F1 Championship Season 2000 (PlayStation 2)

CNET editors' rating: 3.5 stars Very good
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Overall score: 7.5 (3.5 stars)
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Gamespot editors' review

• Reviewed by: Frank Provo
• Reviewed on: 12/21/2000
• Updated on: 05/17/2006
• Released on: 12/19/2000

The 2000 Formula 1 racing season may have ended in October, but the excitement lives on with EA Sports' latest, F1 Championship Season 2000. Sporting the official license of the F1A, the game features all of the real drivers, teams, and tracks that made the 2000 season the most exciting to date. Although the game is missing a few features found in the earlier PS release, F1 Championship Season 2000 for the PlayStation 2 is still a solid effort.

From the get go, it's clear that this release of F1 Championship Season 2000 focuses on competition instead of variety. There are five game modes: race now, multiplayer, single GP, custom championship, and full championship. Notably absent are the training and scenario options that furnished the PS version of the game with nearly infinite replay value. On the upside, though, the game's multiplayer mode supports up to four players with the use of Sony's Multitap accessory. In all modes, there are 22 drivers to choose from, including such fan favorites as David Coulthard and Mika Hakkinen of team McLaren Mercedes, as well as this year's champion, Michael Schumacher of team Ferrari. The game also boasts 17 real-world F1A circuits, including Albert Park in Australia, Hockenheim in Germany, and Indianapolis in the US. To properly tackle each unique environment, there are also a variety of racing options to adjust, from the mundane, such as weather and car damage, to the practical, such as tire type, down force, gear ratios, and fuel load.

After choosing your poison, you'll quickly discover that actually playing F1 Championship Season 2000 is akin to achieving nirvana. The control is tight, and whether you use analog or digital D-pad steering, there's never any sluggishness or lack of response. In a sport where careful breaking and speed monitoring are crucial, F1 Championship Season 2000 plays with the sensitivity of an arcade racer and the realism of a simulation. The physics behind F1 Championship Season 2000 really shine though - skids, spinouts, and drafting are all realistically executed, while crashes and equipment failures lend just the right amount of uncertainty to the races. The game's artificial intelligence is similarly impressive. Competing drivers will block your car or attempt to nudge your wheels for an advantage, while veteran drivers such as Hakkinen and Schumacher always seem to know just how far to push the inside line. Nitpickers may argue that the crashes are a bit too devastating or that the collisions tend to favor the CPU, but otherwise, F1 Championship Season 2000 plays exceptionally well.

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