"Similar to F1 2001, with Good Additions :-)"

F1 2002 is the latest entry in EA Sports' line of F1-based games for (originally) the PlayStation and (now) the PlayStation2. F1 Championship Season 2000, the game immediately preceding F1 2001, marked EA Sports' first foray of the series to the PS2, but F1CS2K was actually released in two 'flavors:' PSX and PS2. F1 2001 was thus the first PS2-only game of the series, and F1 2002 continues EA Sports' great tradition with its F1-based games.

Most likely, if you play F1 2002, then you are at least a casual fan of F1 racing, and have at least a basic knowledge of many or all of the F1 courses currently in use. That knowledge certainly does help when first playing F1 2002, and vice versa – as any extensive gameplay greatly helps in determining where the drivers are on each course when races are televised.

In many ways F1 2001 and F1 2002 are the same game, simply updated. Colors and reflections are much more vibrant, it is MUCH easier to see the flags waved by the corner workers - and certainly, the teams and drivers have been updated for the 2002 season.

Each team's cars also sounds and handles slightly differently from other teams' cars; for example, in Normal Handling, a Toyota's top speed is about 170MPH, whereas a Ferrari can climb to nearly 185MPH. This is initially quite noticeable when completing Challenge Mode. However, whether using Normal Handling or Simulation Handling, car control seems a bit twitchier than in F1 2001.

In terms of the race circuits, they are largely the same, with appreciable enhancement in colors. However, the Monaco circuit seems to have been narrowed from the entrance to The Tunnel all the way to the entrance to Swimming Pool Chicane.

In terms of gameplay, the AI has become even MORE aggressive than in F1 2001. This is especially significant on the standing starts, where it is fairly common to get speared from behind and knocked off the circuit.

'Gamebreakers' have been added to F1 2002. Whenever a major event takes place during a race (i.e., a massive crash), all action will suddenly stop as multiple cameras show the incident at regular speed and in slow-motion. Gamebreakers is an optional feature.

A nice addition is the slipstream effect. On the right side of the race screen, a set of bars will slowly light up as a driver gets closer and closer behind another car, thus able to take advantage of the lead car's slipstream (aerodynamic vacuum) to suddenly jump out and make a pass. When racing in very wet weather when cars are launching a tall 'rooster tail' of spray in their wake, the slipstream meter can be used to approximate the distance to the car in front as well as the closing speed.

EA Sports Cards are new to F1 2002. The EA Sports Cards for the Challenge Mode events are rather easy to obtain, as are those for Team Duel Mode; the others are gained seemingly 'at random' as certain tasks are completed in races. At the end of each race, a status screen will list the EA Sports Cards earned in the race (if applicable); during the race, if TV Panels is activated, then an indicator at the bottom of the screen will show that an EA Sports Card has been awarded (this notice will be repeated at the end of the race).

Most game modes of F1 2002 allow the player to select which handling option is preferred. Normal Handling is essentially arcade-style driving. Here, the only 'tuning' option is whether to use hard or soft tires as the dry-weather tire compound (the compound option is only available in one of the Grand Prix Modes offering a Practice session). There are extremely few variables affecting car control in Normal Handling, which makes this driving option quite forgiving should the player make a mistake. For example, braking late for a corner does not necessarily mean that the car will slide off the outside of the turn; in fact, it is often possible to keep to the pavement in this situation and continue cornering. In another example, should the car get speared from behind and start to spin, it is TOO easy to 'catch' the vehicle and point the car back in the correct direction of travel.

Simulation Handling introduces MANY more variables in the issue of car control, as well as many more tuning options. The Suggested Set-ups section is designed with Simulation Handling in mind; it covers the various tuning elements and presents car set-ups for all seventeen circuits in current F1 racing as presented in F1 2002. Whereas Normal Handling might be good for young adolescents and those just learning to drive in reality, Simulation Handling is best left to the parents and those with A LOT of gaming experience, as Simulation Handling is a MUCH more difficult level in terms of car control. Here, tuning is key, as improper tuning means horrific car control; since there is no such thing as a perfectly-tuned car (especially with so many tuning elements involved), there will always be a compromise somewhere in car control.

In Quick Race Mode, players can simply jump into a car in P22 and get out on the tracks in four-lap races using Normal Handling. Initially, only Hockenheim, Monza, and Silverstone are available for race venues. Winning at these venues opens new venues. Expect weather conditions to change at least once during a race in Quick Race Mode. There are no FIA Rules in effect for Quick Race Mode; this means that shortcutting, dangerous driving, ignoring yellow flags, and other unsportsmanlike/unsafe conduct IS permitted. Also, the driver is protected from incurring damage and does not suffer mechanical failures... unlike some of the competitors. Quick Race Mode is VERY forgiving in terms of the technique of racing. Missing a braking zone is not necessarily disastrous here, even with Speed Assist deactivated. Catching a spinning car is fairly easy, even at over 150MPH. Botching an apex can still result in good cornering, even passing while cornering.

Challenge Mode presents 22 challenges total, 11 basic challenges and 11 advanced challenges; within each category, the challenges are listed by team, where the player takes the role of a given driver for that team and must complete the task at hand. Note that each team's challenges are often similar between the basic challenge and the advanced challenge, but this is not always the case. Also, it only takes one pixel for a car to be considered out of bounds, so high-speed car control is crucial to success in many of the advanced challenges.

