F-1 Race Game By: Nintendo Reviewed By: jphunt jphunt@mail2.caninet.com Size: 512 Kilobits Save: Battery - 1 save slot Released: 1990 Works with: All Gameboys Opening Snide Remarks: Here we have one of the first Gameboy racing games which is also one of the first four player Gameboy games (if you remember this game originally shipped with the 4-player adapter). Not much else to say so I'll start the review. ---------- Gamplay: This game follows the standard racing game options (normal game, time trial, and versus modes). The game does provide a good experience for a racer, fair number of track (8), but only two cars that only differ in top speed and boost speed. I consider this one of those games that you'll pick it up, put it down, pick up, put down. Liked: Good number of play options, fair amount of tracks Hated: Too few cars, nothing to really keep you playing for long periods of time. ---------- Graphics: Simple best describes this catagory, they did manage to add a few things here and there to give a better feeling of the speed (your tires peel a little when you hit the boost). Opponent animation isn't very fluid, it's memorable of the old 8-bit racers of this kind. Backgrounds are again simple. All you get is an image of a city or mountain that seems to slide back and forth when you turn and then appears on the opposite side of the screen. The sides of the road are simple object that repeat themselves in a set format. Liked: Nothing here. Hated: Rather bland. ---------- Sound/Music: Good attempt, note the word ATTEMPT. Music is pretty much a mesh of sound FX put together. The sound does a good job simulating a reving engine, but that can get annoying after a while, other sounds are rather common, but they fit. Liked: Sound gives a good feel. Hated: The music is uninspired. ---------- Play Control/Game Design: Standard racing controls, corners are a little tricky to handle since you can't control the degree of turning (analog steering would be nice but that probably wouln't work on a portable system). Liked: Easy to learn. Hated: Cornering. ---------- Improve: I doubt they'll make a sequel (if they wanted to it would have been out by now). If they did they should have more cars with more variety. More tracks would be good to (pretty much your standard requests for racing titles). RIYL: If you like racers, you should like this. ---------- Final Words: Finding people to get a 4-player game going is the real challenge of this game. Other than that it's just a standard racer. ---------- Score Gameplay: *** Graphics: *** Sound/Music: *** Play Control/Game Design: *** Personal Opinion: **** Total: 16 Final Score: 64% ---------- Currently Known Codes: None