Updated!

PS2's first Formula One game comes roaring off the starting line but in EA Sport's mad dash to deliver the first F1 experience on PS2, they left a few things behind. F1 Champ Season 2k is a multi-platform game also available on the PlayStation and PC. You may think that because the PS2 is the newest next generation system that EA would have all the bells and whistles included but most likely due to release deadlines, some of the important features have been blatantly cut out and there are some glitches to be found as well. Even though this may be a "dumbed down" version, it still carries the authenticity and play mechanics of EA Sport's F1 franchise and to this end, it has special qualities that keep it from becoming a lowly doorstop.

Gameplay
Like most EA Sports games, there is a mode that lets you get right to the action. The Race Now option lets you go straight to the track and race. To go a little further into the F1 experience there is the Single Grand Prix mode that takes you through a race weekend on the track of your choice. But the heart of the game lies in the Championship mode. This will take you through the entire race season comprising of the full race weekend: practice, qualify, warm up and race for all 17 authentic tracks. Each has been re-created with the most extreme accuracy. You can actually see the uneven painted lines on the edge of the track it is that detailed! That's part of the beauty of playing an F1 game because each track is an entirely new challenge and requires different strategies to master. An option also exists to make a custom championship season, which basically let you choose the order of the tracks you'll race on.

The developers aimed to make this game appeal to a wide audience of both arcade and simulation fans. Although it succeeds in some aspects, it generally fails miserably to provide a true simulation experience so if you are the heavy sim type you probably won't like Champ Season at all. There is a good amount of options for customizing the game the way you want it. For instance, when setting up your machine you can choose to have a basic, medium or advanced set-up. The basic set-up gives you fewer customization choices while advanced gives you the full spectrum to precisely tune the machine to your liking. One of the glitches seems to arise when you change the ride height in practice before you proceed to the main race. What happens when you change the ride height is that your car will sound like the tires are locked up and smoke plumes out the back but it doesn't effect the handling or speed in any way. The sound is quite annoying so thankfully it doesn't happen in the main race. The other settings when adjusted have a noticeable effect on the car's performance so it pays to tweak them to tune your car and gain an edge depending on the type of track you're racing on.

EA Sports claims that Champ Season is "easy to learn, yet tough to master". Well it is easy to learn in the sense that most realistic physics have been thrown by the wayside, which allows almost anyone to get the hang of it quickly. But it is tough to master because instead of learning how to race like an actual F1 driver, you instead have to figure out how you need to drive to succeed in F1 Champ Season, the game. For starters, getting a wheel or two onto the grass won't cause a spin out. Turning and braking ability is exaggerated and opponent AI acts illogically and randomly.

On easy difficulty a common scenario is a bunched up mess of cars driving insanely slow around certain corners while taking other more relaxed corners at break-neck speed. In a real F1 race the key to moving up in positions is to out-break the driver ahead of you before entering a corner and then maintaining the inside line and forcing your opponent to take the outside. But in this game the poor AI doesn't take this into account and will maintain their line at all costs even if it means slamming into your car! This can be especially frustrating when they lock wheels together and you are stuck sideways virtually helpless. Also, the cars slow down so much into certain corners that it is impossible to draft behind them because as soon as a turn approaches you will slam into them. Unless you have supernatural intuition there is no way that you can react that fast to slow down with the other cars so the common tactic to use is to simply blow past the pack and ride the inside shoulder in the turn. Using this method on easy difficulty will allow you to pass as many as 10-15 cars in one shot. Doesn't sound too realistic does it. As if the developers some how tried to balance out this human vs. AI advantage, the other cars seem to drive much faster than you on straight-aways and gentle turns. Although it is possible to keep up with them at these times, you must know the track instinctively and practically never let off the gas.

The arcade physics and AI tend to have a snowball effect on other aspects of the game such as damage. There are three settings, forgiving, normal and off. But you'll be saving yourself a world of frustration if you just left damage off because the amount of times your car will get smashed and pushed around will have you pitting every lap otherwise. This is unfortunate because part of the suspense and strategy of F1 is to avoid touching the other cars which makes you more careful and gives you a feeling that there is something greatly at stake if you do hit someone. But seeing how playing with damage off is the only practical way to play the game, this element of suspense is lost.

Races can take place in rain or shine but don't expect to see variable weather conditions because for some strange reason EA Sports just couldn't pull it off. This isn't so much of a big deal on its own but yet again it has a snowball effect that hurts the realism of F1 racing because now pit stops are reduced to nothing more than a refueling and/or repair stop. There is no option to change tire types because you only have to choose at the beginning of the race whether you need dry or wet ones. Nevertheless, the pit stop sequences look very realistic with the full 22-man crew rushing out to work on your machine. You can see them doing everything from changing the wings to refueling and changing the tires. The only thing that you can change when at a pit stop is your pit stop strategy (when and how many times to pit) and fueling will be automatically calculated. There is also no telemetry data to be found either. Furthermore, racing in the rain can be a very frustrating experience as spinning out happens so fast that it's nearly impossible to catch it therefore you must race very cautiously. Well this is realistic enough but the problem is that after you do spin out it is a big time pain in the ass to get going again. The game has implemented the ability to do power turns which is good if you're close to a wall and need to turn on a dim but often you oversteer and go flying in the other direction. The absence of analog gas sensitivity means that you can do only one of two things, floor it or no gas at all. To accelerate without spinning out you must resort to button taping. Is it just me or do most games not make use of the analog buttons?

