Game Information

PSM Quote: "A realistic and immensely playable racer."
PSM Score: 9/10

Price: £19.99
Released:
September 1996
Extras: Link Cable compatable

Firstly, this is a sim not an arcade racer, and so as you would expect, the cars are very hard to drive and very unforgiving. The game has an official FIA Formula One licence, and so all the teams, drivers and curcuits are in here...together with non another then Mr.F1 himself, Murry Walker. It has to be said that this is an old game, dating back to 1996 in fact and so the game is based around 1995 stats and satistics. However, having the actual drivers in there is what its all about, it's better to have 1995 data, albeit showing its age, then unofficial made up names, such as the team1 and team2 you find in Monaco GP. Theres just no compensation for getting a lap time 2 tenths of a second faster then Schumacher.

1995 then, what happened that year? Well, Schumacher won his 2nd world championship, David Coulthard had his first full F1 season, Damon Hill was in the Williams, Mansell drove for McLaren, Ferrari still couldn't win and Jordan were still finding their feet. Needless to say, a lot has changed since then, Jordan are now one of the main title contenders and Hill has been and gone, Schumacher is still at the top and Coulthard is now driving for McLaren in a hope to become world Champion.

"There is no Pop-up what so ever, and everything runs at a lovely frame rate, the draw distance is stunning and you can literally see for miles ahead."

All the drivers are in here, Schumacher, Mansell, Hill, Alesi, all of them...all the teams, Benetton, Williams, Ferrari and all the official curcuits, such as Silverstone and Monaco, in fact all 16 curcuits form the 1995 season are in here. Very Impressive I hear you cry, and the visuals are also of a high quality. When you think that this game is now over 4 years old, it still manages to impress...the visuals at the time were the cream of the crop, and it can still make you go "wow" now and again, it won't have your jaw dropping as it did back then, but everything is neat and tidy and very well defined. There is no Pop-up what so ever, and everything runs at a lovely frame rate, the draw distance is stunning and you can literally see for miles ahead.

The sound is also of a high quality, the engines sound stunning, each one sounding slightly different to the next, crashes and spins also sound realistic. The music isn't the best, it's sort of a heavy metal rock type thing, however it does manage to fit in well. The main sound tweak, which at the time was a revolution, is Murry Walker..."And look at that", "Up into 3rd gear", "And if Im not very mistaken, I am very much mistaken" are just some of the things he cries as you crash, spin and roar you way around the track. Murry also introduces each race, and it just adds to the overall atmosphere.

It has to said, that this has all been done much better by this games sequels, most notably Formula One '97, which not only stars Murry but also Martain Brudle. This Formula One is a sim, meaning the cars handle as close to their real life conterparts as is possible with a computer game, meaning too much on the old accelerator and your gonna lose it, too fast into a corner and you won't be coming out the other side. The games handling is at first quite nasty, you just can't make it round the turns and its very easy to just spin off the track and end up at the rear of the pack.

It is a game which asks you to put the time in, you have to practice the curcuits...the more laps you put in, the faster you will get, the faster you get the more fun you will have. It's as simple as that, as well as the grand prix mode, theres also an Arcade mode, which is a little more forgiving, you can take to the grass and not spin, and it's rather more playable to begin with, however it doesn't offer the same lasting fun as the full Grand Prix mode, or the overall satisfaction. The Arcade mode is actually time based, meaning you have to push to your limits and cross a series of check points before the timer runs out, if it hits zero...its race over!

Formula One is certainly the best F1 racer on Playstation, it's actually better then it's sequels and all the other F1 games which have tried to take this games crown. In fact, this is the best console F1 game you can currently buy, its better then F1 WGP and F1 WGP2 on Nintendo64, and is 2nd in the all time F1 games list only to GP2.

GP2 is the grand daddy, there is simply nothing wrong with GP2, yet there are a few areas which are not right with Formula one. Such as the way that if you take to the grass, you end up spinning like a bottle top, with no control what so ever, this simply isn't realsitic at all, and it certainly doesn't make for a good game. There's also a few little bugs, such as the fact that sometimes half the field will pull into the pits for a pitstop every single lap...not good!

These are minor niggles, and to be honest they don't stop you from enjoying what is without doubt, the best F1 racer on Playstation. The handling is realistic without making the game unplayable, the visuals are still impressive and together with the great sound...well, its almost like your watching a race live on TV.

"you have to be on the limit, yet totally in control to post a quick lap and the joy you get when you cross the line to see P1 can not be bettered."

The trill you get from pushing your car to its limits in this game, is one of them all time classic gaming moments. The qualifying sessions are just stunning, the times continue to drop and you really can feel the tension...you have to be on the limit, yet totally in control to post a quick lap and the joy you get when you cross the line to see P1 can not be bettered. The racing is close, the AI is near perfect and it all makes for a great race...then you can watch it all via the games great replays. You can even change the camera angles, or even watch the race from any one of your rivals cars, simply stunning stuff.

All the official teams, drivers and curcuits are in here, and you really couldn't ask for more...if you haven't played this game before, and your into your F1 games, you have to own this game, it's that simple. You can pick this baby up for under £20, and it will be the best £20 you ever have spent.

This game has stood the test of time, 4 years on and it still offers eveything it did back in '96, many F1 racers have been released since with fancier visuals and better sound, but when a game feels right, that's all that matters. This is one such game, learn the tracks, master the handling and you are in for the time of your life...this is a Mclaren then, still going strong after all them years.

Kevin Preston

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