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F1 Manager - Classic (PC CD)
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Rather than create a game for the casual racing masses, EA Sports stayed loyal to the hardcore F1 fans with F1 2000, providing more of a simulation than an arcade-style speed burner. All the tracks from the F1 circuit are here, rendered to perfection, as are all the racing teams. Pre-race options are just astounding with all the standard car setup features, such as differing tires, gear ratios, and suspensions. There is also a telemetry check screen that examines the performance of racers' cars, allowing for optimal changes. Once players start racing, they may find that cars don't respond as they should, and controlling these beasts can take quite a bit of practice. That means casual players will be spending more time in the grass then they may consider fun. For F1 fans, though, F1 2000 really has it all. --Robb Guido
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1/5 |
Full of bugs and no support
(September 04, 2002) |
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This game has a few good ideas. That's where it ends. The game is littered with bugs for which no fixes are available. For instance in your role as manager you have to negotiate driver and supplier contracts for the following year during your first season. However by the time the following year starts the contracts you negotiated are not recognised and still appear as 'next year's' contracts instead of moving to 'this year'. You then get fired because you haven't negotiated contracts in time. This means that you can never actually build your own team through 3 or 4 season, because you can only ever play 1 season. If you're at all serious about being an F1 Manager, albeit virtual, you will find this as enormously frustrating as I have. This is only one of many bugs. Others include erroneous fuel consumption calculations, incorrect display of gap between your cars and closest competitors and regular glitches in graphics (such as cars driving through and over one another without any damage incurred). There are also errors that make the gameplay unrealistic, such as the fact that on some tracks the out lap in qualifying is faster than the flying lap. And the supplier contracts don't even come close to covering all the major supplier contracts that a real F1 team would have to make (nothing for tyres for instance). There is no rain ever, and we all know what an important part the rain can play in F1. On the EA website there is zero support available for this product. In fact, it looks like EA are pretending that they never published it. I wouldn't recommend buying this product if you're planning to spend more than 5 minutes playing it. I wish I could recommend a different F1 management sim, but I haven't tried any. |
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2/5 |
Not for hardcore fans!
(August 18, 2002) |
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This is a warning to all hardcore formula one fans, like me, who watch every race, qualifying and free practice session on the edge of your seat. This game has major glitches. Firstly the idea of a 107% qualifying limit would simply not work in this game as half the grid would not start! The gap from the first car to the last car is around 9-10 seconds and not the normal 4-5 seconds. Similar only to Australia 2002 when it started to pour and Sato got stranded. Secondly, the weather is amazingly bright and sunny 100% of the time meaning the game sometimes (if not always) lacks realism as there is no chance of a qualifying session on a drying track. Also because of this lack of weather engine there is only one tyre- dry. Thirdly, the components. The user can only change the make of engine, brakes and electronics. No sign of fuel, wheels or tyres (although at the time there was only one tyre manufacturer). There is also little point in completing a test day as it has not effect on the game in any way and is boring way to waste time. Another problem is that you can run out of engines, this will always happen if you are Arrows or use the Arrows powerplant as there are just not enough engines. Either way you have to limit your engine usage to cope with this deficit. Finally, although I have not had such problems myself, the game only functions correctly if the computer is set-up for the UK time zone. So in conclusion if you are a novice I would advise against this game. Although at realese it had reasonable graphics these are now dated and you will often see 2 cars merge when the cars break for the first corner and then amazingly carry on when they accelearte only to merge at the next breaking point with no visible damage. If you want an F1 manangement game go and get Microprose's Grand Prix- which is set a year earlier (1998) and offers poorer graphics but much better gameplay and more options |
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5/5 |
F1 manager
(January 05, 2002) |
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I bought it ... the other day and I found it highly addictive. The most annoying thing about it is thst the manual is on a disk. I find it really fun to play on, although getting the right set up takes quite a bit of time. Any F1 fan should buy it! |
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4/5 |
Richard Lane
(October 03, 2001) |
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Although this game is not as thorough or indeed as enjoyable as more established rivals such as Grand Prix World by Microprose, you do get the added benefit of being able to pick from newer drivers and newer teams. This to me, outweighs any of the small faults that this game may have. It is complicated to get used to the layout of the game at first, and some of the small details (such as the slow movement of the game) which at first seem just tedious later on become rather annoying. However the added enjoyment of thrusting drivers such as Marc Gene into a Ferrari seat alongside Micheal schumacher makes this game more enjoyable.
A four-star rating may not fully justify how good or bad this game is, it is well woth buying, and I'll let you make you're minds up. |
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