GP4 (PC Game Review)

The Geoff Crammond's Grand Prix (GP) game series has now reached its 4th generation. The original GP was one of the very first titles that showed that the PC could be a decent gaming platform, and since those days that the franchise has been inclined towards simulation, as opposed to more vulgar bash-the-walls-and-dont-care driving style.

GP2 still represents the pinnacle of the consequences that a decent racing title can have. GP2 sparked loads of Internet competitions, despite NOT having a single Internet related option. People would race alone, at home, and their results would be compared by the championship organizers. Those were the days - some say.

GP3 was a very disappointing title. It took many years to be born, and then it was nothing more than GP2 with severe bugs, a new weather system, and an old 3D game engine pushed to the limit, but showing its age. Hardly any serious F1 sim-racer will forget that, out-of-the-box, GP3 did NOT support separate axes for throttle and brake pedals, when using steering wheels... and that - no matter how you calibrated you wheel+pedals controller - the analog feeling went digital, by just 80% of the range. This meant (and means) that there is a very artificial and fine line between full throttle and a resting foot. Ouch!

Now its GP4 time. And there are serious changes. For short, GP4 is, by far, the best GPx title of all times.
Most people will rave about the graphics, but I rave about the handling. Previous GP titles had a too strong feeling of railway driving - you never felt that there was absolute freedom on your hands. Sure you could shake the car to the whole left, and to the whole right, but there were occasions when the car just slightly snapped the other way. I am remembering Silverstone's first slow chicane, when you would always spin as soon as the car's rear glitched - now you can hold it, if you know how...

But graphics are the most obvious change. GP4 now renders the most realistic presentation of the real thing. Tracks are modeled on GPS data (a first!) and the sense of speed is awesome. I don't know if it is a "feature" or just a consequence of the LOD handling (LOD = Level of detail), but the horizon blurs or slightly narrows, as you reach extreme speeds. Silverstone is yet another great example: when approaching (190 mph) the initial fast left-right-left sequence, you won't see the curbs has defined as on previous racing games. But as you brake to the dive (left) to the inner straight, the curbs become perfectly visible. Please note that these are very subtle and natural nuances!
One graphical thing a bit too spectacular, is the car's reflections. For example, the Prosts (intense blue cars) will become cyan, under clear skies. There is a reflections option on the graphics setup, but it doesn't correct this. Somehow, the other cars seem less affected.

The changeable weather system is now usable; ie, it doesn't cause a tremendous performance hit. It is highly enjoyable to plan a wet qualifying session, as the time goes by, the sky clears and the track dries! It feels absolutely real and it doesn't cost you half of the frame rate.

Sound is superb and - for once! - you will tolerate the other cars' audio (set it to some 40%). Adversaries will buzz by, but won't silent your own engine :).

Back to the handling issue, the bottom line is that with a good steering wheel (I use and recommend Microsoft's Sidewinder), with everything set to analog and no aids, you'll have a damn responsive F1 that can be saved where it would previously spin, as soon as you learn that, to drive fast, there will be times to brake AND accelerate simultaneously. This greater responsiveness goes great with force feedback, and it makes it easier to lap fast with a poor setup.

Some will argue that the new GP4 handling, makes it harder to spot car's setup differences, but I see it has a bonus for the gifted drivers, who will have a true chance of using their skills to overcome a not so good F1.
The best of the best times will be scored by skilled and setup wise people. Now it won't suffice to download the best car setup from the Internet, to approach the king's league - you'll have to sweat a bit more...

Your CPU adversaries are a good opposition that will fight to hold their places, but won't be as good on overtaking maneuvers. The CPU boys are careful on not getting trapped, but aren't afraid to put you in a position where you'll crash, or not win their spot. Things become much harder when fighting for the top six.

Other "minor" changes are the 3D animated pit crew and marshals, the waving spectators' flags, the black flag for false starts, and new camera angles.

GP4 is a superb racing title - the best F1 simulator I've ever played, except for Grand Prix Legends. However, the game physics is still a bit far from Papyrus' standards and I wonder what http://www.papy.com could do with a F1 License. Just imagine Nascar 2002 (the current pinnacle of PC simulators) translated to the F1 world...

Best possible prices for GP4* are:

for european costumers: http://www.amazon.co.uk (29.99£ = 46.95€) [direct link]

for american costumers: http://www.amazon.com (39.99 USD) [direct link]

*the "best" classification comes from:

#1) deep searching all trusty e-commerce sites using Copernic Shopper Plus;

#2) considering the taxes on imported goods;

#3) considering the "your money back" costumer protection policies.

Conversion rates were computed as of 2002-06-18.