F1 (video game)

Last updated
F1 / Formula One
F1 Coverart.png
Developer(s) Lankhor
Teque London (GG, MS)
Publisher(s) Domark
Programmer(s)
  • Christian Droin
  • Jean-Luc Langlois  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Platform(s) Atari ST, Mega Drive/Genesis, Master System, Game Gear, Amiga
ReleaseAmiga [1]
  • NA: January 1, 1993
Mega Drive [2]
Master System [3]
Genre(s) Racing (F1)
Mode(s) 1P/2P split screen

F1 (released as Formula One in the USA) is a 1993 racing video game published by Domark, based on Vroom , a game developed in 1991 for the Atari ST by French company Lankhor. It was released for the Mega Drive/Genesis, Master System, Game Gear, and Amiga.

Contents

It spawned a sequel in 1994 titled F1 World Championship Edition, and the game engine was reused in Kawasaki Superbike Challenge . It was one of the most popular racing games for the Mega Drive/Genesis, mostly thanks to the smooth and fast game engine.

There are no major differences between the European and North American Sega versions, except naming (the European version is simply named F1), and the lack of a battery save feature in the American version.

Gameplay

The game is fully licensed by the FIA and Fuji Television, which means all drivers, teams and tracks are fully licensed. The player drives in the fictional Domark team with James Tripp (a programmer within Domark and producer of the game billed as Jim Tripp), facing drivers such as Riccardo Patrese and Michael Schumacher (Benetton), Jean Alesi and Gerhard Berger (Ferrari), Mark Blundell and Martin Brundle (Ligier), Johnny Herbert and Alessandro Zanardi (Lotus), Michael Andretti and Mika Häkkinen (McLaren), Andrea de Cesaris and Ukyo Katayama (Tyrrell) and finally Damon Hill and Alain Prost (Williams). Ayrton Senna (then in McLaren) is absent due to his endorsement to Sega's Ayrton Senna's Super Monaco GP II .

There are 12 tracks: Interlagos, Imola, Barcelona, Monte Carlo, Montreal, Castelet, Silverstone, Hockenheim, Spa, Monza, Estoril and Adelaide. Compared to the real 1993 season, several tracks are missing, such as Kyalami, Donington Park, Magny-Cours (replaced by Castelet), Hungaroring and Suzuka, but the order of the races is correct. While the track layouts are correct as of 1993, due to the impossibility of actually replicate the physics behind a Formula One car all tracks are filled with obstacles close to the track, such as signs, adboards or platforms above the track to increase the difficulty level, and are 7 laps long.

The player can train on a given track, play an arcade mode (where points are given for overtaking and running, and subtracted for being overtaken) or the whole championship, that can be composed by any number of tracks, from just one to the complete twelve. There are four difficulty levels (Novice, Amateur, Professional and Expert), each one of each increases not only the player and competitors' speed, but also decreases the damage tolerance of the car. In addition to a 2 player split-screen mode, a "turbo" mode allowed to increase the sense of speed by reducing sprites and polygons (making them roughly the same size as in split screen) and running the game at a higher speed.

Before and after the race the player is able to set up tyre hardness, wing angle and the transmission, and can be forced to quit if the player fails to make a pitstop to replace worn out tyres, or simply overheats the engine by rapid downshifting at high speed, (over-revving is possible with automatic gears by knocking on other cars tyres, making the player car jump, causing a drastic increase in the RPM) noticeable by a loud squealing noise. On the Silverstone track there appears to be two 'retired' cars, one by the pits and one halfway round.

Reception

CU Amiga gave the Amiga version of F1 an 84 percent rating and called it "a superb two-player game, but pales a little when going solo". [5] Computer Gaming World in August 1994 rated the game 2.5 stars out of five, praising its speed but criticizing its realism, handling, and features like slipstreaming. [6] Mega placed the game at #17 in their Top Mega Drive Games of All Time. [7] In 2017, Gamesradar ranked the game 17th on its "Best Sega Genesis/Mega Drive games of all time". [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ayrton Senna</span> Brazilian racing driver (1960–1994)

Ayrton Senna da Silva was a Brazilian racing driver who won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in 1988, 1990, and 1991. One of three Formula One drivers from Brazil to become World Champion, Senna won 41 Grands Prix and set 65 pole positions, with the latter being the record until 2006. He died as a result of an accident while leading the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix, driving for the Williams team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1987 British Grand Prix</span> Motor car race