Team Duel Mode works on the concept of intra-team rivalry: Each driver wants to prove that he is better than his teammate. In Team Duel Mode, all that matters is that the player finish better than his teammate in a race of four or eight laps total, with the player starting at P22. Team Duel Mode is essentially one of the Grand Prix Modes, with the exception that a race win is not necessary (s long as the player can beat his teammate, that will suffice). Team Duel Mode also awards EA Sports Cards. One EA Sports Card is granted per Team Duel Mode win per team per difficulty level.

Grand Prix Modes are where an F1 driver earns his money!!! These modes present one or more full race weekends - Practice, Qualifying, Warm-up, and Race - using either Normal Handling (easiest) or Simulation Handling (hardest). Grand Prix events are quite customizable: race length, transmission, FIA Rules, slipstream effects, etc. Single Grand Prix is a single race weekend, using any driver at any venue. Full Championship covers the entire 2002 season in order using any driver. Custom Championship allows the player to create an original championship season using any number of races and any order of venues with any driver; the possibilities are endless: all-technical circuits (Monaco, Suzuka, etc.), all high-speed circuits (Monza, Hockenheim, etc.), the reverse of the actual 2002 season (Suzuka, Indianapolis, etc.)...

F1 2002 presents EA Sports Cards, awarded for completing specific events in the game, or for achieving certain feats during races. Many of the EA Sports Cards are relatively easy to acquire (for example, McLaren’s Racing Card only requires lapping a backmarker, which is easily done in most races of at least eight laps), while others are not necessarily difficult to acquire, but demand A LOT of time (such as Ferrari’s Duration Card, which requires completing seventeen full-lap races). Fortunately, F1 2002 permits players to acquire multiple EA Sports Cards at a single event, which means that strategy can come into play to acquire cards in the least possible amount of time. Collecting all cards for a team at the Bronze and Silver Medal levels provides game enhancements for that team; however, ALL team’s Gold Medals must be earned to unlock ANY Gold-level enhancements.



GAME DOWNFALLS
My only MAJOR complaint about F1 2002 (as with F1 2001) is its implementation of FIA rules, which includes the use of flags. While I personally WANT to race with flags active, the implementation of the rules is FAR too oppressive - to the point that I have thrown the controller in frustration several times, and will probably need to buy a new one soon.

What makes the FIA Rules option oppressive is how the Yellow Flag is used, particularly in accident situations. For example, as a highly aggressive driver, I tend to get into accidents or at least bump tires with someone fairly often. When this happens, if the other car has even one pixel ahead of my car, then ends up spinning or otherwise slipping behind me while I am able to keep going, the Yellow Flag is often presented instantly, and a $@#%^#&*!@ Stop-Go Penalty assigned for supposedly 'Passing Under the Yellow Flag.'

Also oppressive is the Yellow Flag speed limit of 130MPH. When the Yellow Flag is first displayed, the CPU does not allow enough time for the player to see the Yellow Flag waved (or its indicator at the top-right of the screen) and slow appropriately, resulting in a $@#%^#&*!@ Stop-Go Penalty.

While not necessarily a problem, I personally wish that the 107% rule would actually be enforced (or at least allow the player to choose to have the 107% rule enforced). The 107% rule means that anyone qualifying with a time higher than 107% of the race's pole position is deemed to not have qualified, thus keeping really slow cars (which could possibly be dangerous to other drivers in the race) out of the race. Granted, this then makes it possible that the player may be the only one participating in a race (especially if shortcutting where 'permitted' during qualifying), or that a player not qualify well enough to compete in a race.

I have been unable to check this, but if there is a minimum speed rule in F1 racing, the game definitely needs to implement this rule as well. There have been several times when a super-slow car, or even a car stopped on the track in an area without a Yellow Flag displayed, has suddenly 'appeared from nowhere' and - due to my closing speed at top acceleration - caused me to crash. I know NASCAR has a minimum speed rule (which is even more important on oval-based tracks), but I would be surprised if a similar rule did not exist in F1 racing.



CONCLUSION
F1 2002 is an excellent addition to EA Sports’ F1-based game line. Interestingly, however, F1 2002 was released in early summer, not in the fall as usual. This leads to the speculation that there will be an F1 Championship Season 2002 released in the fall or early winter based upon the real-world teams’/drivers’ performances in the 2002 season. If this is indeed the case, then perhaps the changes made to the real-world circuits in 2002 will be added (such as the shorter, reconfigured, less-interesting Hockenheim, and the new opening segment at Nurburgring). Hopefully, F1CS2K2 will see a return of Training Mode, which in F1 Championship Season 2000 was an interactive mode to teach players how to quickly and safely drive each circuit. Hopefully, each team will also receive a game enhancement for earning its Gold Medal. But most importantly, FIA Rules needs to be either completely retooled, or completely eliminated.

As for the game at hand, diehard F1 fans will certainly love this incarnation of the sport, and the acquisition of EA Sports Cards ensures innumerable hours of gameplay. In short, F1 2002 is essentially the Madden NFL 2003 of F1 racing!!!

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 09/08/02, Updated 09/08/02