The driving genre of games is
fairly crowded and with series like Gran Turismo, Burnout, Midnight Club, Need
for Speed, and Ridge Racer, many of the newer, less recognizable racing titles
are having a tough time trying to crack into the market. The only way these less
established games are going to standout is if they bring something really
different and unique to the table, and unfortunately Ferrari Challenge: Trofeo
Pirelli fails to do so.
Eutechnyx and System 3 essentially
put together the basic elements found in just about any racing title. There are
4 game modes to choose from. Quick Race is your typical exhibition mode,
Challenge puts you in season mode where you race on various tracks from all
across the world, and finally there are the Time Trials and Arcade
racing modes. Beyond that, there is a Showroom which allows you to view and
visually customize the different cars you’ve unlocked.
Regardless of what mode you choose
to play, Trofeo Pirelli does feature a decent racing engine. With over 50
Ferraris to unlock and race, Eutchnyx did a fair job of capturing the feel of
driving these beasts (not that I’m speaking from experience). The older models
tend to be a little tougher to keep under control, while the newer cars have a
better combination of handling and speed.
Of the different racing options,
Challenge is where you’ll spend most of your time as you race through the
Ferrari Challenge Championship. The series is broken into weekends in which
you’ll participate in two races. However each of these races are based on time
limits as opposed to a set number of laps. So no matter how fast you go and how
many laps you complete, you’re just going to keep driving and driving until the
15 or more minutes are up. The problem with this is that you’re going to find
that there is a lot of space between you and the other racers. If you manage to
fall behind, you’re going to spend 10+ minutes each race playing catch-up.
Conversely if you take the lead, the majority of the race has you defending
your position all by your lonesome. Beyond the racing, Challenge mode also
includes minor tuning options in between events. They allow for more physical
changes that affect the performance of your car. It’s a nice feature, but
nowhere near the depth of what you might find elsewhere.
Up to this point, Trofeo Pirelli
isn’t a great game, but there isn’t anything terrible about it either. Enter
the visuals. From the moment I see the first load screen, I can’t shake the feeling
that the game reminds me of the original Playstation. I continue through the
options and onto some races and, quite frankly, it looks awful. This game looks
like it was indeed developed for the PS1 more than the PS2. The pixels are
sharp and rough giving everything from the cars to the trees to the stands a
jagged look. The detail in the tracks is very underwhelming as well. Often it’s
difficult to judge the distance between your current position and upcoming
turns. God forbid if there’s an “S” curve in the track.
In the end, Ferrari Challenge
Trofeo Pirelli is not a very good game. It does the same thing you’ll see in
just about every other racing game, but it doesn’t do them well. The driving
mechanics are decent enough, but mandatory 15+ minute races can get boring 2
minutes in. Visually, there’s nothing good to be said about what’s here.
Ultimately the lack of anything original and presenting the usual standard
options severely diminishes the opportunity to get behind the wheel of a
Ferrari and push it to the limit.
Overall Score: 5.5/10