F1 2002
EA Sports
Genre:
Racing
Players:
1 - 2
Type/#:
CD
/
1
Overall Rating
88
%
Graphics and Sound
I love reviewing EA games. Here's why: F1 2002 is gorgeous
where it needs to be. Every major car manufacturer is represented in
splendid detail, from Ferrari to the new Toyota. Even the
super sweet gold color of the American Honda team is here. All
pretty, all shiny, all the time. You're thinking to yourself, 'I wonder if
any of the tracks are represented well?' All 17 F1-sanctioned tracks are
here, including the rip-roaring Indianapolis track. The grass outlining the
track is so lush, it's inviting. Of course, running into the grass at 200
mph is not a good thing. If by chance you do hit the grass, you will leave
a perfect rut. Something to, let's say, plant flowers in. There are also
parts of the tracks (like in real life) that have gravel and hard, pebbly
stuff. If your wheels happen to touch the gravel, kiss your tires goodbye.
They shred beautifully, and the best you can do is limp in the pit stop.
The pit stop is wonderfully done, with crews frantically trying to shave
seconds off of your overall stop. The cars are easy to tell apart, and I
can appreciate that when I need to locate my teammate. The damage to the F1
cars is absolutely great with your nose flying off, steering going out,
dents the size of Texas in your body. All in all, great attention was paid
to the racing, and to the cars. Perhaps the only complaint I have is that
the crowds were lame looking; a myriad of monotony as colors are repeated,
and they look more like LEGO people than rabid race fans. I don't
mind LEGOS that much, because I used to build big castles and mean
spaceships out of them.
The sound is as good as you're going to get. Music is perfect; sound
effects are perfect, even that woman yelling is perfect - wait that's my
wife. The music is absolutely brilliant for a racing game. With artists
like Apollo Four Forty and Toy, you get a soundtrack with
wonderful techno artists. The beats are thick and provide ample ground to
take off from. Layered on top of the venerable music are the different
sounds of each maker's engines. Just like the real F1 stuff, you can bet
your bananas that you'll be able to distinguish Ferrari's sound from
anything. Also, the new Renault team had some brutal sounding
engines. The crowd roar is appropriate, and adds the 'r' in realism.
Overall, F1 2002 is a real treat for the senses, especially since
EA Sports really tried to make the game 'prettier' than last year.
Gameplay
I would like to add a part that maybe should have gone in the graphics
section. There are four different camera angles in F1 2002. The
best one by far is the cockpit view. Your driver reacts to whatever is
happening on the track which enhances gameplay through the roof! He shakes
his fist when someone passes him, or throws his arms in the air when he
spins out. It's a small, but pivotal thing that makes F1 2002 that
much more fun to play. All your racing modes are here. Quick Race Mode
will let you jump right into a race. Challenge Mode has you trying
different challenges, which will gain you an EA Sports Card for the team
that you won Challenge Mode with. There is also the crème de la crème in
Grand Prix Mode. This is where you drive for a whole season, and you have
to win the F1 championship. Hint: pick any Ferrari car, and it's in
the bag. Things like Race Length, Difficulty, Fuel Use, etc can be tweaked.
To be honest, anything associated with F1 racing, under the Formula One sun
can be tweaked or turned on and off. There is also a Custom Championship
Mode that lets you pick all the circuits and race laps for a particular
'championship.' This is good fun, if you think 17 tracks are too long, or
anything along those lines. There is also a team duel you can do in Grand
Prix that has you pitted against your teammate. You don't work together on
team duel, but actually try to beat your teammate. Mulitplayer gives you a
split screen, and lets you do things like the Time Challenge Mode. Are you
better than your friend? Only time will tell! There is a Tag Team Mode
that has individual team members racing against other individual team
members. Finally there's Full Season Mode (multiplayer) that had you and a
friend gunning for a championship, against each other. Unless you're on the
same team, then someone will have to be the demolisher, while the other
teammate speeds through the freshly made path. Yes, I tried this, and yes
it was fun.
Difficulty Level
F1 2002 can be extremely difficult if you want it to be. Before each
race, you have the opportunity to define how Easy, Medium or Hard you want
it. There is also a braking assistant that will help you slow down if
you're not too good at all this F1 hoopla. You can choose whether you want
an assisted pit stop (set this to 'yes' for the first hundred times you
race) and how much fuel and tire wear exist. The difficulty all depends on
what manufacturer and driver you choose as well. For instance, if you pick
Ferrari, and put the game on Easy, then chances are you'll beat it in
a day. If you pick a different manufacturer, and put the game on all its
hardest settings, then you'll probably want to pull your hair out and become
a fashion designer. So all the difficulty range is here. I tried to find a
happy balance to where I could win the race, but not without a lot of effort
and minimal mistakes. The controls are very good for F1 2002
especially since you need tight controls for such a quick-paced game. They
are very responsive and don't add to the difficulty.
Game Mechanics
The load times are really short, especially for an EA game.
EA puts so much detail into a game that sometimes the load times
suffer. The manual is a breeze to read and answers a lot of questions seeing
that racing games with this much detail generate more than a few inquiries
with car setup, etc. The controls are top notch, and help keep things from
getting frustrating.
Riot Rundown: I really like racing, and I believe this is a great
game. I do think that it might be geared towards F1 or strictly racing
fans, though. There's not a lot here for casual gamers to get into.
There's no 'create-a-car,' or 'create-a-driver' for that matter. It really
is a game of skill as any mistake will put you out of the race, just like a
real F1 race. So I would buy this game if I were a huge fan of F1 or a
hard-core racing fan. If not, I would rent it first. It may or may not be
your speed.
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