As a result of licensing issues, it's not often that we see Ferraris in video games; a fact that is always disappointing to us motor heads.  Games such as Gran Turismo would be significantly more fun if these awesome Italian hotrods were included in the mix, but of course, they aren't.  However, with the recent release of the officially licensed Ferrari F355 Challenge, a game once only found in arcades (actually there was a Dreamcast version released too), Sega has tried to fill the PS2's  Ferrari void.  Have they succeeded in their efforts or is this one to avoid?  Read on to find out...

Ferrari F355 Challenge lets you drive the beautiful, 2976 lb, 375 hp F355 in four different game modes, including: arcade, championship, great driver challenge, and versus play.  Arcade mode is a checkpoint-style race against the clock and it directly resembles the arcade version of the game.  This mode actually has three sub-modes: training, driving, and race, which are all useful in some way.  The best method to learn how to drive the individual tracks is via training mode, which in addition to containing verbal commands, shows the optimal path to follow, braking points, and even gearshift timing for each course.  Driving mode allows racers to see how well they know the track as all help is removed and a ghost car based on their own driving data is their only opponent.  This is a great way to improve lap times, but once you actually get on the track with other cars in race mode, it's a whole new ballgame.  Head-to-head racing is where it's at, but this is also where the game starts to get very difficult, which ends up being the game's major downfall.

Another mode, championship, consists of six races in which points are given for placing (e.g. 15 points for first place, 12 points for second, etc.) and in the end these points are totaled to determine the winner of the series.  Next, in great driver challenge, points are awarded for "sportsmanship and driving technique."  Basically, this is just a race mode arcade game that allows you to also earn points for passing cars, using the "slip stream" (drafting), drifting, getting a fast lap time, and also for what place you finish.  Points are also deducted for things like hitting other cars, hitting a wall, or going off the track.

In attempt to help beginners get the hang of the game by making the car easier to handle, certain driver assist functions have been included.  Stability control limits the car's body roll when cornering, traction control keeps the tires from easily breaking loose, anti-lock brakes improve stopping, and the intelligent braking system (IBS) automatically applies the brakes at the appropriate time before curves.  The IBS feature is definitely the most significant as it's almost like turning on autopilot.  Driver assist functions can be enabled or disabled before the race begins and, depending on the difficulty level selected, they can be turned on or off independently during a race.  The problem is that even when taking advantage of these helpful features, it's still seemingly impossible to win a races in this game.

To further give you a chance to beat the competition, various car settings can be altered, such as ride height, spring rate, stabilizer bar strength, camber, toe, land so forth.  Although changing these settings makes the car handle a bit differently, it would be hard to say that they realistically affect how the car drives.  For example, no matter how much downforce you give the car (by changing the rear wing angle) it's always fairly easy to get the tires to break loose at high speeds.  This is one reason why the game seems like a pseudo-simulation; certain aspects of it seem realistic, while others are way off.

Another example of this inaccuracy occurs when you drive off the track or barely brush a wall/car, as doing so causes you to almost completely stop.  If you've even watched races on TV, they often go onto the grass and they still keep going pretty darn fast.  That's not the case in this game - you can barely even accelerate while not on the track!  As a result, if you spin out once or make one tiny mistake; you will lose the race.  There's no coming from behind in F355 Challenge because the AI drivers don't give you a chance to get back in.  If you really start to push the limits, you'll simply lose more time since you'll probably be doing more off-roading.

Sometimes the F355's physics seem right on, but other times they'll only make you laugh.  Don't expect damage of any kind in this one because even slamming into a wall at full speed will do nothing more than turn you around.  The funny thing is that even if you hit a wall at 5 m.p.h., you'll automatically be turned around about 120 degrees.  That's realistic!  A major problem area is the tires, which should have a lot more grip, considering that this is a polished race car.  However, they don't and as a result you'll often think you're driving on ice when you're really not.  This is not a result of the car being over-powered either because it really doesn't have a overwhelming amount of power.  It's definitely quick, but by comparison, it's not all that fast.

A couple other small issues also make this game significantly less fun than it could be.  There is no reverse gear, only two view modes to choose from (one in versus mode), and no look back feature!  There is a small rearview mirror, but that's only so helpful and the radar screen that shows cars in close proximity is usually worthless as well.

Using a steering wheel makes the game a bit more fun, that is, once you get it correctly calibrated.  However, if you are forced to use a DualShock controller, the experience is quite a bit different since steering is touchy and pressure sensitive gas and brake buttons seem to be nonexistent.

One of the great things that this game does have going for it is the awesome selection of world famous race tracks.  Ranging from countries such as Italy to Japan to Germany, it's possible to race on courses such as Suzuka, Monza, Nurburgring, and many more.  A very cool, though small, feature is the random track selection option in versus mode; it's too bad more games don't have this option.

Ferrari F355 Challenge is a game for those who are really into this one particular vehicle model.  Don't expect that your progress in the game will open up new cars because all you'll get are videos and pictures of F355's.  It's also a game designed specifically for those people who are looking for a challenge because this is flat out the most difficult racing game I've tested to date.  However, don't expect that it's so difficult because it's just that realistic.  Instead, much of the difficulty is a result of inaccurate physics and missing features.  It's as difficult as a typical sim game, but significantly less realistic.

Graphics: 7
Certain visual elements in F355 look great, while others look like they belong in a PSX version of the game.  The Ferraris themselves are fairly detailed and realistic, which is expected since only a single car had to be modeled.  However, don't expect the extras like glowing rotors.  The reflections and the shadows are beautiful and nicely accent the car's lines.  The environments range from amazing looking to pretty bad looking as some contain many objects that need some anti-aliasing treatment.

Sound: 4
If you close your eyes and play this game you may think you've been sent back in time, but the sad thing is that you haven't.  The sound in F355 Challenge is just that bad.  To begin with, what sounds like imitation 80s metal is jamming constantly, whether you're in the menu system or driving Laguna Seca.  The good news?  The music can be turned off.  Next, every time you click on something within the menu a revving sound is made; also pretty obnoxious.  So you would hope that the in-game sound effects would make up for all of this, but unfortunately they don't.  After the music has been turned off and you can clearly hear what's suppose to be the F355's V8, you'll notice that it doesn't sound anything like a Ferrari engine.  Instead, it just sounds like buzzing and at idle you can barely even hear it.  Even at 150+ m.p.h. there is no wind noise and no road noise.  The only thing you'll often hear is your tires squealing, but if you're looking for the resultant smoke pouring out from below your car, it's not there (although you can see smoke from other drivers' cars).

Concept: 6
Driving Ferraris is a good thing, but the lack of decent game modes is not.  There's nothing extremely innovative about this game as it seems like a fairly direct port from the arcade version.

Overall: 6
And it had so much potential too!