The 1987 British Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 12 July 1987 at the Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone. It was the seventh race of the 1987 Formula One World Championship. It was the 42nd British Grand Prix and the 23rd to be held at Silverstone. The race was held over 65 laps of the 4.78-kilometre (2.97 mi) circuit for race distance of 311 kilometres (193 mi).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1993 European Grand Prix</span> Motor car race

The 1993 European Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 11 April 1993 at Donington Park. It was the third race of the 1993 FIA Formula One World Championship. The race was contested over 76 laps and was won by Ayrton Senna for the McLaren team, ahead of second-placed Damon Hill and third-placed Alain Prost, both driving for the Williams team.

The Lotus series consists of three racing computer games based around the Lotus brand: Lotus Esprit Turbo Challenge, Lotus Turbo Challenge 2, and Lotus III: The Ultimate Challenge. Published between 1990 and 1992 by Gremlin Graphics, the games gained very favourable reviews upon release. Original Amiga versions of the games were created by Shaun Southern and Andrew Morris of Magnetic Fields, and then ported by other individuals to several other computers and game consoles.

<i>Bonanza Bros.</i> 1990 video game

Bonanza Bros. is a 3D-style, 2D side-scrolling stealth action game developed and released by Sega in 1990. It is one of the earliest arcade games powered by the Sega System 24 arcade system board. It was ported to various home systems, including the Mega Drive/Genesis, Master System, PC-Engine/TurboGrafx-CD, and several home computers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">McLaren MP4/4</span> Racing automobile

The McLaren MP4/4, also known as the McLaren-Honda MP4/4, is one of the most successful Formula One car designs of all time. Powered by Honda's RA168E 1.5-litre V6-turbo engine and driven by teammates Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna, the car competed during the 1988 Formula One season. The design of the car was led by American engineer Steve Nichols, the full responsibility for the design of the chassis having been conferred on him by Ron Dennis. Gordon Murray, as Technical Director, had the role of liaising between the drawing office and production.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1994 San Marino Grand Prix</span> Formula One motor race held in 1994

The 1994 San Marino Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 1 May 1994 at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, located in Imola, Italy. It was the third race of the 1994 Formula One World Championship. Michael Schumacher, driving for Benetton, won the race. Nicola Larini, driving for Ferrari, scored the first points of his career when he finished in second position. Mika Häkkinen finished third in a McLaren.

<i>Formula One World Championship: Beyond the Limit</i> 1994 video game

Formula One World Championship: Beyond the Limit, released in Japan as Heavenly Symphony: Formula One World Championship 1993 (ヘブンリーシンフォニー) is a racing game developed and published by Sega, with production assistance from Fuji Television, and released for the Sega CD in 1994. As the name implies, the game places the player in the seat of a Formula One car, complete with multiple teams and opponents and all the licensed tracks of the series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lotus 97T</span> Formula One racing car

The Lotus 97T was a Formula One racing car designed by Gérard Ducarouge and built by Team Lotus for use in the 1985 Formula One World Championship. A development of the previous year's 95T, the car was powered by the turbocharged 1.5-litre Renault EF15B V6 engine and ran on Goodyear tyres. John Player Special continued as the team's title sponsor, with Elf and Olympus as secondary sponsors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Williams FW14</span> Formula One racing car

The Williams FW14 is a Formula One car designed by Adrian Newey, used by the Williams team during the 1991 and 1992 Formula One seasons. The car was driven by Nigel Mansell and Riccardo Patrese.

<i>Ayrton Sennas Super Monaco GP II</i> 1992 video game

Ayrton Senna's Super Monaco GP II is an arcade-style Formula One racing video game developed and manufactured by Sega for the Genesis/Mega Drive, Master System, and the Game Gear in 1992. It is a follow-up to Super Monaco GP. The game was also endorsed by, and had technical input from, the then-Formula One champion Ayrton Senna. Gameplay includes a World Championship season featuring recreations of the tracks in the 1991 Formula One World Championship, along with a three-race "Senna GP" mode set on fictional tracks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">McLaren MP4/8</span> 1993 Formula One racing car by McLaren

The McLaren MP4/8 was the Formula One car with which the McLaren team competed in the 1993 Formula One World Championship. The car was designed by Neil Oatley around advanced electronics technology including a semi-automatic transmission, active suspension, two-way telemetry, and traction control systems, that were developed in conjunction with McLaren shareholder Techniques d'Avant Garde (TAG). It was powered by the 3.5-litre Ford HBD7 V8 engine and was the first McLaren to feature barge boards. The McLaren MP4/8 was also first Ford-powered McLaren car since McLaren MP4/1C in 1983.

