Review: Ferrari F355 Challenge (PS2)

This first line is going to sound sadly familiar to anyone who's played the PlayStation 2 versions of Sega games like Ecco the Dolphin, Crazy Taxi, Space Channel 5 and even 18 Wheeler: the Dreamcast version of Ferrari F355 is a better game, and unfortunately not just in terms of graphics this time because on PS2 AM2's classic one-car racer has one serious problem that does actually almost ruin the game.

For anyone not familiar with the classic Dreamcast racer from a couple of years ago the premise is deceptively simple - throw a race-spec 355 around a number of real-life tracks pitting yourself both against other racers and the clock. If it sounds a bit 'arcade' then that's because it is - apart from the fact that the arcade cabinet the game is based off had 3 screens (to create a wide depth of vision) the Dreamcast version was identical to it's coin-guzzling brother.

So here's the inevitable PlayStation 2 version. It's a no-thrills update, you've still only got one car and the same choice of tracks (although, oddly, all tracks including the bonus courses are unlocked from the off in Arcade mode) and apart from the addition of a Great Driver Championship (which awards points Kudos-style), an external camera and the option to remove the clock when racing, it's exactly the same game.

The main problem here though is the lack of triggers that the Dreamcast (and Xbox and Gamecube) controller has. With these triggers analog acceleration and braking was a doddle and Sega made sure that the experience incorporated this. Now it's on the PS2 the 'pedals' are assigned to the X and Square buttons, and quite incredibly despite using the same racing engine there's no hint of decent analog sensitivity.

Hardcore F355 Challenge fans will be grating their teeth at what this actually means in context: you can't actually drive the car. See, the whole point of there being just the one car to drive is that AM2 were in a position to recreate the driving model as closely as possible, and to do this they introduced a set of driving aids that the player switched off as he or she gained confidence with the car.

These aids, which included traction control and intelligent braking, meant that whilst anyone could pick up and play the game the true masters could achieve incredible lap times and race the car exactly as intended with them all switched off, and to do that required precise analog control. Do you see the problem?

Without traction control, the cars on the PS2 version simply will not accelerate from the green light without wildly spinning and skidding for a good 10 seconds, instantly losing the race, simply because there's no smooth pressure on the metaphorical gas pedal. Even the right analog stick couldn't actually replicate the dual pedal method anyway because you can't push both up and down simultaneously.

Back on the Dreamcast, F355 was a superb drive and although we've obviously never actually raced a real Ferrari, back when the DC version was released the general feeling was that racing couldn't get any more realistic. This probably still holds true now - it's a different style of driving to the likes of Sega GT and Gran Turismo - it's much more simulation-based and really does take an enormous amount of practice before you start to actually win any events. The sad thing is unless you've got a steering wheel for your PS2 you're not going to be able to appreciate the advanced driving techniques available simply because you really do need those triggers.

Graphically then, this version looks almost as good as it did on Sega's machine - there's some aliasing present, especially on the trackside objects but nothing that really gets in the way. The cars do look a little bit basic these days against the more recent polygon models found in today's games, and the actually courses look slightly empty and barren, but the fact that the game runs at 60 frames per second (even in the 2 player mode) without a single drop makes up for this somewhat.

The sound is another key point here and the single-car way of thinking meant that AM2 could dedicate time to recreating the distinctive Ferrari sound and for the most part they succeeded - the engine sounds are a little tinny (the arcade cabinet had a huge bass box under the seat) but overall the PS2 version hasn't suffered at all here and if you switch the awful music right off you'll appreciate the sound effects all the more.

In truth it's hard to recommend this port. If you've played the Dreamcast version there's nothing here to make you buy the PS2 version. The lack of decent control means that the game can only really take you so far into the experience with the Dual Shock proving to be the main stumbling block.

There's plenty to do here, there's a decent championship mode and the arcade mode does still provide some challenge and long term playtime but having been huge fans of the Dreamcast version we can really only be disappointed with the PS2 version, and given the slightly dated graphics and casual gamer populace that makes up most of the potential market for the title we can only really assume that most will find the experience an average one.

Rating: 5 / 10

Words by Alex Carroll