► F1 Racing Simulation (PC, 1997) | Gameplay

This is seemingly quite a rare game now. Hard to find and even harder to get running on a modern system. Now what do I think of this? Well, I was playing with a keyboard and I found it much less pleasant to play than the F1 Psygnosis games or even Grand Prix 2, which were both released a year earlier. Perhaps with a wheel it would be better. Cornering seemed a slow, laborious process. If you took a turn too fast, the front wheels would turn more and you'd understeer off the track. The grass and gravel are both made of glue, so put one wheel off the black stuff and your car comes to a stop very quickly. On the other hand - compared to the Psygnosis F1 games at least - the AI are much more fun to race. They're actually very forgiving and they'll intelligently move out of your way if you're alongside rather than just holding their pre-programmed line leading to a crash every time. I think this game would benefit from a closer, more in-depth look one day because it's not really a pickup-and-play kind of F1 game. There are tons of menus and options and the physics were supposedly some of the best of their time. The other draw is that this is one of only two games I know that simulated the 1996 F1 season. However, I feel I'd rather simulate F1 1996 via a Grand Prix 3 or Grand Prix 4 mod. Did you own this game? Comments below!