Andretti Racing OR F1 Challenge OR Virtua Racing?

[sych]

Okay fresh polls of the week. We have karting wars on this duel: Andretti Racing vs F1 Challenge vs Virtua Racing. Which do you prefer? Pick one and explain below.

ANDRETTI RACING



F1 CHALLENGE



VIRTUA RACING

[dtss]

Tough one for me.
I loved all these games growing up and had them all in my collection.
They all offered a very different experience.
F1 was a fantastic arcade game. But I must admit, being a F1 fan I was very jealous of my mate who had a PS1 and Formula 1 97. That game was simply amazing for the time and still plays great today. F1 on the Saturn was good for a quick play but was a pretty shallow game with limited tracks and drivers.

Virtua Racing looked great (for the time) and offered a deeper experience with a career mode and while I loved it, career mode was tedious at times having to do 20 laps when you where clearly in front after 2.

Andretti Racing was my answer to F1 on the PS1. While Indy car is no where near as popular and while it didn't look anywhere near as good, this game imo had fantastic gameplay. Challenging but not impossible tracks. Good AI and fantastic handling. Probably my favourite EA game.

So my vote goes to Andretti Racing.

[sych]

I have to go with F1 Challenge. It handles so well with the controller or arcade steering wheel, you actually feel you're controlling a Formula 1 car. Love the authentic sound of the engine to and the fact you can modify front and back rear and tyres e.t.c in the pits. Still haven't figured out what tyre Type c and Tyre D is but that's a small niggle. I actually don't mind the fact there are 6 tracks, afterall that's more than Sega Rally and a few other racers. Also looks stunning to play, provided I disable the rear view mirror.

[captainkael]

F1 Challenge all the way. One of the first games I played when I bought my Saturn and one of my favs. Not the deepest game and having the rear view on is painful now that it has been pointed out to me, but that music! Also, I love beating this game without pit stopping once, drifty last 2 laps are the best.

[sych]

Bumping this one up as it could do with a few more votes. So far F1 and Virtua Racing are tied.

[captainkael]

Someone else other than me voted for F1 challenge? New favourite member

All joking aside, I'm surprised it actually got a vote from someone else.

[sych]

Aug 18, 2017 19:01:18 GMT captainkael said:

Someone else other than me voted for F1 challenge? New favourite member

All joking aside, I'm surprised it actually got a vote from someone else.

lol I'm your new favorite member then. One of my favorite Saturn racers. F1 Challenge was where my obsession with the Arcade Steering Wheel happened and it handled like a dream. I can still beat the majority of the courses on a control pad but the Arcade Racer is where it's at. Its a great racing game. The only thing I find bizzare is the tyre choices in the pit, still can't work them out.

[darkman01]

I keep hearing mixed things on F1 challenge, is it any good?


 

[dtss]

Aug 19, 2017 8:19:45 GMT darkman01 said:

I keep hearing mixed things on F1 challenge, is it any good?


 

It depends what you're after.
If you're after a quick pick up and play arcade game that's fun but doesn't have a lot of depth like Sega Rally/Daytona, you will enjoy it.

However if you're after a racing SIM (as I was back in 1997) you may be a little disappointed. Not saying it's a bad game, it's not but Being a F1 I really, REALLY wanted what Playstation Owners had with F1 97. Amazing game.

[pocketpocket]

I've played all of these but I don't remember any of them really leaving an impact. F1 Challenge immediately turned me off with the ridiculous amount of laps you had to do, the last thing the racing game genre needs is even more repetition. Virtua Racing was fun as a little bit of SEGA history but for a Saturn port of one of the earliest 3D games ever with the same early low-poly graphics, why does it not run smoother with an actual consistent frame-rate? SEGA Rally looks amazing and it runs miles smoother than Virtua Racing. As for Andretti Racing, I owned it, but by that point I was oversaturated by the amount of racing games I had already played on Saturn so I never gave it as much of a chance. I remember it actually being fairly decent, but wasn't enough to grab me at the time.

I think I'm leaning towards Virtua Racing though. Yeah, the technical issues hold it back a lot and are pretty inexcusable for the Saturn, but it has it's own unique identity that I can remember it by and it used this port to really flesh itself out with way more tracks.

