The championship challenge lives on

THE LAST Grand Prix of the year has still to be run and Electronic Arts already has F1 2001 in the shops. So, while the excitement may end this month, the championship challenge can live on if you own a PlayStation 2 or a moderately powerful PC.

Taking its cues from the seminal Gran Turismo 3, EA's latest stab at Formula One includes a circuit challenge mode to help novice drivers improve their skills.

Challenge mode tests your ability to cope with changing weather conditions, pit stop tactics and your dexterity in dealing with the myriad FIA rules. Once your skills have been honed you can put them to the test on the circuit of your choice.

This allows new options to be unlocked (ie. Passing the wet weather test unlocks the wet weather option in the game) and helps smooth out the sometimes steep learning curve found in more traditional F1 racing games.

There are five disciplines to be licked: the basics of car control, weather, pit stops (learning to brake with varying weights of fuel aboard), race craft (the rules and regulations) and track experience (tackling all 17 circuits corner by corner).

When you have finished a task the game rates your performance. If you pass it will award a gold, silver or bronze award depending on how you did. So far, so very Gran Turismo.

Challenge mode plugs the gap left when this title made the jump from PS1 to PS2 last year. In the first year the tutorial mode didn't make the transition.

As you'd expect, F1 2001 includes all the drivers, all the cars and all the circuits from this year's calendar.

Opt for a quick race, however, and you only have the choice of three circuits; Silverstone, Hockenheim, in Germany and Monza, Italy.

In single GP mode you participate in the full race weekend, including both practice sessions, qualifying, warm up and the main event itself. Options that can be tweaked include difficulty, race length (you can do the actual number of laps raced in the F1 Championship itself), pit stops and the amount of damage sustained by your car.

When full FIA rules are switched on you must keep a look out for waved flags. Get it wrong and you can be watching the race from track side after getting a black (disqualification) flag.

If that's isn't a big enough challenge you can take on a whole season (17 races in all) in full simulation mode where everything is the same as real life.

Other game modes include a team-mate challenge ( race your team mate till you've beaten him then move on up to another team) and domination (where you must finish first in order to progress).

One novelty is the addition of fully interactive pit stops. You must get the braking spot on, keep the car in neutral until told to hit first, then adhere to the pit lane speed limit. Getting it right can shave vital seconds from a stop.

Car set-up is equally comprehensive. Anyone without a working knowledge of F1 will be baffled by terms like "bump stop" "ride height" and "spring rate." Anoraks will love it.

Graphics-wise it looks the business. Not quite as lush as the PC variant but sharp and colourful all the same. The pit stops, in particular, are a huge advance over previous versions and the weather effects, like the reflections cast by the cars in deep puddles, are top notch.

On the PC, F1 2001 must overcome the challenge of Grand Prix 3 - still the benchmark by which all other F1 sims are judged - if it is to be the leading Grand Prix simulation. In terms of attention to detail, Geoff Cammond's GP3 still has the upper hand but the EA title hits back with its up-to-date stats and superior visual sheen.

Anyone remotely interested in racing cars will already have a F1 game in their console collection. The question is: does F1 2001 have what it takes to warrant further outlay?

On the PS2, where competition is thinner on the ground, the answer is yes. PC owners may wish to review some of the games already available before making their purchasing decision.

CHEAT OF THE WEEK

Another enjoyable driving game on the PC is Grand Theft Auto 2. To enable cheat mode enter Gouranga as a name then type Godofgta during the game for all weapons.

GIZMO OF THE WEEK

FRESH from her outing with the "Moulin Rouge", Pink is the latest artist to join the HitClips (correct) pop revolution with two new tracks - Most Girls and There You Go.

The brain wave of Harrogate-based Tiger Electronics, HitClips are groovy little solid state music players that don't cost a packet.

Granted, each chip only plays 60 seconds of music and you can't re-record like an MP3 player. On the plus side, the solid-state circuitry means they are virtually indestructible and the sound is surprisingly good.

Tiger hopes music mad youngsters will start a collecting craze, similar to its other best seller, Pokemon.

The chips cost £3.99 each and the players are available from £7.99. You can even pick up a nifty little FM radio tuner. Pink isn't the only artist to join the HitClips revolution. Other artists include Dream, Usher and Destiny's Child.

Coming soon are the HitClips Groove Machine, with a karaoke function, and the amazing sounding HitClips Watch.

Published: Saturday, October 13th, 2001