A photo finish. Review

A photo finish.

The year is almost at an end and the last of the ‘2001’ titled games are on the
way out the door. Just coming in under the wire is EA’s port of F1 2001.
Originally released for the PS2, the
Xbox version turns out to be exactly the same game with a few graphical improvements.
Race fans that missed the original will be happy to know that their Xbox version
is just as good.

Officially licensed by the FIA Formula One Championship, F1 2001 features
all the tracks, teams, and drivers of real F1 racing. As F1 games go, it’s not
half bad and still leaves plenty of room for casual racing fans to get in on
the action.

The single player gameplay modes are straightforward enough. To start with,
you can choose between Quick Race or Challenge mode. Quick Race lets you take
a spin around the track and Challenge functions like Gran
Turismo’s license test. The downside is that you won’t be able to compete
in any of the five Grand Prix modes until a certain number of the Challenges
are completed. It’s definitely a bummer if you want to get started on the season
right away, but at least the Challenges won’t take very long to complete.

In a surprising turn of events, some of the extra single player modes are
pretty cool. One of them, called Teammate Challenge, is vaguely reminiscent
of Super Monaco GP (my favorite F1 game) for the Genesis, where you get
to compete with rivals for a spot on better teams. It’s not as deep as Monaco,
but it’s still a nice addition. There’s also a Custom Championship mode that
will let you set up your own Championship season.

F1 2001‘s multiplayer modes offer more than just a head to head matchup.
Racers are also treated to a Tag Team and Last Man Standing mode. Each of these
extra modes is pretty simple and none of them will knock you socks off, but
it’s nice that EA decided to do a little more than just 1 on 1.

Controlling the F1 cars is a pretty interesting prospect for anyone unfamiliar
with F1 games. Both arcade and simulation styles are offered, and frankly, both
are pretty squirrelly. Arcade control will give you much better handling and
leeway with the track, but driving the car still feels much more clunky than
it should. Sim handling is for those hardcore fans that want a more realistic
experience. With this style, you’ll need to watch your cornering and acceleration
more closely, but again, the control doesn’t feel as smooth as it should.

One of the great things about F1 2001 is its choice of options. Play
with traction control, ABS, weather conditions, damage and more in the handy
options screen. You’ll even be able to turn on the FIA rules or try your hand
at interactive pit stops. I love choices.

Another thing I love about the game is the amount of detail. Hop into the
cockpit view and you’ll see your hands actually changing gears. Race in the
rain and watch the water effects screw with your vision. Check out the pit crew
as they go through the motions to get you back in the race. They’ll even talk
to you over the pit to driver radio, keeping you up to date on what’s going
on in the race.

The graphics in F1 2001 aren’t as good as I’d hoped. The overall color
palette is washed out and the cars look really plain. The textures are boring
and unconvincing. On the other hand, the Xbox version sports some nice helmet/car
reflections and smoother replays, even better looking than its PS2 counterpart.
But the overall style and look isn’t very impressive. At least the framerate
is solid.

Most of the sound effects are fine, but the main engine noise sounds a little
too high pitched. I know F1 cars run a cool, almost zippy noise, but here, it
sounds more like you’re driving a high-end Hoover.

Another slight problem the game suffers from is the camera. Even though there
are four choices (nose, cockpit, helmet and rear), none feel completely comfortable.
The nose cam has always been a bad idea, the cockpit and helmet cams are limiting,
and the rear cam sits too close to the car’s back end. A definite bummer, but
at least you can work with it.

F1 2001 may not have the sim feel that some hardcore F1 fans are after,
but it does cover enough bases to provide decent entertainment for most racing
fans. EA did a good job porting this game over to the Xbox and even improved
the graphics a little. Lots of options, some cool details and plenty of modes
make this late entry one solid racing game.