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A must have for racing fans

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: October 03, 2000
Author: Amazon User

If you've played (and played and played) the arcade version of F355, you'll be pleasantly surprised. Many games don't make the jump too well from coin-op to console, but this does. A wheel adds a LOT to this game, but it is playable with the stick. One caveat: this game isn't Speed Devils. The cars react like real cars (brakes aren't like dropping an anchor, doesn't handle like an F1 car, etc) so a bit of driving skill is required to master it. (It might even be a good game for that 15yo about to get a license for that very reason!) I'd go on, but it's calling me from across the room...

great racing sim

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: October 17, 2000
Author: Amazon User

Like the previous reviewer said, if your looking for a easy racing game stick with the Rush, or Crazy Taxi. I never had the chance to play F355 in the arcade first hand so I'm going off of what experience I have with pervious games. The game is very realisitc, in sence of making a hair pin turn will require you to slow down to 35mph. Another thing about this game is the physics of the game feel more realistic, like hitting a wall from coming in too fast in a corner. Most games will just bounce you off the wall, while in F355 you will feel "stuck". Some might thing this is a bad thing, but it keep the people who just bounce down the track from winning without any skills.

Overall it's a very nice game, many beautiful tracks, including my favorite, Laguna Seca (need to unlock from start). The only bad things I can think of are, 1- limited cars, which isn't a bad thing just need to point out, and 2- no other view options. Since this porting is so close to the arcade any fan of sims or cars will have a great time playing this game.

Just remeber to practice the tracks a few times before racing aganist the computer cars!

Thank God for Ferraries!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: December 12, 2001
Author: Amazon User

When a good programming team sets out a goal to set a precedence for a driving game, they should look at this game.
If you love driving games, and I know that you always wanted to drive a Ferrary F355, this is it.
I love the engine sound. Very realistic driving experience but not too harsh to make it impossible to drive.
You will know when one of your tires is skidding or missing contact from the asphalt.
Driving is all done on race tracks. Some are on oval circuits and some are on Grand Prix Circuits. Challenge yourself to unleash more tracks! I have MSR, Test Drive V-Rally, and Sega Rally2 besides this game.
It may very well be the best driving game on DC! Enuff Said!

This game has nothing new

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: January 15, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I bought this game then took it home and played it for the first time. I got excited when the flashy start screen came up, but from there on I just got more disappointed. As far as I can tell, there is only one car you can race in... hence it is the "F355 Challenge" The tracks are boring, I like having a few bumps and obstacles in the way, it wouldn't have hurt to put a few spots where your car goes airborn. The tracks have none of this. They only have straight aways and hairpin turns. Another thing I disliked about racing is that you can never seem to catch up to the race leader. Also the control is poor and the collision physics are lame.

To sum up, The game looks impressive and plays fluid. But a limited choice of boring tracks, lame collision physics, and only one car, which you can only "customize" by changing its color makes this game a loser. It would be a mistake to pay full price for this game. Rent it first and see for yourself.

P.S. If you really want to buy this game, you can buy mine.

Great looking racing game, but VERY difficult

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: June 28, 2002
Author: Amazon User

With all the racing games in the world, the ones that are usually on the top of fan lists are the ones developed by Sega legend Yu Suzuki. With excellent racing titles like Daytona USA under his belt, it was only logical that his latest racing simulator would be nothing short of magnificent. With three racing styles and online play, things were looking bright. Did he succeed? Well...

On one hand, this is one of the finest looking games on the Dreamcast, even though the revolutionary triple screen arcade view had to be dropped due to TV screen limitations, and to a lesser extent, hardware limitations. With no pop-up, draw-in, or slowdown whatsoever, the game runs at a smooth 60 frames per second and never slows down. The downside is, you always feel like you are driving slower than the speedometer says. If it says 175, it only feels like 95-100. Another bad part is that there is no damage modeling. Even if you hit a wall at 170 mph, your car bounces right off, looking like it came straight from the showroom.

On the other hand, this is, by far, the most difficult racing game I have ever played. And I have played a lot of them. Unlike most racing games, where your car is much faster than the competitions', your rivals here go about the same speed, so passing is a matter of luck, not skill. I guess Suzuki-san wanted the most realistic competition on the market, but this is ridiculous.

Another letdown is the sound. With Daytona, the music was so bad it was good. That is not the case here. The songs themselves aren't really bad, but there are only three of them and they're short, so they repeat often, especially during endurance races.
And that announcer... oh man. That should explain it right there.

There are also online races, but you don't actually race other people, you just race their ghosts from previous runs.

