01/07/2002
NEWS STORY
Sitting on the grid, awaiting the clearance of the grid girls and assorted crew, ready to start my start sequence, is a nervous time. My brother is to the left of me on pole, and behind me is the glaring red of my sister Ferrari.
The start is looming as the red lights start their painstakingly laborious sequence.
1 light: press the L.C (launch control) button
2 lights: select 1st gear and flat the throttle
3.. 4.. 5 lights: and off!
I Release the L.C button as fast as possible and then let the traction control work it's wonder as the auto shift takes me flying into the first corner. Navigating round the first right-hander with 'bro' beside me and Rubens hot on my tail may sound nerve racking but for me it is no problem. Blasting into the woods I manage to pick up a tow so I stick with it, expecting to pass him at the first of the three chicanes but there seems to be some sort of diversion!!
Slamming on my brakes the tail comes round and sends me backwards into the 'kitty litter'. Luckily for me the anti-stall kicks in and I only need to press the TC override button that sends my wheels spinning out of the gravel and onto the racing line, at the back of the field!
Ahead of me is a Jaguar, slowing with thick white smoke pouring from the engine. 21st, yes!! The road diversion still fooling me I tread carefully into the next turn, a sharp right, I encounter a Jordan and BAR in the barriers. Curious to find out what happened I pause and have a look at the big screen to find the BAR, possibly Panis, slowing and the Jordan, definitely Sato, running into the back of him.
Navigating the tight, slow hairpin I start to recognise the track but the next chicane fools me and I get a penalty for cutting the corner.
The stadium section, fantastic, now I can get on with it, knowing where I am. And sure enough I manage to get past the Minardi of Yoong before completing lap one!!
From then on the race runs smoothly and the laps tick away. Rubens though is 20 seconds down the road as we approached the last stop. But luckily for me his left wheel change is delayed and as we start the final lap he is only 3 seconds ahead.
Expecting him to slow for me I don't push but as I come to the line he is still in the lead, outrageous!! I phone Jean Todt asking him what he is thinking but he says that he has no idea what I am talking about. Was it a dream? It seemed so real!
No, it was F1 2002 released for PC 2 weeks ago, and here is a brief summary of what to expect when the 'loading screen' declares it's finished:
You are asked to create a profile in order that all your data can be saved, which is useful if you have a brother, for instance. After all you wouldn't want him mucking up your stats would you?
Having selected Jordan I am faced with a very naff looking model of the EJ12 (jordancom). So I decide to install one of the many add-on's already made for the game, a car-set which accurately reflects the cars from this season 100 times better than EA could - no offence EA! You can get this car-set at emac.de. After the fiddly process of setting up your machine it's off to the races.
As usual there are many options such as Test Day, Quick Race, Race, Championship and Driving School. The school option is unique to EA, allowing you to filter through tests and win safety cars to drive.
I Take the Race option and head off to the new Nurburgring. Whilst the track loads, I get the low-down on the circuit from a well-spoken bloke, which passes the time nicely. The menu section has been revamped for simplicity and even though you can't see the cars exiting the pits you can hear them firing up and trundling past you in the pitlane. The setup screen lets you change a huge array of things such as wing angles all the way down to Brake Duct sizes and Rev limiters. Using the manual to determine what has to be done for the car is a must but there is a comprehensive telemetry system, which also helps.
As you sit in your car your race engineer signals when to exit the pits and as you hit the throttle the sound is fantastic. The engine squeals just like on TV and your race engineer barks down the radio informing you whether your time is up or down on pole.
The car physics are exceptional. As I touch the grass the car flicks me round giving me no time to react. The traction control button is implemented which means you have to override it to spin the wheels. A nice touch was DC slowing to let me past when I was on my flying lap. As the time ticks away the grid starts to form much how you would expect, Williams and Ferrari filling the first 4 positions with McLaren and Renault then Sauber and Jordan. On my third run I get the chicane wrong and the EA Sports camera shows it beautifully (bump). The attention to detail excels, the disk brakes actually glow (glow) and the driver's heads move in tandem with the car.
On to the race and a little glamour - with the addition of grid girls!
You get the usual five lights (grid) and then it's go.. go.. go! At the off, Montoya causes chaos having had his race ended before it had begun as a result of an engine failure (smoke) something not seen in the EA series before.
Luckily you can restart as many times as needed, after one particular re-start there was a rather large accident (crash). I'm not sure what Bernie or Max would say about the wheel tethers but it does look spectacular and you can even crash into the debris!
Entering the pits is another treat. Every pit-crew member is animated - filling the car with fuel and tyres (pit). One downfall however (if you'll forgive the pun), is the weather. When it is sunny it's great but once the rain hits it becomes very hard to drive and the so-called 0%, visibility becomes non-existent - you can actually see every raindrop fall whilst travelling at 200 miles per hour!
Another clever effect I picked up on is the way the trees sway in the wind, this really adds to the realism, also when driving under bridges you can actually hear the echo!
The AI is generally well behaved though at times you seem to brake very early forcing a nasty rear end smash. Which brings me to another point. What happened to the flying cars when the wheels collide? I played a Demo where this was brilliantly implemented but now that part has disappeared.
F1 2002 contains all the data from the 2002 season and that on its own puts it above the rest. Nowhere else can you drive the new Hockenheim against Toyota and Takuma Sato, that along with everything else makes it the best buy for the PC to date.
To summarise: F1 2002 plays, sounds and looks great. Except for a few small niggles, which don't hamper the game too much, it has a great chance of holding top spot when GP4 arrives in just under a weeks time.