[captainkael]

Aug 18, 2017 21:36:03 GMT sych said:

Aug 18, 2017 19:01:18 GMT captainkael said:

Someone else other than me voted for F1 challenge? New favourite member

All joking aside, I'm surprised it actually got a vote from someone else.

lol I'm your new favorite member then. One of my favorite Saturn racers. F1 Challenge was where my obsession with the Arcade Steering Wheel happened and it handled like a dream. I can still beat the majority of the courses on a control pad but the Arcade Racer is where it's at. Its a great racing game. The only thing I find bizzare is the tyre choices in the pit, still can't work them out.

Sych! My main man! So happy to see another fan of F1 Challenge. Most of the reviews online are so negative. It is amazing how much the performance of the game changes with or without the rear view mirror on.

I find the pit stops take too long so I just grind it out using the same tires for 8 laps. Those last 3 are real slippery. I should really get one of those arcade racers but they are expensive to ship.

[sych]

Aug 19, 2017 17:18:42 GMT captainkael said:

Aug 18, 2017 21:36:03 GMT sych said:

lol I'm your new favorite member then. One of my favorite Saturn racers. F1 Challenge was where my obsession with the Arcade Steering Wheel happened and it handled like a dream. I can still beat the majority of the courses on a control pad but the Arcade Racer is where it's at. Its a great racing game. The only thing I find bizzare is the tyre choices in the pit, still can't work them out.

Sych! My main man! So happy to see another fan of F1 Challenge. Most of the reviews online are so negative. It is amazing how much the performance of the game changes with or without the rear view mirror on.

I find the pit stops take too long so I just grind it out using the same tires for 8 laps. Those last 3 are real slippery. I should really get one of those arcade racers but they are expensive to ship.

I actually don't mind the pit stops. It's such a marvel to ride with super grip tyres that changing them half way through is a small price to pay.

I've been looking at the JPN version online recently which is F1 live Imformation of course. I'm curious to know if the commentary can be turned off during races. Also do you have any idea what Grand Prix mode is? Can't see any online videos of that mode in play.

[sych]

Aug 19, 2017 8:19:45 GMT darkman01 said:

I keep hearing mixed things on F1 challenge, is it any good?


 

I absolutely love it. Must be played with the 3D Pad or Steering Wheel though. Like Dtss says, it's doesn't have a lot of depth. The JPN version has a Grand Prix mode which I've been trying to figure what it entails and Japanese commentary. The PAL version has cool music but unoptimised so 60hz is crucial.

[tempest]

I've only played VR of this lot, so it gets my vote by default. Sure, it has a lot of unnecessary technical limitations for such a primitive looking game, but it's still really fun to play and has a great selection of tracks. The Grand Prix mode is a welcome edition but is far too easy. VR is a guilty pleasure of mine.

[captainkael]

Aug 23, 2017 23:11:16 GMT sych said:

Aug 19, 2017 17:18:42 GMT captainkael said:

Sych! My main man! So happy to see another fan of F1 Challenge. Most of the reviews online are so negative. It is amazing how much the performance of the game changes with or without the rear view mirror on.

I find the pit stops take too long so I just grind it out using the same tires for 8 laps. Those last 3 are real slippery. I should really get one of those arcade racers but they are expensive to ship.

I actually don't mind the pit stops. It's such a marvel to ride with super grip tyres that changing them half way through is a small price to pay.

I've been looking at the JPN version online recently which is F1 live Imformation of course. I'm curious to know if the commentary can be turned off during races. Also do you have any idea what Grand Prix mode is? Can't see any online videos of that mode in play.

I just learned there was a JPN Version the other day. I have the NTSC Version so I don't know what that Grand Prix mode is. Though now I am very intrigued. I will try to find something on it but if you find anything let me know Sych!

I don't know how you can win with pit stopping though. Most of my wins come from the fact that I pass the AI while they are pit stopping.

darkman01
I also love F1 challenge. One of my most played Saturn games.

It is by far not the best game. But the controls are solid (I actually don't mind playing with the standard pad). Main issues are lack of depth, and the fact that if you leave the rear view mirror on the games performance plummets.