"instantly playable and enjoyable"
Game Play
After playing so many other formula one games it’s easy to see why the Grand Prix series by Geoff Crammond comes top. Firstly like the other three, the game is instantly playable and enjoyable. Right from the first time loading the game you can jump into a Formula One car and get right into the action with a quick race. Not only can you race straight away, but you can actually drive the car without too much skill and still have fun playing the game. This is thanks to the wonderful driving aids such as automatic braking, gears, and even some steering assistance. The driving line is viewable on track, so all you need to do is accelerate and follow the line. It is these driving aids that are in effect the difficulty settings. Once you have learnt the tracks a little and got used to the handling of the car, you can choose to take off the assistance. Firstly the automatic braking goes and then the gearing. After a little perseverance you will be able to control all aspects of the Formula One Car."more respect from the
AI cars than before "
AI cars than before "
Grand Prix 4 Features all the teams, drivers, and tracks from the 2001 FIA Formula One World championship. It’s a shame we couldn’t have the full 2002 season but Geoff Crammond seems to concentrate more on accuracy of the year than just banging out another F1 game that EA seem to do.
New with version 4 is an Updated Artificial Intelligence system that creates an ultra realistic and competitive Formula One gaming experience. The AI from version 3 was pretty good, cars would attempt to over take, but they often ended up ramming into you as you tried to block them at a corner. Not the case in Grand Prix 4. I have played this game for many weeks, and have found the AI to be much improved. There is a little more respect from the AI cars than before and don’t try and crash into you so often. Negotiating starts is a fraught affair, with the cars possessing an uncanny spatial awareness and ability to take your space without crashing into you.
"noticeable change in the
way the cars handle the road"
way the cars handle the road"
The Physics of the F1 cars themselves are Unparalleled creating the true feeling of driving a Formula One car. The physics are brilliant but don’t seem to have been update much since grand prix 3. I’m sure the physics in GP3 weren’t perfect and with several years apart, it seems difficult to see that the car physics have not changed. There is however a noticeable change in the way the cars handle the road, especially in wet weather. Throughout the race the weather develops. If its been raining, and the rain stops, you really notice the difference lap by lap as the once slippery wet surface becomes dry with the heat, and the constant passing of F1 cars. The weather system is much improved upon since Grand Prix 3, and when it rains it really looks like its raining, and with the weather being unpredictable, it can add an element of excitement and panic during a long race. It would have been nice to see the cars being a bit more twitchy and unpredictable as they seem a little too stable.
"cockpits are however hugely detailed "
The cars in Grand Prix 4 all look the business, but don’t offer any differences between cockpit views depending upon the team you are racing for. There are slight changes such as colouring, but other than cockpits are identical. The cockpits are however hugely detailed and if your graphics card can cope you can even see reflections of the scenery and surroundings in the body work. There are several new views available while driving in Grand Prix 4. The new roll-bar and chase-car camera views that come complete with digital displays and a dinky little Rally Championship-style track map offer a little more variety for those that don’t like the cramped cockpit view.
"accurately modelled through the use of GPS "
All of the tracks have been accurately modelled through the use of GPS and are based upon the 2001 season. It is this new attention to track detail that allows the tracks to be inch perfect, and obtain a greater level of dimension. The dips and hills on the tracks all benefit from the increased accuracy, and from the level of a F1 car all look superb and steeper than you thought when you watched on TV. The replay features are another superb feature of Grand Prix 4. You can re watch important and exciting moments from the race from multiple camera angles. You can choose which angle/camera to view the race from. Its especially good watching those high speed crashes and seeing the bits of carbon fibre car fly off.
"the best and most realistic looking graphics "
The multiplayer options allow you and 21 other players to race head to head. The only problem with a 22 player game is there is usually a big pile up. Human players unless completely serious seem to love crashing and bashing people off the track rather than playing properly.
Graphics
The graphics are probably the best and worst feature of the game. What I mean by this is that while they are the best and most realistic looking graphics I have ever seen the machine you need to run on full detail need to be a meaty one. I have a 1.4 GHz Athlon with 512Mb Ram and a 64Mb Geforce 2. On full detail this game funs like a dog, but at the same time I realised the graphics I was seeing at 3 FPS looked worth upgrading my computer for. I have seen many a review of Grand Prix 4 that slates its graphics engine because it needs a very high spec machine to run at full detail. I have to say that its graphics are way beyond the usually unrealistic cartoony graphics we are used to, so I can see why it need a bit more. The game when started up does do a machine test and picks the correct setting and graphics level for you machine, so that has to be good. No fiddling with settings. That is unless you’re like everyone else and attempts to put it on full detail to see what its like."The pit crews have been
motion captured down at Arrows"
motion captured down at Arrows"
The level of detail in the cars and around the circuits can’t be captured in these screen shots, but believe me they are not only superb looking, but no longer are the circuits static. The pit crews have been motion captured down at Arrows which means very realistic pit stops which look like they do on TV. Also expect to see engineers and marshals looking like never before. The tracks especially look good when wet as you get all the reflections of the cars and scenery in the puddles of water.
Sound
As the pit crews were motion captured so was the sound. The sound of the cars was captured from an Arrows F1 car. The cars really do sound something special and no longer do the cars engines sound dull and lifeless. The cars sound beefy and real, which is more than can be said with many other F1 games around at the minute."The cars really do sound something special"
As well as the engine sound getting an overhaul you now get the odd message from you pit crew during a race which also adds the realism element.
Overall
The realism has been beefed up, the graphics are better than anything I have every seen, but you may need to upgrade to play it. This aside the game plays well for beginners and pros alike, and has to be the best Formula One game so far. No other F1 game comes close. F1 2002 is not a patch of a game compared for F1 GP4. If you like Grand Prix and you have a pretty hot computer then you can’t buy better.