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DEVELOPER
Paradigm
Entertainment
PUBLISHER
Video System
AVAILABLE
Now
MEDIUM
Cartridge
PLAYERS
Two
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 erhaps I'm not the best person suited to review this so-called "fun" racing game for the N64. I've never been a big fan of racing sims, but I figured I'd give it a try anyway. After all, I had a blast playing Gran Turismo so I thought maybe F-1 World Grand Prix would emulate Sony's excellent racing title. Unfortunately the game let me down in almost every category possible.
As I mentioned above, Grand Prix is primarily a simulation game. For those of you that prefer the fast paced adrenaline pumping racing games like Daytona USA or Rage Racer don't even bother looking at this game's box. Judging from the options available and the slew of play modes I can see the developers put an awful lot of time into this game. You have a choice to play one of five different game types, ranging from Grand Prix Mode (which recreates the '97 F1 Grand Prix) to 2 Player Mode (which allows you and a friend to compete but not together against the computer controlled cars). You can pick from 11 cars and 22 different drivers with each of them having their own strengths and weaknesses. Other details like how much fuel the car will hold and the type of suspension can be customized as well. There are an amazing 17 tracks to race on which is a major improvement over most racing games on the N64.
 After you've customized everything to your liking you'll finally be able to start playing the actual game. There are several viewpoints available to choose on the fly while driving. The controls will give most people a very hard time. In fact, I don't think I've ever played a racing game where it took me so long to figure out how to effectively stay on the racetracks. I always say control is the most important part of a game, and it's even more true for racing games. If I can't control the car, then what's the point of even turning on my N64? Most of the challenge in the game comes from the inability to accelerate and brake the way most racing games allow. In order to avoid having the car's tires slipping you'll have to learn to tap the acceleration button instead of just holding it down constantly. The same strategy applies to the braking in the game as well. I found the corners to be extremely tough to navigate since it was hard to judge how much brake to apply and when to begin accelerating again. It becomes even more frustrating when the computer controlled cars seem to be able to take the corners at speeds that would seem impossible to do yourself. A lot of time and patience is required if you really want to do well in this game.
The graphics look great yet perform badly more often than I'd have liked. The cars and scenery are all very detailed. I believe the tracks are faithful reproductions of their real-life counterparts. Special effects like rain and realistic animation of the vehicles add to the graphical splendor of the game. It seems that with all of the details in the game that the N64 simply can't keep up. There are major frame rate problems. I spotted missing frames in the opening sequence, which right away turned me off to the graphics. Many times I found myself cruising along just fine until coming up to a corner only to find the game suddenly slowing down to a crawl for a few seconds. The whole frame rate problem wouldn't be so bad if it didn't effect the actual playing of the game.
 I also found the sound department to be very lacking. Not only is there no music playing while racing, the sound effects were down right annoying. I can only take so much of the incessant sound of a whining engine before I hit my mute button. The only saving grace is the announcer that periodically informs you of various things happening in the race.
As you can tell from the review and the ratings I didn't have much fun playing F-1 World Grand Prix. I found it a waste of time that would have been much better spent doing more productive things like tying my shoes. If you're a big fan of racing sims, can stand spending hours learning the intricate controls, and don't mind graphical and audio deficiencies then you'll probably enjoy this game much more than I did. I guess I expected too much from this game after playing Gran Turismo (which has very different cars and whatnot but is still a sim). Buy it at your own risk.
-- Craig Majaski
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