User Reviews (1 - 11 of 20)

Show these reviews first:

Highest Rated
Lowest Rated Newest
Oldest Most Helpful
Least Helpful

GP4 - The Best F1 Racing Simulator

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 18 / 20
Date: June 18, 2002
Author: Amazon User

...Now its GP4 time. And there are serious changes. For short, GP4 is, by far, the best GPx title of all times.
Most people will rave about the graphics, but I rave about the handling. Previous GP titles had a too strong feeling of railway driving - you never felt that there was absolute freedom on your hands. Sure you could shake the car to the whole left, and to the whole right, but there were occasions when the car just slightly snapped the other way. I am remembering Silverstone's first slow chicane, when you would always spin as soon as the car's rear glitched - now you can hold it, if you know how...

But graphics are the most obvious change. GP4 now renders the most realistic presentation of the real thing. Tracks are modelled on GPS data (a first!) and the sense of speed is awesome. I don't know if it is a "feature" or just a consequence of the LOD handling (LOD = Level of detail), but the horizon blurs or slightly narrows, as you reach extreme speeds. Silverstone is yet another great example: when approaching (190 mph) the initial fast left-right-left sequence, you won't see the curbs has defined as on previous racing games. But as you brake to the dive (left) to the inner straight, the curbs become perfectly visible. Please note that these are very subtle and natural nuances!
One graphical thing a bit too spectacular, is the car's reflections. For example, the Prosts (intense blue cars) will become cyan, under clear skies. There is a reflections option on the graphics setup, but it doesn't correct this. Somehow, the other cars seem less afected.

The changeable weather system is now usable; ie, it doesn't cause a tremendous performance hit. It is highly enjoyable to plan a wet qualifying session, as the time goes by, the sky clears and the track dries! It feels absolutely real and it doesn't cost you half of the frame rate.

Sound is superb and - for once! - you will tolerate the other cars' audio (set it to some 40%). Adversaries will buzz by, but won't silent your own engine :).

Back to the handling issue, the bottom line is that with a good steering wheel (I use and recommend Microsoft's Sidewinder), with everything set to analog and no aids, you'll have a damn responsive F1 that can be saved where it would previously spin, as soon as you learn that, to drive fast, there will be times to brake AND accelerate simultaneously. This greater responsiveness goes great with force feedback, and it makes it easier to lap fast with a poor setup.

Some will argue that the new GP4 handling, makes it harder to spot car's setup differences, but I see it has a bonus for the gifted drivers, who will have a true chance of using their skills to overcome a not so good F1.
The best of the best times will be scored by skilled and setup wise people. Now it won't suffice to donwload the best car setup from the Internet, to approach the king's league - you'll have to sweat a bit more...

Your CPU adversaries are a good opposition that will fight to hold their places, but won't be as good on overtaking maneuvres. The CPU boys are careful on not getting trapped, but aren't afraid to put you in a position where you'll crash, or not win their spot. Things become much harder when fighting for the top six.

Other "minor" changes are the 3D animated pit crew and marshalls, the waving spectators' flags, the black flag for false starts, and new camera angles.

GP4 is a superb racing title - the best F1 simulator I've ever played, except for Grand Prix Legends. However, the game physics is still a bit far from Papyrus' standards and I wonder what [they]could do with a F1 License. Just imagine Nascar 2002 (the current pinnacle of PC simulators) translated to the F1 world...

Excellent

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 12 / 12
Date: December 01, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I have been playing the GP series since GP2. They just keep getting better. GP4 didn't disappoint me. I have had no problems installing or running the game. For those who have, a patch and a FAQ are now available ...

The most noticeable improvement of GP4 over GP3 is that the tracks are now synthesized from GPS data. The bumpiness is more evident and the elevation changes very apparent. Use of a Force Feedback wheel adds a great deal to the experience. The focus of the Force Feedback in GP4 is on providing feedback on what the car is doing. For example you won't feel the wheel vibrate over rumble strips, but you will feel the back end of the car step out if you step on the gas too hard. It's quite amazing. Be sure to switch the "Centering Force" of the FF wheel off, or you won't feel this kind of effect.

GP4 is for people who want a racing simulation more than for gamers looking for a quick thrill. GP4 attempts to provide the skill challenge of driving an F1 car. Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on your heart condition) nothing can simulate the phyisical stresses of driving one. If you want to try driving an F1 car for little money, this is the one.

WOW! What an improvement!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: October 03, 2002
Author: Amazon User

...

The graphics improvement characteristics are a great improvement over GP3 and I was astonished! The amount of menus to work with controllers, graphics and sound is excellent. The racing has never been better. The tracks are all here and the handling has improved over GP3. Most of all I was impressed with the graphics and the menus. The console/menu is very easy to navigate and seems a bit easier to follow versus the GP3 version. Testing, saving races, creating seasons, setups and other records are saved which is nothing different but is still carried forward from GP3. Again, with the graphics, I was most impressed. The amount of details at the tracksides where incredible and the computer never locked or shuttered with all of the cars on the tracks and was flawless. My system is a Windows ME 1 Gig Pentium with 512 ram and a 4400 NVidia G-Force card. The pixels disappeared and the graphics were very smooth unlike GP3 with the same system. The pixels or squareness of GP3 (which wasn't much anyway) certainly disappeared and I that's what impressed me the most.

