1st December 1989
More than just a racing game, Ferrari Formula One is a simulator too. You don't simply race round a circuit as in Continental Circus, but you must also keep your car in tip top condition.
You begin at the Ferrari test track, Fiorano, where you can get some practice racing in and carry out your car maintenance in preparation before going onto a pitstop tour of the world.
The first race of the season takes place in Rio, and before things get under way you have to prepare the car for the ordeal. Tyres, shock absorbers and the engine must be dealt with. When everything is to your satisfaction click on the driver's seat and away you go.
Up to this point the game looks polished and interesting, but once you actually get to the racetrack things start to go badly wrong. Formula One racing is supposed to be a fast sport, but playing Ferrari Formula One you'd never guess. Not only is the action appallingly slow, but it's terribly jerky too. Movement of other racing cars is even worse: they just materialise as you catch up with them, rather than growing in size as they would in real life.
There is a tune, which although good, hardly does the ST justice. Sound effects are dismal, just screeches and engine sounds. Static graphics are good and detailed, but when they're moving things look terrible.
Ferrari Formula One could have been a really good game, but the awful moving graphics destroy it. If a little more care and attention had been paid to them this could have been a number one game, but as it stands it barely gets out of the starting grid.
Other Atari ST Game Reviews By Gary Barrett
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