<i>Super Monaco GP</i> 1989 video game

Super Monaco GP is a Formula One racing simulation video game released by Sega, originally as a Sega X Board arcade game in 1989, followed by ports for multiple video game consoles and home computers in the early 1990s. It is the sequel to the 1979 arcade game Monaco GP. The arcade game consists of one race, the Monaco Grand Prix, but later ports added more courses and game modes based on the 1989 Formula One World Championship.

<i>Mega Turrican</i> 1993 video game

Mega Turrican is a run and gun video game, developed by Factor 5 in 1993 and marketed by Data East in 1994. Part of the Turrican series, it was designed for the Mega Drive/Genesis, and later followed by an Amiga port converted by Kaiko and Neon Studios under the title of Turrican 3: Payment Day. Despite not being the original, the Amiga version was the one that was first commercially released in 1993, published by Rainbow Arts in Germany and Renegade in the rest of Europe. The Mega Drive version did not have a publisher and stayed unreleased from spring 1993 until 1994, when Data East took over its worldwide distribution. Data East itself released the game in North America, and contracted Sony Imagesoft for the game's distribution in Europe.

Micro Machines is a series of video games featuring toy cars, developed by Codemasters and published on multiple platforms. The series is based on the Micro Machines toy line of miniature vehicles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lotus 99T</span> Formula One racing automobile

The Lotus 99T is a Formula One car designed by Gérard Ducarouge for use by Lotus in the 1987 Formula One World Championship.

<i>Nakajima Satoru Kanshuu F1 Hero MD</i> 1992 video game

Nakajima Satoru Kanshuu F1 Hero MD is a Formula One video game endorsed by Satoru Nakajima that was released in 1992 for the Mega Drive/Genesis, Nintendo Entertainment System, and Nintendo Game Boy. The North American and European versions of the game are known as Ferrari Grand Prix Challenge in reference to Ferrari, specifically their Formula One team.

<i>Nakajima Satoru Kanshuu F1 Grand Prix</i> 1991 video game

Nakajima Satoru Kanshuu F1 Grand Prix is a 1991 Sega Mega Drive Formula One video game based on the career of Satoru Nakajima, who was the first full-time Japanese racer in the history of Formula One. In fact, this was the first game that Nakajima endorsed for a Japanese video gaming system. The entire 1991 Formula One season can be re-enacted with any of the notable contenders from the prestigious Formula One racing organization.

<i>F1 Pole Position</i> (video game) 1992 video game

F1 Pole Position is a 1992 racing video game for the SNES, developed by Human Entertainment and published by them in Japan, while the other versions were handled by Ubi Soft. It is the first game in the Human Grand Prix/F1 Pole Position series, which features Formula One licensing.

<i>Nigel Mansells World Championship Racing</i> 1992 video game

Nigel Mansell's World Championship Racing is an arcade-style Formula One racing video game developed by Gremlin Graphics and released for various systems. The game was largely successful on Amiga and DOS platforms, and was consequently ported to home consoles.

References

  1. ↑ "Release Information for Amiga".
  2. ↑ "Release Information for Genesis".
  3. ↑ "Release Information for Master System".
  4. ↑ "Prodates - October Releases" (PDF). Sega Pro . Paragon Publishing. October 1993. p. 35. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
  5. ↑ "F1 (Amiga) review". CU Amiga . February 1994. Retrieved September 14, 2015.
  6. ↑ Goble, Gordon (August 1994). "Four More For The Road". Computer Gaming World. pp. 60–64.
  7. ↑ Mega magazine issue 26, page 74, Maverick Magazines, November 1994
  8. ↑ Loveridge, Sam (2017-06-21). "Best Sega Genesis/Mega Drive games of all time". gamesradar. Retrieved 2022-03-10.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.