The original GP3 was a big disappointment. It was nothing more than the old GP2 with support for 3D hardware acceleration, plus a weather system. To make things worst, most of the established press reviewed the game as *the best racing simulator*, when the software didn't even support separate throttle and brake pedals, when using a steering wheel...

Odd things happened with the original GP3. The game was literally rushed to the stores, in order to profit from the Summer season, but it was at such an incomplete development stage, that it probably wouldn't deserve a beta label, on other circumstances; or how do you explain the unsupported steering wheels, the serious audio problems, the exact same GP2 handling, and the buggy replays on NT based machines??

The (free) patch GP3 1.13 fixed much of the steering wheel issues, but addressed no other problems. The game remained hardly above average and certainly not a true simulator. I never truly played it - note that I was the 1997 LFRS GP2 world champion, with a keyboard...

And then came the GP3 2000 add-on pack (GP3-2K): a product that requires the original GP3, and "upgrades the teams to their year 2000 status" - so they write. However, it happens that GP3-2K goes way beyond such a modest update, and ends up being what GP3 should have been since day zero!! This update rocks!!

So, what's new?!
GP3-2K debuts a better support for steering wheels, that translates into a finer car handling; the sound problems can be fixed - at worst - by switching off both 2D and 3D audio acceleration; the graphics engine runs faster; the replay system records as many minutes as your RAM can handle; and the new physics reflect collisions with small debris, and a much more realistic car behavior.

For those who really seek a simulator - that includes me - the greatest news is the F1's solid reactions: the car feels honest, coherent, and responsive: now you can really dare into the occasional power slide, and yet expect not to lose the monster, as long as you master the art of it...
In other words: the car is not easy to drive, but *you can* learn it, because the way it behaves is *always* consistent with your inputs and setups.
Sure you could do killer laps in the original GP3, but when on the true limit, you felt just lucky, not precise, and not with a chance to save the car. Now you can be precise!

Windows NT, w2k and XP users can now use the replay feature, and that adds a ton to the experience! It is impressive to watch how perfectly they match the real life F1... and yet they are what you did, and what you felt! Yes, force feedback finally reached the "it makes a positive difference" status.

So GP3-2K is the GP3, worth the "3"! I will be doing many more laps on this one, than I did with the miserable original...

Buy GP3-2K (best possible price), via:

amazon.co.uk (best choice for European buyers);

amazon.com (best choice for American buyers)*.

*note: GP3-2K doesn't seem to be available on amazon.com. Try the original GP3 game, because the amazon.com page will refer the add on, whenever available