Review: Ferrari The Race Experience

Developer: Eutechnyx

Publisher: System 3

Ferrari The Race Experience is a new racing game from Eutechnyx and System 3 and, in much the same way as Ferrari Challenge, celebrates all things Ferrari. Included is a decent collection of some of the most famous Ferraris from decades gone, from the newer cars like the Enzo all the way back to classics such as the Ferrari 512. With a full career mode, plenty of other single player modes and multiplayer, it certainly seems like a bargain considering price (£11.99 or £9.99 if you own Ferrari Challenge), but is it?

Anyone who has played Ferrari Challenge or Supercar Challenge will be immediately familiar with the controls and the way the cars drive. They’re easy to control as they stay fairly planted to the track – so not much chance of spinning out of control – unless you turn all the assists off, which can lead to uninteresting races once you get into first place. This doesn’t mean you can just whiz around every corner, though, with very little margin for error given through difficult corners which heats the races up a bit. The handling itself is a bit floaty, as in, it can feel like your car is hovering above the track until you get used to it. Cars can also seem slow to react to your input, which can make those hard corners that bit more challenging. Whilst damage modelling is present, it’s hardly great; the only real way to smash your car up fully (but still in a very drivable state) is through a few very high speed collisions, so the normal damage you will pick up is barely visible.

The game has a good selection of tracks from around the world. Some of these are real tracks, some are made up and some are suspiciously named. There are also few tracks that look identical to real life tracks but are named differently. One disappointment with the tracks is that Fiorano, Ferrari’s private test track, is only playable in the tutorial mode and not playable on time trial runs or races. Most of the tracks, whether they’re real, fake or a bit of both, are fun to race around.

The main mode in Ferrari The Race Experience is, as with most games, Career mode. It is split into three sets of race series – GT Race, Road GT and Classic – which all have their own selection of cars that you can race with, varying in price and giving it some replayability; you can’t just drive the fastest cars straight away. Replaying the career mode, though, may not be an appealing prospect. There are seven race weekends per car, per car type, which consist of a qualifying session and two races. You start the first race in the position that you qualified in, but for the second race you start from where you finished in the previous race. So, finishing in first place in the first race leaves you with five laps around a track unchallenged, unless you crash. Don’t get me wrong, the racing is quite fun for a while, it’s just after a period of time it all becomes too easy (even on the highest difficulty) and that leaves you grinding through races.

Other single player modes include the normal Single Race and Time Trial modes, but there are also Trophy and Arcade modes which offer something a bit different (but sort of the same). Trophy mode has you select one of your cars, and with it you must compete in three races, gaining points for your overall position each race. The racer with the most points after three races wins the trophy. It suffers the same drawback as Career mode, though, as getting from 16th to 1st in the first race leaves you with two races of just drving around with no competition ahead of you.

Arcade mode is definitely the best mode on offer here. There are four difficulty levels which each have three races, and unlocking the next difficulty level requires you to win the previous one. It has the same format as Trophy mode with the points and race system, but somehow it feels a bit less boring, as long as you pick a fast car. Moving up to Expert and Legend difficulties can be a lot more exciting, as you can’t just drive past everyone and get to 1st straight away.

So, Ferrari The Race Experience may not be the bulb that shines brightest in a sea of brilliant racing games, but once you get used to the controls it is quite a decent racer. Some of the race series on offer can be long and tedious but give some enjoyment. It may be worth giving it a go if you’re a fan of racing games and Ferrari Challenge, especially for the price.

Pros:

• Decent racing title.
• Good value for money.

Cons:

• Some dull races.
• Poor overall presentation.