F1 Challenge 99–02

Irony Can at times be pretty, well, ironic really. Adorning the cover of F1 Challenge 99-02 is none other than Colombian 'bad boy' racer Juan Pablo Montoya, no doubt decided upon before the recent revoking of his driving licence for speeding. And funnily enough, just as Montoya's licence has expired, so too has EA's licence to make money simulating the world of Formula One, with F1 Challenge representing the last time digital drivers will hear the annoying "E! A! Sports! It's in the game!" sneered at them before they start fiddling with their camshafts.

Not Any More It Isn't

EA's decision to quit the F1 sim business has left it with one final throw of the dice and rather than make a concerted attempt to go out on a massive high, it has instead opted to bung together a sort of compilation of the previous year's efforts and shove it out of the door post haste so as to get on with other projects. What's particularly galling is that the effort was actually made over in console land, with F1 Career Challenge (the non-PC incarnation of this last outing) letting you earn your stripes as a rookie driver, progress through the ranks, sign deals with teams and even design your own helmet colours.

Here in PC world (no relation), all we get is the same game as seen in the previous four yearly updates with nothing more than seasonal team and track data better engine sounds and updated graphics to appease us. No career mode, no seasonal progression options, nothing. Hardly fair n'est pas? Especially since it was the PC community that made EA's F1 series what it was in the first place.

Call A Doctor

Being the same game means the actual racing experience hasn't changed, although that's no bad thing as the series has always been good in that department, although you really need a steering wheel and pedals to get the most out of it (not that true racing fans are lacking those).

Yep, the racing side of things is identical to F1 2002 (it should be, it's practically the same game engine). The problem is most of you will already have bought one of the previous incarnations and as such, have no reason to buy this one. If you are an F1 virgin then I could probably recommend this to you. but it would be through a mouthful of gritted teeth and with the bile of injustice building up steadily in my liver.