Grand Prix II

The Good
Formula 1 Grand Prix / World Circuit was a classic simulation, bringing Formula 1 to life with unprecedented detail. The sequel basically does the same using later technology. Visually it's superb, especially if you've got a Pentium level system and can run the high-resolution graphics. The texture-mapped sky is especially stunning.

The range of difficulty levels and driver aids allow everyone from Schumacher to Delatraz to find a level they can compete at, with the process of gradually removing each aid as you imprve meaning that the challenge never stops.

The handling of the cars is precise, with car setup handled in amazing detail. By just using brake balances, gear ratios and wing downforce, you can get a setup capable of winning at a medium difficulty level, but the dampers, springs, roll-bar and the like allow astounding precision.

If you just want an exciting action game based around F1, this is more than up to the job as well - low difficulty with all the aids, 10% race distance, from the back of the grid. If you want the full deal - car setups, full length races with pitstops and tyre/fuel strategies, the chance of mechanical failures - you can get that too.

The game has an internet community beyond almost any other, with a myriad range of improvements available, including most of the world's great racetracks - Laguna Seca and Bathurst are especially nice.

The Bad
The lack of wet weather racing was a shame, but there was still plenty to master. Internet patches came along to have a similar effect though.

The Bottom Line
Not necessarily for the casual player, Geoff Crammond's aim was to recreate every detail of the most expensive sport in the world, giving something to sink your teeth into over a long period of time. And he achieved it.

The Good
As one of the reviews from magazines featured here states, and the disclaimer goes to them and so does the credit of doing the aforementioned review, "alles ist beinahe perfekt", which is German for everything is almost perfect. And this is what I think too. The level of simulation for a game which was launched in 1996 is astonishing, the car failures, the possibilities of set-up that the car has, the information after any race, etc.

The option to have different graphic modes to choose is a plus, because back when I was three years old ('96) not everybody could afford computers as easily as now and GP2 was relatively demanding in its SVGA mode, so a traditional VGA mode was included.

The Bad
The fact that the game came out two years later than the season it did represent is a contra for the game, but it does not take away its greatness, rather it reflects a trend among F1 games of the era consisting in releasing them after the season they simulated, but in this case, it took a bit too much. F1 '95 was available for PS and PC in the same 1996 year, but there was no F1 1996 for any platform except N64.

The Bottom Line
Even 26 years after being released, it keeps being awesome. Also, the game is still very active with all the mod community. Having mods as far as 2021.

The Good
Maybe it's just nostalgia, but if I find myself still playing this game in 2024, considering the progress the industry made with graphics and playability, it probably means something. Everything is perfect in this game: it's easy if you play easy, it's dramatically tough if you are a racing aficionado willing to find the optimal carset. Highly customizable, AI great for the era, great replayability and perfect physics. The car responds to your every input and every slight modification you try when it comes to finding the right balance, you can also feel very well the tyre degradation, the slipstream effect and you have to be EXTREMELY careful when trying to push because one inch too far and you lose time due to a high kerb or (worse) the deadly gravel trap.

The Bad
It's really hard to find something bad about this game, but probably the only major thing the game misses (so, technically, nothing bad) is the possibility to race under the rain: it's always sunny in the world of GP2. Minor flaws are represented by the tendency of the car to follow a "predefined" line when racing giving you sometimes little chances to take a different line and in a few tracks here and there there are some spots that need to be avoided because they trigger some behaviour in the car that is against the laws of physics (like the internal kerb before the last chicane in Canada). But, seriously, nothing actually bad, only some minor flaws that the casual player will never notice.

The Bottom Line
An absolute masterpiece for everyone who loves F1. If you have never played because you're too young or because you missed it when it came out, go and get it and enjoy some REAL racing.