Ferrari Challenge By Activision

Driving simulators have been around for awhile. With such titles as Forza Motorsports, Grid, and the great granddaddy Gran Turismo, there’s no shortage of choices in this genre. We now have a newcomer to the starting line: Ferrari Challenge by Activision. I recently played an advance copy and thought I’d share my impressions. More…

As the title implies, it’s all about Ferraris. New Ferraris, old Ferraris, race Ferraris and street Ferraris—they’re all there. Visually, the game is fantastic. Car models are well done as is the lighting and external textures, i.e. pavement, signage and trackside surroundings. When driving, you can blaze by all surroundings and competitors with absolutely no loss in frame rate: System 3 did their homework here.

Game play: The controls for Ferrari Challenge are downright twitchy, meaning they are VERY precise—and this is both good and bad. Diehard simulator lovers will no doubt take the time to develop their skills, but first timers may be put off as there is a steep learning curve. Keep in mind that is not a bad thing, it’s just that this is not what I would call a beginner’s game. Too much throttle will cause massive oversteer, too much brake pressure causes you to simply slide off the track. It’s finding that perfect blend of half-throttle through the corners and advanced braking to slow you down that makes this game rewarding. Get it wrong and you’ll be cursing like a sailor, get it right and your grinning from ear to ear—kinda like a real-life track session.

There are some little things that bugged me though. For instance, all the cars sound the same, whether its a V12 or V8 Ferrari the engine note simply did not change. Another item was that fact that you can only race the same car that you’re driving. For instance, pick an F430 and you’re racing against F430’s – this drove me nuts because I mean, how cool would it be to run a F40 against an F430 or any other combination of Ferrari on the track?

All in all, this a decent game and I say decent for the following reasons: the simulator lovers and Ferrari enthusiasts will totally dig it—the learning curve and technique to play this game right takes time, but when you do it right, it’s very rewarding and will provide hours upon hours of enjoyment. The newbies to Ferrari Challenge may shy away from this for exactly the same reasons as this is no arcade game and the patience it takes to master it may not be a quality that everyone possesses. I have a feeling that this is going to be one of those cult games that appeals to a certain niche gamer who likes a real challenge.