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Description from EA sports

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 8 / 18
Date: June 02, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Experience the Excitement of Formula One™ from 1999 to 2002.

F1 Challenge '99-'02 is the only F1™ game to feature four complete seasons of racing action. That's 14 teams, 44 different vehicles, 34 drivers, and 17 of the world's most famous racing circuits configured as they were for each Formula One season from 1999-2002.



Unrivaled Authenticity - Cutting-edge technology brings you the most accurate representation of F1 to date. High-resolution car models include details right down to the very last shut line. Circuits include real-life structures, helicopters, airplanes, panoramic skies, animated grid girls, motion-captured pit crews, and even bumps in the track surface as they exist in reality.
Professional Driving Model - Advanced real-time vehicle modeling and force feedback recreate the feel of driving a Formula One car as never before. Feel every bump and experience the adrenaline of life in the cockpit of an F1 car.
Full car damage - Advanced physics modeling of brittle carbon fiber components, rigid bodies such as wings, and the open wheel characteristics of F1 bring you unique and spectacular damage effects.
Become an F1 legend - The glossy team-themed user interface puts you in the game and tracks your performance as a real-life driver competing against the likes of world champion drivers such as Damon Hill, Jacques Villeneuve, Mika Hakkinen, and Michael Schumacher.
Real race sounds - Unique engine sounds created from real life, live F1 recordings bring you the richest racing soundtrack ever.
Deep gameplay - Fully featured telemetry enables you to tweak your driving style and vehicle setup just as in real life.


I already preorder this game and I am sure I will enjoy it. HAve fun.

Had high hopes, but....

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 3 / 5
Date: June 30, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I pre-ordered this game having read all the reviews of EA's F1 2002 (which I don't own) talking about the great graphics and depths of tuning you can do to the cars. So I ordered this game hoping for a great F1 simulator. Unfortunately, this game is very "arcade" in every respect. In Career mode, you can only tune downforce, gear ratio, and suspension I think, and that's it. Not exactly real life F1. And what's strange, in the part of the game they call "arcade" you have more tuning options than in career mode.

Another complaint is with the graphics. I don't know what F1 2002 looks like, but the graphics in F1 Career Challenge really stink. Up close everything is clear, but from even a small distance, things get blurry and fuzzy. The braking markers are almost impossible to read at speed. I own Formula One 2001 (989 Sports), and Grand Prix Challenge, and both have far superior graphics.

Also, the laps are preset in career mode (i.e. 6 laps for the Australian Grand Prix), and as far as I can tell, you can't change it. Once again, far from being real life.

On the plus side, the career thing is cool, in that you have to get a superlicense, then you get offers from different teams. As you either exceed or don't meet the team's expectations racing (i.e. "We expect a 15th place finish" and you finish 7th), your "driver repuation" goes up or down. Nice touch...

Overall, I am disappointed though. If you want an ok arcade game (and there are better ones out there I think), this may be ok. But if you want a good F1 simulation, you'll probably be disappointed.

Not F1 2003 with career mode.

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 1 / 2
Date: June 30, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Things not in this game.

#1 no driving assists
#2 no basic handling method (so steering is super touchy)
#3 no straight season for just racing
#4 no difficulty settings

Otherwise the game looks good to go but looks to be cut throat hard.

get in the car!!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 4
Date: July 01, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Wow...what a game. F1 Career Challenge is by far the best F1 game to date by EA Sports or any other manufacturer. It has every driver to get in a Formula 1 chassis since the beginning of the 1999 season. What is cool about this game is it lets you drive as yourself and compete aginst the actual F1 drivers and the cars they drove during those season from 1999-2002. For instance when Alex Zanardi and Ralf Schumacher were the drivers for Williams in 1999 their primary team colors were red, yellow, and white and their cars displayed that. Much different from the white and navy blue cars that Ralf and Juan Montoya drive today for Williams BMW.

The better you drive for your first Formula 1 team the better contract you will receive from other teams in the paddock to drive for their team. My first team I was chose was Sauber Petronas. I chose them, after qualifying for my Superlicense, over Prost Grand Prix and Benetton.

