F17 Challenge



Title		F17 Challenge
Game Type	Driving
Company		Team 1
Players		1
Compatibility	All?
HD Installable	No
Submission	Alkis Polyrakis Profiled Reviewer

Review
A very good Formula 1 race game by Team 17. It looks a bit like Gremlin's
Lotus Turbo Esprit 2, the graphics are similar and the feeling of the
control is the same. That means that you're looking at the vehicles from
behind and above (about 20 degrees), not from inside your car.

At first, you have a choice between normal and full screen mode, (NTSC and
PAL), although this doesn't actually appear to make any difference.

In the main screen, you can change the type of race you compete in;
practice, compete in a single race or enter the World championship.
In practice mode, you can race in one of the 16 available tracks without
any opponents. Each track is in a different country, and the weather
depends on the country you're in. If you choose to race a single race, you
once again choose between the 16 tracks. In championship mode, you race in
all of the tracks in a predefined order, and you get points depending on
your placement. You can enter the race immediately, or try the qualifying
round for a good placement at the beginning. Before racing, you are
informed of the best lap time of the track, and of the weather report. You
race against 21 cars.

The background graphics of F17 are beautiful, the scrolling is smooth and
the sound is pretty realistic. The information about the current race is
displayed on the top of the screen. You can see your lap time, the
distance between you and your best opponent, the best lap, your speed (top
speed is approximately 320Km/h), the gear you are in, the damage report
percentage, the distance between you and the end of the lap, and your
current position. Each time you crash, your damage percentage gets higher.
If you exceed 90%, your car will not be able to reach the highest speed.
You can repair your vehicle at the beginning of each lap in the pit stop.

The game's options screen allows you to change your car's colour, toggle
auto/manual gear, choose an acceleration method (stick/button), enter the
number of laps (5-15), choose between normal and arcade mode, edit your
name and reset the best time laps.

What I didn't like about this game was the absence of music, and the fact
that your car does not have any mirrors. It's a little hard to get used to
at first, but you'll soon be able to win races. F17 challenge may not be
as perfect as Gremlin's Lotus trilogy, but it sure is fun to play. A
decent racing game.



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