FERRARI FORMULA ONE

 Having finally been awarded a Lotus Turbo Esprit following a recent "test
drive," I was feeling quite confident as I pulled into a disk drive-in,
somewhere near Fiorano. My appointment was with Mauro, who was to introduce me
to Electronic Arts' FERRARI FORMULA ONE. Mauro was waiting for me (a bit
difficult to spot -- Mauro is an icon and only about 4 millimeters in height).
My name is Pip; I'm a reviewer. (This review is based on the Amiga version;
IBM-PC version notes follow.)

 "Formula One racing is a multi-million dollar sport," said Mauro as we entered
the Paddock area. "Of course, you won't be interested in the mechanics of the
sport," he mocked in his rough silicon accent. "Put away that instruction manual
and let's go for a ride."

 I handled the track like a pro. Not a drop of effort did it cost me, nor did I
once slip up. That's because Mauro was driving. He was showing me the track,
explaining that in the real sport there was only a very short time to get to
know the track. Fiorano is not part of the actual Grand Prix circuit. It's a
home base where a driver learns how to race and use special equipment. The
Fiorano track was not for beginners, however. It had its share of tight curves,
although never any other drivers.

 When it was my turn to take the mouse, Mauro cautioned me that the car was
"very responsive." This was true. Within a few seconds of my lurching start, we
found ourselves off to the side facing a patch of grass. Mauro's eyes smoldered.
He said "_This_ is not WORD PERFECT. _This_ is not ARKANOID. Just watch how you
move that mouse!"

 I took the hint. But just as I was beginning to handle the road almost as well
as I was handling the lawn, I was towed to the pit. "A $60,000 engine, and you
burned her right out!" (Mauro was enjoying this.) "Sixty grand, right down the
old trash icon!"

 The pit, however, was not set up to replace the engine. Rather than head for
the garage, Mauro agreed to patch up the old engine, although he swore it
wouldn't last another hour. Immediately, I made a backup copy of my FERRARI
FORMULA ONE disk, which only requires the master (key) disk to be inserted once
when booted (my reasoning was that this way I would never run out of engines,
but my fears were groundless as there is no shortage of them even at $60,000 a
piece).

 While Mauro labored, I examined the gear box, tires, suspension system, and
wings. I had quietly regained possession of my instruction manual and discovered
that each system was represented by a menu of settings, and that each setting
was ideal for a certain type of track or weather condition. The documentation
supplied with FERRARI is annoyingly thin and should have included more
information for the beginner. Mauro is quick to point out that this is no
oversight, but rather a way of assuring beginners that very little technical
knowledge is necessary to get into the program and race (and that if I did not
care for _that_ explanation, I would surely be the recipient of a lug wrench in
the face).

 I also managed to sneak into the dyno room where adjustable factors such as
turboboost, speed, age (adjustable only in one direction!), and ROM (a computer
chip which determines fuel/air ratio) can be varied to see the results on engine
output. The dyno room, as well as the wind tunnel, are only available at
Fiorano. The wind tunnel is used to set the angle of the Ferrari's wings.

 That afternoon, Mauro and I were back on the track and I was beginning to
master the sensitive mouse/steering wheel. Driving the Ferrari is an intense
experience: You are very close to the road, which comes at you darn fast. The
straight sections are thrilling, but navigating the tight curves requires all
the concentration you can muster. The shifting view of buildings, signs, and
grandstands in the background is nicely effective. Under wet skies, the track
becomes a real killer -- slick as ice. Fortunately, Mauro selected tires
appropriate for the condition of the track. Strangely enough, no matter how
forcefully I skidded, I always ended up facing the proper direction. Driving
down the track in the wrong direction simply was not possible.

 Having made this much progress, I resolved to enter the Grand Prix circuit. We
boarded a plane for Rio where the first of 16 tracks is located. The tracks vary
in length and complexity. A racing event includes two practice runs, two
qualifying races, a warm-up, and the race itself. Unfortunately, I crashed into
another driver during the first practice session, and was laid up for a week.
Mauro nursed the Ferrari back to health while I recovered.

                               *  *  *

 Since those early days, things have changed for me. I've learned to drive
without crashing and burning. I can modify the Ferrari intelligently, even
though Mauro still makes suggestions. Other drivers are more skillful, and my
car parts wear out more quickly. I also have to shift gears manually, but that's
no problem...only my accelerator finger on the mouse is beginning to ache a bit
(races can last an hour or more).

 Mauro and I are good friends now, and I wouldn't have missed out on FERRARI
FORMULA ONE for the world.

 FERRARI FORMULA ONE was designed and programmed by Rick Koenig. I reviewed the
game on an Amiga 1000 (512K required).

 IBM-PC VERSION NOTES

 The IBM-PC version of FERRARI FORMULA ONE is just as detailed and thorough a
simulation of Grand Prix racing as the original Amiga version, but it sacrifices
a lot in playability.

 Control is by keyboard, mouse, or joystick. Mouse control offers four levels of
sensitivity, no one of which is really desirable. The joystick is probably the
best method of control, although it's too sensitive and cannot be adjusted.
Given time (a lot of time), you'll get used to either of these methods;
nevertheless, control could and should be better.

 Other problems with game play: The other cars are absurdly large, making it
difficult to see the track ahead, and seemingly impossible to execute a pass.
The cars appear to fully occupy three-quarters of the track width, although they
actually do not. Learning how the cars are truly defined by the program (as
opposed to their visual representations) is yet another initial obstacle.
Furthermore, the cars are far too small in your mirrors, which leads to
unexpected bumps from behind.

 Sound is nothing short of horrible, making it very difficult to judge shift
points without actually looking at the tachometer. Even then, the fourth- to
fifth-gear shift remains difficult, since you must actually rev the engine
beyond the tach's limit to keep it high enough in the power band for fifth.
There's no audio or visual cue for this. You just have to guess, although this
too becomes easier over time. Finally, keyboard response to shifting commands is
unreliable, and the sound problem makes it difficult to confirm a shift without
actually looking at the indicator.

 Copy protection is manual-based, but it's done in a somewhat annoying manner.
Rather than get the protection out of the way when you first start the program,
it waits until you reenter the pits for the first time. The protection itself
consists of looking up a track outline in the manual and providing a piece of
information about it.

 Aside from control sensitivity, none of the problems mentioned above were
present in the Amiga version. Other developers have obtained far better results
from the IBM platform, so I rate this a poor conversion. However, FERRARI
FORMULA ONE still remains the only serious attempt at a true racing simulation
for any computer. Thus, hard-core racing fans will probably enjoy the IBM
version, warts and all. Those less interested in the intricacies of the sport
will likely find this program too frustrating.

 Note: Two bugs (that I never encountered on my hardware) have been reported.
The lesser of the two is a machine lock-up when using the wind tunnel. The more
serious is improper scoring of race results. Electronic Arts has indicated they
have no intention of tracking down and/or fixing these bugs, so you would be
well advised to purchase from a retailer who will allow you to return the game
if these problems show up on your system.

 FERRARI FORMULA ONE is published and distributed by Electronic Arts.

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