As far as handling, nothing too new. The collisions and force-feedback wasn't anything new. It all remained the same. The designers want you to understand what 800 plus horsepower feels like in a 1300 pound car and they certainly have grabbed that. I highly recommend this new game and can't wait to see what GP5 turns to out to be. What gets me is the time taken to get all of the details at these tracks worldwide and most of all, the game doesn't have silly bugs in it like Papyrus' Nascar 4 or 2002. Now, if only these guys could make a Nascar game... 5 STARS!!

Itýs simply the best!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 9
Date: June 12, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I'm a big fan of Formula 1 games, and the Grand Prix series is the best out there. And with this addition of the saga, it promises realistic, intense and great-looking ever accomplished.

The only thing that beats this F1 game is the car itself !!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: September 26, 2003
Author: Amazon User

This game is awesome!! Accurate detail, and if you have a steering wheel with forcefeedback, you will be hooked to this game for days!! Has over 10 different views, and awesome radio and engine sounds. Some people say that it doesn't feel like your going at 200 MPH, but there is no way YOU could control the car at that speed. But if you insist, all you have to do is download the PC Patch. Has all drivers and circuits from 2001. Also has a section on F1 setups, pitstops and engines. Has video to back it up! If you are a true F1 fan, you must get this game.

Grand Prix 4 - The best F1 Sim by a mile

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: January 12, 2004
Author: Amazon User

This is not so much a review as a piece of advice. It's a real shame that so many people seem to have had serious trouble running this game. Up and running properly, its gameplay and graphics are breathtaking - it makes EA'S F1 series look and feel ten years old. However it seems to be only really happy running on Nvidia's Geforce 4 graphics. Next time you upgrade go for one of these, make sure you've got the latest drivers, fire-up GP4, and be amazed. If you want a full review, go to pcgamereview.com and see what I had to say there.

Best racing sim... ever

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: September 05, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I don't know why 'reviewer' J. Oglesbee goes on about F1 2002. This is a different game.

Anyway.. GP4 is simply THE best racing simulator I've ever seen or played. I don't know why people seem to have problems with the game. Admittedly you need to install the official patch to fix some of the bugs. But installation is easy.

The cars sits ON the track - it doesn't hover or float. When I first installed it, it was on my Athlon 750MHz with a GeForce 2 Ultra. Turning the detail down a bit gave me no problems, it ran well and gave a sense of SPEED.

With my latest upgrade, I've got an Athlon 2500XP-M with a GeForce FX 5900XT. The game runs beautifully with full graphic detail.

You can now buy this game in shops for around a tenner (around $15 I should think), and I highly recommend it. The only drawbacks are that they couldn't get the FIA licence to allow multiplayer over the internet (multiplayer over a LAN is possible though), and the fact that there will be no GP5.

Best F1 simulation so far

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: September 14, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I've had 4 F1 GP simulation in the last 10 years or so, and I have to say that this generation is the most realistic and fun to drive. After reading some reviews about configuration problems, I was a bit concerned, but did not have any issues getting the game up and running. However, did have problems configurating the game with Microsoft sidewinder USB, to get the paddles and brakes to work properly.

F1 2002 EA Sports

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 15 / 19
Date: January 09, 2003
Author: Amazon User

F1 2002 is probably the best and most realistic racing simulator available. If you can master it, you will be rewarded with an experience as close to the real racing experience as you can get. This is especially true if you can play in front of a large high quality wide screen HDTV and a good sound system. It will leave you worn out, just as the real experience does. After racing professionally for over 30 years, I find this game terrific. The learning curve is very high and the options are daunting. If you start slowly and progress systematically you can do it! The manual is poor in explaining what all the possible changes actually do or even how to do them. Setting up instructions for the controller, wheel- keyboard or pad, is especially lacking in detail. A good wheel is certainly necessary for any real effort. Would you try to drive your car with a left/right arrow key? At racing speeds? The two Logitech Momo wheel sets are excellent and most apprpriate for this game. The cheaper one is, argueably, even the best, although properly mounting the things may require a hammer and nails!

CoyotePuma Races Grand Prix 4

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: November 28, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Grand Prix 4 disappointed me. Of F1 2001, Grand Prix 3, and Grand Prix 4, I keep returning to Grand Prix 3. Grand Prix 4 has a fancier look, but the setup lost me. Game play was about the same as Grand Prix 3. I was hoping for more. Internet play would have been a real plus, but the game developer apparently still hasn't seen the need.

Review Page: 1 2 Next 

Actions