FORMULA ONE GAMES SEEM like a dime a dozen in the past few years so each new attempt must try to out do the last and F1 Championship Season 2000 is the latest from Electronic Arts. EA's game is an officially licensed product so all the drivers, teams and tracks we've grown to admire are here in all their glory.
The menu system is user friendly and includes the usual controller set up along with sound and heads up display options, also included is the widescreen format, which can add to the atmosphere. There are a multitude of race options to choose from such as GP weekend, which has a practice race, quailifying, and of course, race. Then there is the obvious championship season, training, time trial and an interesting one, scenario.
In scenario the player can re-enact events that have happened during the 2000 season like starting in 8th position and trying to work your way to the top four with only 6 laps remaining. The racing can be quite a thrill when the damages and failures are turned on, wheels can fly off at high speed, tyres blow out and even a variety of mechanical failures arise like gearbox failures, suspension and if the motor has been revved hard be prepared for a short race.
The graphics are very good and are more noticeable when the behind car view is selected with reflections and shadows moving off at speed. There are also helicopters flying overhead catching the action for the end of race highlights. Some nice effects can be seen to such as, cameras flashing from the crowd, chunks off tyre coming off after a blow out and heat waves coming off the engine. There is also static during the in car replay as the car travels under bridges and through tunnels. The sound in F1 season is average with the usual cars sounds but the speech isn't overly repetitive like some other games in the genre, the pit crew will tell you if any components of your car need attention and also when flags appear preventing you from passing which is a nice feature.
Well under the graphics and presentation, how does it play? The cars handle well and there is a good feeling of speed especially in the in car view but the analogue sticks seem a little touchy. Trying to pass cars on the straights can be very tricky at high speeds, and even more so in tight situations. With the penalties on and if the player accidently overshoots a corner but recovers without loss of speed the player is given a ten second stop/go penalty which can be frustrating. The two player split screen maintains good speed and there is not much pop up but there are no other cars on the track which to race.
On the whole this game is good. There are some minor ups and downs but if the controls can be mastered a lot of fun can be had, especially with the scenario mode. If you like F1 games give this one a go but if you tire easily of this genre, try something else.
