big guys and discover that is really hard what they do. I love even more F1 now.

My recomendation is: Buy it if you like F1 and love racing. You'll admire even more what that drivers do in real life and will know the difficulties that every track has when you watch the races on TV.


After 6 months playing...   January 18, 2004
Addicting!! I play every day, I need it.

And I have heard that if you have a logitech wheel the handling of the car is superb.

From time to time I have heavy rain during the race, and the effect of the rain in your view and the water splashed from the other cars is so cool! Sometimes you have lightnings and thunders.

The handling of the car, the feeling of the speed, the pessure of the race, now it?s the best racing game I have (I have GT3, Formula one 2001, F1 2002, and other ones).

And, amazing, but real, I have seen up to 50 laps of my race in replay mode!!!!!! How is it posible?? I don?t know, but they did.

But nothing is perfect. You don?t have working rear mirrors, but it?s ok. What I don?t like is that the when you are behind a car at high speeds, your car increase speed so much, that is no real. I wish that effect could be not so big, because then it?s very easy for another car to pass you or you to pass other cars.

For now, that?s the only bad side I have found.

The tracks are wonderful, the sounds, the cars.

Wonderful job Atari.


Awesome game for true F1 fans   November 13, 2003
This is a great game, and you can get it brand new for only $29.99! And to correct one of the other reviewers, you CAN use the Logitech steering wheel. I use it all the time, in fact I've never not used it playing this game. If you couldn't, I wouldn't own it. Great graphics, realistic driving simulation, really cool cockpit view while driving (it feels like you're really in an F1 car), and the best replays I've seen in any game.

The driving experience is challenging, and a lot of fun. At the Ace level (which you have to unlock), you definitley will not be winning right away, but it can be done. Great game, and I'm glad to hear that Atari supposedly is getting exclusive rights to F1 games; maybe even more good stuff is on the way.


Overall the best F1 racer on a console   October 22, 2003
  1 out of 1 found this review helpful

This game is a nice surprise... but it's still not a simulation. Which is okay, since nothing can be a simulation using a game controller.

The graphics and sound are wonderful. Not as good as GT3 but very close. There is no slowdown whatsoever with 21 cars ahead of you. The control is great. It is not nearly as touchy as the EA F1 series. Maybe this isn't realistic, but a little leeway is nice since the majority of gamers are using a handheld controller.

The reason this doesn't get a five star rating is because of three primary reasons. No rearview mirror. I can understand this to a large degree because the framerate is fantastic. But the game also lacks in car audio. This is big because without a rearview mirror you simply don't know who is around you. You have a look back button, but you really can use it only on straightaways. This may be the reason the damaging model is so forgiving. You can bump with your competitors which would put you immediately out of a real race. Since you don't know who's around you this allows you to continue to compete after the first turn. I'm okay with this... but it's a strike against the "pure sim experience."

Also the car set-up is miniscule. An option for more detailed set-ups (with the corresponding result) would be nice.

As with an cosole racer, if you want a pure racing sim you need to own a good PC. That's not a knock on this game, but console racers have to appeal to a younger crowd that won't get as frustrated as with a PC sim.

That's really it. And the fact that it's a 30 dollar game probably is justification for overlooking the flaws I see and give it a 5 star rating. But since you can buy many used games for cheap prices I didn't factor this into the rating. Overall, great job Atari. Sony has a lot of work to do to improve on this game since they now have the exclusive F1 license.


Excellent and addicting   October 7, 2003
I was about to throw my PS2 out the window (thanks to AE Sports Grand Prix Challenge, which won't let you pass the qualification tests and "forgets" the ones you did pass) when my copy of Grand Prix Challenge arrived. Yeehhaaaa! Realistic imagery, addicting competition, etc. Granted, I like the little arrows that AE Sports puts in the upper window to warn you of upcoming turns, but I've found that like real racing (I raced motorcycles), you learn the turns pretty quickly by looking for visual cues (there's very few brake markers) and by the 10th lap pretty well have it learned. Then you qualify and have to beat a pre-established pole position time, which takes some doing. The best part is, if a car does bump you (or vice versa) your car doesn't come apart or spin you off the track (necessarily). Unfortunately, the "quick race" is only good for six tracks (not including Indy). You have to go the full GP route to get to all 17. Still, there's lot of choices, like time trials (with a ghost car), beginner, intermediate and advanced competition, etc. For true IF1 fans, this one is the best I've found (and I have a dozen or so). Too bad you can't use the Logitech wheel with it, just the controller. Oh well ...