You can also pick any view you want, as long as its in the one spot behind the wheel.

Overall, this is a decent game. You might want to pick is up if you are a rabid racing fan, or just want to drive a Ferarri For less than (this costs). Every one else, beware. CD's shatter when you break them.

Not much, but what's here is nearly perfect

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: June 29, 2002
Author: Amazon User

The premise is simple: one car, a set of 11 total tracks, cockpit view, few customization options. Other than the Ferrari license, this is a fairly weak premise on paper, especially compared to the sheer number of cars and types of racing available in Gran Turismo 2 and A Spec. What makes this game special is that though it offers little variety, what it does provide, it does extremely well.

This game is an attempt to be a simulator for the Ferrari F355. As such, the physics model is considerably more difficult (and more accurate) than what you will find in any other console racing game, the Gran Turismo series included.

All races feature heats of eight identically prepared F355 cars. Unlike GT or other games that allow you to enter a race with a car that gives you a competitive advantage over the computer, F355 forces you to beat the competition by outdriving them on equal terms. In the Gran Turismo series of games where the physics engines are a little forgiving, and chicanes may be jumped, other cars may be "leaned on" in the corners, or the median can be used to force your car to turn sharper than it normally would, you can run away from the computer competition even with identical cars. F355's physics engine is much, MUCH less forgiving, the computer cars all seem to have at least somewhat of an advantage accelerating, and the computer competition will occasionally block or bounce you. In short, like real racing, you'll be need to slowly close in on your competition over the course of a long race and then stay out of the dirt to maintain your lead.

Additionally, the courses, though small in total number, feature an excellent variety, ranging from superspeedways (Motegi and Atlanta Motor Speedway), power tracks (Monza), technical tracks (Suzuka, Laguna Seca, Nurburgring, and Sepang), and historically significant tracks (Monza, Laguna Seca, Long Beach, Suzuka, Nurburgring). All said, it's a surprisingly great and well thought out collection.

On the down side, this is easily the most demanding racing game I have played on a console, and unlike nearly every other console racing game, it offers few rewards early on. Expect to lose and lose often. Indeed, winning the short length races (2 to 3 laps) is nearly impossible to do without extremely aggressive and flawless driving AND a whole lot of luck. The mid length races are at least winnable. There is an excellent interactive driving tutorial system that shows the racing and braking lines for each track, but this only helps so much, and is only somewhat rewarding.

Additionally, the Dreamcast controller is simply not ideal for racing games. The throw of the joystick is too short and too tightly sprung to offer the type of precision that the analogue PS controllers do. As F355 is less forgiving than other racing games, the Dreamcast controller is a bit of a handicap. A second gripe is that the rumble-pack support isn't nearly as refined as the rest of the game. With Gran Turismo and Test Drive LeMans, you can get a feel for what your car is doing on the track through the controller's feedback. In F355, very little feedback is given (if any) when you gain or lose traction or brake too hard, again, making the game more difficult than necessary.

That said, if you are a bona-fide racing junkie, have the aptitude to conquer racing sims, and have the patience to do so, I have no hesitation in recommending this purchase. However, this game is not for everyone. It is brutally difficult, and frankly, offers few rewards or encouragement. It is, however, honest, pure, and nearly perfect at what it does.

I can't stop crying!!

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 0 / 5
Date: April 14, 2001
Author: Amazon User

I absolutely love racing games, and I've never given bad reviews about a game before, until now. I was heartbroken when I rated this game 2 stars (the graphics and my passion of racing games had keep it from being given a 1 star rating). The game is not all that bad, it is not all that great either. The racing needs more speed, it feels that I am racing in slow motion. More cars to choose from would be nice, and along with more courses. Is that so much to ask... (I'm getting teary eyed again).

This game sucks

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 0 / 6
Date: June 25, 2001
Author: Amazon User

If u like nascar or in other words redneck games this is for u. But if u would rather choose more than 1 sorry car pick Tokyo Xtreme racer it is much better and not as rednecky. NASCAR fans go ahead but street racing fans stay away.

Murdock's review

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 1 / 5
Date: August 10, 2001
Author: Amazon User

The game has good graphics, but the game play... how can I put this........it sucks and. you cant even change views.

Great game

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: November 22, 2000
Author: Amazon User

F355 is an excellent car racing game. The driving sensations are really near to what you can have in the real driving. Just try this game and buy it, you won't regret. The only bad thing for me is that the computer level may be too high for novices but that's all. Sorry for my american spoken level, I'm french. So to finish I give 4 stars to this game because I think perfection doesn't exist.

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