In today's saturated market a developer has to work extra hard to make their latest production stand out from the crowd. There are lots of uninspired and lazily made games out there and unless a team is in the unlikely situation of not wanting to sell many titles they are going to have to ensure that their game either offers something fresh and exciting or is so well put together that it could be viewed as the new benchmark for its chosen genre. And if the developers are making a game that will join the ranks of an overcrowded genre then they are going to have to work even harder.

The above apparently never really figured all that highly in the project meetings that we can assume took place during the of Formula Challenge. Not only is the subgenre very well catered for on the PS2, the genre as a whole is one of the console's strongest areas. Maybe they were hoping that the game's low price point would be enough to make up for its many shortcomings.

There are two things that must be spot on for a racing game to have much chance of making it onto the podium. The more noticeable of these two components are the graphics. The racing genre has always been at the forefront of console graphical technology so an ability to shift frames at an incredible rate must be coupled with some lush car models and attractive scenery. Formula Challenge does alright with its car models but suffers a high speed puncture when it comes to everything else. Billboards and the sky look like bad children's chalk drawings seen through those distorting windows you get in bathroom doors. The graphical effects seem to stop at lens flare and some dodgy smoke and in general the game looks like a late Playstation 1 title. At least it does manage to nip on at a reasonable pace. The sounds and fare no better as they are even lamer then the visuals. Let's just say you will be more likely to think of a stoned fly in an empty can than a roaring metal rocket loaded with the loudest of motor technology.

The second important element of a racing game is the handling. If you are meant to be driving the pinnacle of automotive performance then you don't want to be reminded of that last time you went to the supermarket and wound up with the trolley with the wonky front wheel. Well, fortunately Formula Challenge isn't quite that bad. Placing its flag firmly in the arcade camp, Formula Challenge actually manages to turn out frantic races with cars bouncing all over the track and some very forgiving crash mechanics. However, the tendency of the car to over-react to the player's inputs can become very frustrating. Still, it does provide for some utterly unchallenging racing as it demands little else from the player then an ability to hold down the accelerate button and flip the stick to the left and the right every few seconds. Even staying on the track is a purely optional choice. It could be argued that this makes it a fine game to play after a night in the pub or to introduce people to the genre. As an argument, it wouldn't get very far, what with all the other, better arcade racers that make up the PS2's racing pack.

There's a single player championship mode to get stuck into, with a bizarrely small number of tracks. I guess the developers of this budget title, Oxygen Interactive, (responsible for the execrable game, March! Offworld Recon) didn't see the need to provide more than ten circuits. Or, more then ten cars. There are two qualifying laps before each race, which, considering the ability of the AI on even the hardest setting, are often a pre-paid ticket to the pole position. Even if you don't manage to occupy the coveted slot by the second or third racing lap you will have barged your way past all of the opposition, giving you ample time to try not to gaze at the ugly scenery passing by.

Formula Challenge is a strange game. It has no real relation to Formula One other than the look of the cars. The single and arcade sections are reasonably diverting while the career can be finished in a matter of hours. The developers seem to have only given a cursory consideration to the demands of the racing genre and have produced a work that has to pull up on the hard shoulder and let the more competently programmed and creatively designed games whiz past. Even though it is a cheap title, there are other far superior racers that can now be had for the same price. Only if you are a collector of racing and/or poor games should you consider spending any money on this.

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By Sam Gibson