The graphics are unreal from the side view mirrors to the specifications of each drivers helmet to the buildings and surroundings unique to each F1 track. For all its glory there are a few negatives in this game as with most games. You can't really do much fine tuning to your car. You can increase and decrease the downforce and understeer/oversteer...but that is about it. I wish it had a little ability such as brake bias and tire selection to name a few. The computer drivers brake very slow into corners and sometimes they can be right in front of you before you even realize it. Kind of like david Coulthard this past weekend at the Nurburgring when he came up behind Fernando Alonso going into the last chicane and shunted out. The car drives very, very touchy so it may take you a few runs around each track to get used the handling and brakes and braking zones and when to turn in and hit an apez just right. The default settings seem to favor understeer so you may want to give a bit more downforce and a notch of oversteer to keep her on the track. Especially at courses like Monaco and Catalunya.

Well if you really want to experience Formula 1 like it was meant to be played in a video game this should be your choice. The game play in fantastic and the feeling you will have after you are finished driving will be just like you have been right inside the cockpit! Drive on!

If You're Used To Normal Mode, Look Out!

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 6 / 6
Date: July 03, 2003
Author: Amazon User

The reviews sounded good, but after playing this game for one evening I am a little disappointed with the latest rendition of Formula One racing from EA Sports.

For those of us who have played prior versions of F1 in "normal" mode, be prepared for a rude awakening. This game is simulation only - in any mode. Additionally, you can't decide on the weather and you can't decide on the level of damage (in career mode). This means that the learning curve is very steep, and EA still hasn't addressed the kamikaze AI drivers who try to overtake on impossible curves and run you off the track, or who stop abruptly in the middle of the track and cause you to crash - in "simulation" mode you are most likely to do a 180 degree spin and lose your hard-earned position.

Also, it would be nice in Career mode when you are doing the testing scenario to be given more information. For example, the Imola race has you test driving without any rear downforce: try even the slightest turn above 60 mph and you spin out. The instructions could have been more specific about what the expectations are, especially considering the airfoil doesn't fall off until after you've made your first turn.

I think I will learn to enjoy this game but I'll have to invest a lot more of my time than I expected, being a "normal mode" veteran of EA's F1 series.

Bit of a letdown

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 4 / 6
Date: July 03, 2003
Author: Amazon User

With high hopes based on the reputation that EA has stablished with its line of F1 simulation over the years, I was looking forward to the F1 sim that actually put YOU in the driver's seat. You didn't have to be JPM, Schumi or DC, but you can finally be "John Smith" working on a career in F1...
Well, I must say that I am a bit dissappointed. The graphics engine has been somwhat updated and all the colors seem a little more brilliant, but other than that the new F1 "sim" seems to be a step back rather than a leap forward which it was promised to be. While the basic features of F1 2002 have carried over into the new game in the form of "quick race" (even though you don't have the fancy customisation anymore), the whole point of the game was the career mode and here are some ups and downs of that:

PROS:
- You play as yourself, building your career on your reputation and your performances.
- You need to pass a Super License exam before getting any ofers from any teams. That adds to realism.
- The 99-02 seasons are authentically representaed with additional details like Mika Salo replacing Schumi when the latter broke his foot in an accident

CONS:
- All races are defaulted to about 6 to 9 laps and nothing can be done about that
- The damage modelling is defaulted to a minimum. When I salmmed into the wall at the Casini hairpin in Montreal, the only damage I recieved was "a missing 2nd gear"... Now, c'mon...
- The AI is good but defaulted to a hard level, so in the beginning you are going to qualify outside the 107% mark.
- The setup includes three sliding bars to adjust downforce, understeer/oversteer, acceleration vs. top speed - so as you can see the setup is nowhere close to where it was in F1 2002

All in all, F1 career challenge is fun if a bit "arcadish". You should own this game in addition to F1 2002, because this game has what F1 2002 truly lacked - a personalised feel

It was a good idea

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 2
Date: July 04, 2003
Author: Amazon User

It is a very good idea having racing over 4 seasons in f1 as yourself. I like the fact that they added details like getting your superlicense the radio communication from your team is good and the interactive pit stops are good.
The graphics though are very arcade-y which doesn't suit such a realistic background. You cannot race in quick race mode as Mika Salo in the Ferrari for example or as any other substitute driver.
Despite this the game is fun and probably worth buying, but no-where near as aesthetically pleasing as Sony's Formula 1 2002.