Well after hearing paragraph after paragraph of negative comments I bet you are wondering if there is anything good at all about Champ Season! Surprisingly there is. The game does an excellent job of giving players a fully authentic experience with all the real drivers, tracks, sponsors and even the familiar British commentator who presents the tracks and driver standings after the race. Each of the cars has a unique body shape that is represented perfectly in the game. Also, I believe this is one of the first console F1 games that actually features a playable in-car view! In fact, it is the probably the best view to use. Although it isn't truly a cockpit view (it's more like over the driver's head) it allows you to feel in control of your car while keeping you right in the action. Even though I prefer racing simulation, I enjoy the semi-arcade/sim handling in Champ Season very much. It will probably be an acquired taste for many but there is no doubt that EA Sport's has made this game fun and easy to play. It conveys the true sense of speed that real F1 drivers experience and this is one of the key elements in making a good F1 game and the task has been done exceptionally well. With a little practice you'll be flying around those corners like a pro. Now if it wasn't for the poor AI you might actually forget you're playing a game. On a final note, even though the AI seems to be the biggest problem with the game, setting the difficulty to medium or hard improves it somewhat. The cars take corners faster but still seem to have a death wish when it comes to locking wheels with you at 200mph!

Update: Thursday, April 26, 2001 After having spent more time playing on the medium difficulty and getting more of a feel for the AI in the game I felt I needed to update this review to reflect just how messed up the AI really is. I've already explained that on the easy setting, the other drivers take corners very slowly but on the medium difficulty their actions are even more eratic. For example, I was rammed during the beginning of one of my races and fell way behind. As I caught up and began passing some of the cars all of the sudden the game's AI seemed to change to "aggressive mode" and I was repeatedly rammed from behind and spun out even though I was driving extremely well and without error! Imagine if damage had been turned on, that would have made the game unplayable. Also, you might as well turn pitting off because it does not appear that the opponent drivers even pit in. I know it sounds strange but during races I never once recalled seeing them pit in on the track map overlay.

It has become painfully evident that this game is seriously flawed in the AI department and it basically ruins any realistic qualities that the excellent physics engine brought to the game. I've tried to deal with it but it's just not working out. Graphics
At first glance this game looks really good. It has a high frame rate, nice reflections, good track detail and textures but then I realize this is a PS2 game. It's true that it looks good for a 1st generation title but this game could easily be done on the Dreamcast! Personally I have come to expect a bit more than that from my PS2. But this being EA's first F1 game on the system I think we can cut it some slack, besides there are some things that really stand out. One is the track preview where a broadcast style view presents the track as a Formula One car takes you through the paces. This part looks very real indeed. During actual gameplay the frame rate lowers slightly but does not affect the sense of speed at all. There are some very cool effects like engine backfire and smoke that smolders off of your tires when you floor it. Crashes can be quite spectacular and if you flip, the camera goes snowy as if it was smashed in the crash too.

All the tracks have been faithfully recreated with attention to fine detail on and to the side of the tracks. However, the textures overall don't look incredibly realistic and are a bit plain looking. Still it looks quite good for a first generation game.

Sound
To put it simply, "it's all good". The high pitched scream of F1 cars has never sounded more real. It sounds virtually identical to a live TV broadcast! The sound of the cars flying along the track really augments that sense of speed that is already present. When braking you can also hear the sound of gears shifting down rapidly and the screech of tires (if you happen to be living life on the edge). Another nice effect is the "whoosh" you hear as you pass by signs or under bridges. If you have a good stereo or home theater system you can even tell where cars are behind you depending on where the sound of their engine comes from.

The game has a pretty sweet musical score as well featuring tunes from Fear Factory, Headrillaz and Sie. It's mostly a techno flavor and suits the game well although I would have preferred more traditional F1 music like during a TV broadcast. There is one minor glitch with the sound though. Occasionally the music will skip and sometimes your car's engine sounds strange (and it isn't because it's damaged). Despite this minor annoyance the game sounds damn good.

Value
This is where the game shines depending on whether you can work with the frustrating AI and arcade style controls. There are plenty of tracks to master and three difficulties to beat the game with. The multiplayer mode can provide a lot of additional replay value as long as you have enough friends to fill the four player slots. There is also a multiplayer time challenge where each person takes turns racing on a track to get the best time. I know if I had enough friends that liked F1 games that I would be having a ball with this mode.

It's a shame that an otherwise great game is hampered with bad AI however it is possible to overlook this and actually have a lot of fun with Champ Season. Simulation enthusiasts will probably be disappointed with what it offers in terms of control style but that doesn't mean that others more casual fans will hate it. In fact the game is designed to appeal to the masses but this is also it's downfall because whenever you try to compromise to achieve the "happy medium", often in gaming one side ends up unhappy with your product and such is the case with Champ Season.