F1 World Grand Prix   rating: 6

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"it's apparent that no real effort was made to push the game past other F1 racing simulators" is a statement made by Gamespot and it's on point for this one. But you can pretty much say the same thing about alot of F1 games.

You can play as either the primary or secondary driver from one of the eleven F1 teams and race across each of the 16 international tracks in the F1 circuit. You're given the option of a quick race, a career race, or multiplayer, which lets you race against either two other players on your own computer via splitscreen or against up to 11 others over the Internet or a network. The game includes seven driving aids that help make F1 World Grand Prix more accessible to players of various skill levels. In addition, you're given the option of either more realistic simulation or a simpler arcade setting before you start a race. The arcade setting adjusts the settings of your car and adjusts the other's cars reaction to your performance which is nice.

BUT, you'll notice some problems with F1. The first is that F1 World Grand Prix is based on the 1999 Formula One series rather than the 2000 season. Among other things, this means Jag fans will have to drive the old Stewart Ford car and not the newer Jag. All the team rosters and the circuits are also based on the 1999 season, and the Indianapolis track - a new addition for 2000, missing as well. The second issue with F1 World Grand Prix is the lack of a seventh gear in all the teams' cars. F1 cars have had seven gears for a number of years, and this is a pretty bad problem which is messed up for a game that claims to have "faithful replicas" of the real-life racecars. F1 World Grand Prix's 16 tracks aren't the most realistic either; although there's no question that racing fans will instantly recognize most of the game's circuits, some tracks are missing something (real F1 fans will see it). The game's graphics also take away from the realism. Your steering wheel, which in F1 cars normally displays a wide range of telemetry information, shows only a small and inaccurate RPM indicator. All other relevant race information, such as lap times and speed, is located in the top left corner of the screen, which means that you'll have to take your eyes off the track to check your standings. Plus, the game has this grainy and dithered look. You'll also notice minor graphics glitches throughout the game, like rubber skid marks on grass and dirt surfaces. The cars themselves are shiny and authentically detailed, and the game supports a number of different camera views, including an interesting first-person perspective that simulates how an F1 driver sees through his helmet. While the game's sound is as to be expected from a racing game, the engine noises don't vary enough from car to car which takes away more from the realism. All the other sound effects, including skidding, crashing, and the constant radio chatter of your crew chief are ok too. For some reason, the computer-controlled cars in F1 World Grand Prix are generally smart, but your teammates suck. they might as well be racing for your competition because they can't be counted on to guard your tail or block for you, maneuvers that are common among teammates in the F1 sport. You can also save two different car setups per track - one for the race and one for the qualifying session. The game also boasts a limited 3D physics model. Even though the cars seem never to flip, slamming into walls and skidding off the track will often result in at least two of your wheels lifting off the ground. The game's damage modeling system seems highly accurate: It uses progressive texturing to show the beating your car has sustained. In a severe accident, you can see wheels separating from the body and nasty cracks along the car's chassis. F1 World Grand Prix doesn't suck it just lacks everything to make it fun for real F1 fans. They might as well just go to back to the EA boys and get their F1 2000 on.

Look at the screenshots: