There are many praise-worthy aspects of F1 2002.  The cars are extremely fast.  It doesn't take long for you to pick up some speed either.  The framerate is consistently smooth, to say the least.  Graphically, it features several small details that will surely impress you.  Of course, great speed, great graphics and a nice framerate are nothing without great gameplay to back them up, but EA's got that covered as well.  In fact, the speed complements the gameplay.  All of the game's elements -- controls, graphics, sound, etc. -- are great on their own, but together, they are amazing.

All of the tracks were designed really well.  I don't watch much racing, so I have no way of verifying whether or not the track designs are accurate, but one thing's for sure: they are a lot of fun to race!  The game never throws too much at you, but it's still challenging.  A nice mixture of easy, medium and hard (sharp) turns are found throughout each course.  There are also quite a few straight, turn-free paths that give you a chance to over-take your opponents.  By driving directly behind an opponent, your Slipstream meter will begin to fill up.  The fuller it is, the better the effect.  Once you're ready to over-take the opponent, move to the side and you'll be given a brief speed boost, allowing you to easily pass your opponent!

The controls are superb.  Maneuvering your extremely fast Formula One racer around the track is not as much of an exercise as it is a grand experience.  As expected, you can't turn a corner at 140mph without flying off the track.  But the controls are responsive enough to help you get through it, assuming you react properly.  If you don't, you'll probably end up slamming into a hard, unforgiving wall.  Either way, it's pretty amazing.  The whole game is amazing!

For those of you who need a little extra help, F1 2002 has a nice feature that automatically slows down your vehicle before approaching a turn.  You'll still have to put on the brakes (or release the gas) to make the turn safely though.  There is also a turn indicator that will alert you of any upcoming turns.  Both of these can be turned on and off at your leisure.

On the whole, F1 2002 does not look as polished as most of the other major PS2 racers out there.  Don't let the slightly bland coloring fool you though, because there is a tremendous amount of graphical detail inside of this game.  Taking a cue from Madden 2001 and Madden 2002, F1 2002's racers come equipped with highly-reflective helmets.  However, in this game, they're not reflecting lights, they're reflecting trees, signs and everything else on the screen.  The back and sides of your vehicle are also reflective, though it's not as noticeable as the helmet.  Real-time reflections have been done before, but usually it's done with something big, like water.  Despite being a smaller (and curved) surface, the helmet's reflections look amazing.  I'd say they were perfect, but then next year I'd be proven wrong after playing F1 2003!  Perfect or not, they blew me away.  That's just one minute (but important) detail though.  There are several other details that make F1 2002 the beautiful game that it is.

The trees that you see reflecting on your helmet are pretty impressive.  Their shape is quite realistic, and there are dozens of them, which adds even more realism to the game.  Real-time shadows are used in a less extravagant, but perhaps more realistic way.  As you drive under a tree (or any other object that stands above you), the shadow wistfully glides over your vehicle.  Speaking of vehicles, the car models are gorgeous!  From the in-the-car view(s), you can see your driver tilt his head as he turns.  While driving in one of the straight, turn-free strips, you'll see him move his head a little, as well as his hands.  Needless to say, this detail makes the game more realistic.  Thankfully, this high amount of realism never, ever detracts from the awesome gameplay experience.

If you want the best, most realistic racing game out there, but don't want to sacrifice speed, then F1 2002 is your game.  I know that some of you probably can't afford to buy a new game right now, so I recommend that you go to Blockbuster and rent this game as soon as you can.  Or convince a rich relative/friend to buy it, and then invite yourself over!  Seriously, this is not a game that you want to miss.  Racing fans and F1-enthusiasts alike will thoroughly enjoy the experience that F1 2002 provides.

Gameplay: 8.7
EA Sports' slogan is "It's in the game."  If you skipped the rest of the review in favor of these brief comments, you may be wondering what's in F1 2002.  Excellent controls, incredible speed, great tracks and pretty graphics are just some of the fine things you'll find inside of F1 2002.

Graphics: 8.5 
At first, F1 2002 might not look very realistic.  But as the race goes on, you slowly begin to see that there is an enormous amount of graphical detail hidden inside this game.  As far as real-time reflections go, F1 2002 is just about perfect.  Every helmet is shiny, reflecting every object that surrounds it.  The trees' shadow effects are subtle, which makes them all the more realistic.  Additionally, you can see the driver move around inside of his car.  Sounds trivial, doesn't it?  But it makes you feel like you're controlling an actual human, as opposed to a wire frame model wrapped in pretty polygons.  The weather effects are really good, too.

Sound: 8.3
F1 2002 features some of the best engine sound effects that I have ever heard.

Difficulty: Medium
As a hardcore gamer with a lot of experience playing (and beating) racing games, I didn't have much trouble beating F1 2002.  Some of the courses were harder than others, and the leading opponent was almost always tough to beat (especially if you crashed once or twice), so I think that most people will be really challenged by this game.

Concept: 8
Yes, this is another installment of a long-running series, but it is by far the best, most enjoyable one of them all.

Multiplayer: 8
With split-screen action for 1-4 players, F1 2002 is the best of its kind.

Overall: 8.5
I hate it when I miss out on a good game, don't you?  If so, then don't pass up the chance to play one of the greatest racers of the summer.  Up until now, I didn't like F1 racers much (in fact, Driven was the only one I cared for), but knowing how much detail EA put into their games, I had to give this one a shot.  Let me tell you, I am so glad that I did.  The GameCube, Xbox and PC versions will be nearly identical, so if you don't have a PS2, be sure to check it out for the console that you own.