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There is nothing us reviewers like more than whingeing about the price of games, so when a brand-spanking new, more than decent racing game is released for a snip at £12.99, well, it rather takes the wind out of one’s sails. And that is exactly what the Wakefield-based Team 17 programmers have done by releasing F17 at a budget price in a fit of generosity not usually associated with Nortshire folk. Anyway, if it is that cheap, F17 must be crap, right? Wrong. What we have here is a perfectly reasonable game released at a perfectly reasonable price. Hurrah.
All this is most commendable, but what do you actually get for your hard-earned brass? Well, F17 is not going to win any prizes for originality, fitting as it does into the well-established tradition of racing games such as Nigel Mansell’s World Championship and Lotus Turbo Challenge. But it gives you the impression of beling round various circuits at a fair old speed as you fly past (or into) 2D trackside objects.

To begin at the beginning. An options screen enables you to choose between four cars each of which has different attributes. Red, for example goes like a bomb in a straight line whereas Yellow or Green might serve you better on more twisty circuits. You can then opt to have a bit of practice, take a single race or qualify for the first track of your world championship tour.
There are 16 tracks to be raced, each of which has scenery and a background which is at least appropriate for the venue if not accurate; Monaco for instance, has plenty of lamp posts and the famous tunnel section.

Put your foot down, you will fall over
Playing the game comes as a rather nice surprise after a long loading time and although F17 comes on two disks there is hardly any swapping to be done. The first thing you notice about the game is an inability to see very far into the distance and, because it is hard to anticipate bends, an in-game map would have been useful. However, the car is nicely animated and in serious collisions it can swivel a smooth full circle. Maintenance at the pitlane during the game is, thankfully, no chore, you just pull in and gauge the speed of repairs. However, the pit crew does give the strange impression that they are milking the car.

That Mansell: I weel keel heem
The really great thing about F17 is that it is not easy. On Rookie level – the easiest setting – it takes a great deal of practice to win points at each venue, though in time you can usually come first in each race. Even then, two other levels of difficulty, four different cars and the option to play in either normal or arcade modes give it a lasting challenge.

It is fair to point out that if F17 had been released as a full-price game, it would not have been rated so highly. However at this price F17 is good gear. It takes an old concept and uses it to good effect. Let us hope it starts a trend.
Stephen Bradley

8/10

Title F17 Challenge
Game Type Driving
Company Team 1
Players 1
Compatibility All?
HD Installable No
Submission Alkis Polyrakis Profiled Reviewer

Review
A very good Formula 1 race game by Team 17. It looks a bit like Gremlin's
Lotus Turbo Esprit 2, the graphics are similar and the feeling of the
control is the same. That means that you're looking at the vehicles from
behind and above (about 20 degrees), not from inside your car.

At first, you have a choice between normal and full screen mode, (NTSC and
PAL), although this doesn't actually appear to make any difference.

In the main screen, you can change the type of race you compete in;
practice, compete in a single race or enter the World championship.
In practice mode, you can race in one of the 16 available tracks without
any opponents. Each track is in a different country, and the weather
depends on the country you're in. If you choose to race a single race, you
once again choose between the 16 tracks. In championship mode, you race in
all of the tracks in a predefined order, and you get points depending on
your placement. You can enter the race immediately, or try the qualifying
round for a good placement at the beginning. Before racing, you are
informed of the best lap time of the track, and of the weather report. You
race against 21 cars.

The background graphics of F17 are beautiful, the scrolling is smooth and
the sound is pretty realistic. The information about the current race is
displayed on the top of the screen. You can see your lap time, the
distance between you and your best opponent, the best lap, your speed (top
speed is approximately 320Km/h), the gear you are in, the damage report
percentage, the distance between you and the end of the lap, and your
current position. Each time you crash, your damage percentage gets higher.
If you exceed 90%, your car will not be able to reach the highest speed.
You can repair your vehicle at the beginning of each lap in the pit stop.

The game's options screen allows you to change your car's colour, toggle
auto/manual gear, choose an acceleration method (stick/button), enter the
number of laps (5-15), choose between normal and arcade mode, edit your
name and reset the best time laps.

What I didn't like about this game was the absence of music, and the fact
that your car does not have any mirrors. It's a little hard to get used to
at first, but you'll soon be able to win races. F17 challenge may not be
as perfect as Gremlin's Lotus trilogy, but it sure is fun to play. A
decent racing game.