A quick attempt to get more money before F1 goes to Sony

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 12 / 13
Date: July 06, 2003
Author: Amazon User

EA has demonstrated the ability to master a sport when they put effort into it (NCAA Football, Madden, NASCAR Thunder, FIFA). So it's appalling (but probably financially successful) to see them slap out half-hearted efforts like F1 Career Challenge, Knockout Kings and the NHL and NBA series because they know they can cut costs and production because the hardcore fans will ensure a profit alone.
Similar to the NHL series, they add a few gimicky features to appeal to the console crowd but take away more specialized features like adjustable AI, car tuning, race length and individual stats. The graphics are slightly upgraded, but the framerate, draw distance and control are poor. The engine sounds actually cut out when you turn the wheel!
It's clear EA used old code and slapped together some poor cutscenes with bland presentation (which is an EA strength). It's like a bad expansion pack for F1 2002.
The worst new features include a "hot zone" where you score EA cards and points for driving fast through a designated portion of the track. The screen gradually turns red the faster you go (think of the "bluring effect" in the horrible movie "Driven"). And various EA cards pop up and distract you on screen when you overtake and take corners properly. Very distracting and childish. Console racers will never compete with PC sims, but at least give us the option to try.
The big career mode is a joke as you virtually have no customization options. Race length, damage, AI and even pit strategy are all set. You cannot even determine a tire compound!!
My recommendation is to get "Grand Prix Challenge." It is probably the best F1 racer ever to hit a console and it has terrific controls and graphics. Then wait and see what Sony does with the F1 license when Formula One 2003 comes out. I have a feeling they will take it very serious because of it's exclusivity and the uproar that would be caused in Europe if they screwed this up. The bottom line is EA would never treat the Madden franchise like this, so why should we tolerate it with the other sports.
Memo to EA...Loyalty is an important quality and one your customers exhibit enthusiastically to all your products. But if you cannot get better quality from all your development houses then at some point that loyalty will erode and more upstart companies will peck away at your bottom dollar. It may be 20 years from now, but this industry is fickle and your fan base is young, transitional and more acceptable to change.

A Little better than F1 2002

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 9 / 11
Date: July 10, 2003
Author: Amazon User

The only disappointment I have in this game is the only 'slight' improvement in the graphics over F1 2002 (hence 4 starts instead of 5). Having said that, they are still indeed superb. I have read reviews about choppy frame rates, but I have only experienced smooth graphics.

The only real draw of this over last year is the ability to create your own driver (i.e. you can race as yourself instead of taking on the role of, say, David Coulthard) and build a 'career' over four seasons. So now you can still race against your favorite driver since you're not taking his character. I also like how testing paves the way for better cars and setups. This motivates the player into performing well in testing rather than just blowing it off. Between seasons you may have the opportunity to jump to another team if you perform well enough. Imagine starting your career with Minardi and ending with Ferarri!

If you are an F1 Fan and follow the sport closely (as I do), you will appreciate the authenticity of the tracks and drivers for each year.

If you already own F1 2002, you probably do not need to get this game unless you can get it used. If you're curious, try to rent it first and make up your own mind. Myself, I have both and am pleased with my purchase.

Oh yeah, if you have the means try to use the Force Feedback wheel from Logitech when playing this game. You will enjoy it that much more!

Only partially works

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 1 / 3
Date: October 07, 2003
Author: Amazon User

As a dedicated F1 fan, I was looking forward to seeing my name on then podium, as the game promised. But, here's the big kicker, you have to pass a series of tests to be eligible to compete. And the game will NOT remember that you passed the next to last test (a series of S-turns in the rain) so you have to take it every time you open it. (It'll take foreover to pass ...) The last test is a pit stop test over which you have no real control and it will NOT let you pass (I wasted 4 hours on this). The quick race section is okay but the whole point of it - to mix it up with Schumi and the boys - is moot. The @#%#$@ gamers who designed it fixed it so that you won't pass the entry tests.

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