cross-posted from: https://lemmy.zip/post/9054372

Ferrari Challenge: Trofeo Pirelli Review
Released: 2008

Reviewed on PlayStation 3

There’s no shortage of racing games on the PlayStation 3 but there’s one that doesn’t receive nearly as much attention as it deserves.

Ferrari Challenge: Trofeo Pirelli is that game.

As the title suggests this is a Ferrari racing game with 22 Ferrari’s available for you to drive from classics like the 1958 250 Testa Rossa all the way up to the blisteringly fast FXX. But before you think that a game with only one car manufacturer isn’t worth playing over something like Gran Turismo you might want to stick around.

Developed by Eutechnyx (Le Mans 24 Hours, F1 World Grand Prix & Hot Wheels: Beat that!) what they have created is a truly stunning racing game.

Let’s start with the driving physics. They are absolutely fantastic and are the highlight of the game, which is how it should for a racing game.

Each car feels unique so you can tell the difference between a classic Ferrari and a modern track day monster. The steering is super responsive and perfectly conveys the cars weight and power. The sense of speed is also spot on conveying just how fast these cars are. Ferrari Challenge has some flaws which we’ll get too but rest assured the handling is not one of them. In fact because of just how fun the cars are to drive I was a little disappointed when I earned the platinum trophy.

Each cor is modelled in meticulous detail which don’t just look for a PS3 game, they hold up pretty well today.

Obviously no racing game is complete without some tracks to race on. Ferrari Challenge has 15 tracks available including some legendary locations such as Monza, Spa, Hokenhiem, and Silverstone.

Each track looks amazingly detailed however it’s not difficult to tell that the real life counterparts weren’t laser scanned (if laser scanning tracks was even a thing in 2008) and some corners, especially the second chicane at Monza which can be taken flat out here are just not right. Don’t get me wrong it’s a minor complaint and I did like getting to race on the classic Silverstone circuit as I’ve never cared for the new layout but it’s worth mentioning that some creative liberty has been taken on some tracks.

Each track can be raced in dry and wet conditions and in the wet the environments look fantastic with the mist and spray adding to the dull overcast lighting.

This being the official Ferrari game it’s only fitting that Fiorano features in the game as it’s their very own test track. Unfortunately it’s only used in the games tutorial event and isn’t seen again for the rest of the game which is such a shame but I’m guessing it was a stipulation from Ferrari. You can’t even do quick races or time trials on it.

Ferrari Challenge has a healthy amount of game modes to chose from with the main one being Challenge Mode. This mode sees you taking part in three tournaments consisting of 7 races each with each race weekend consisting of a qualifying session that determines your starting position for race one and the result of the first race deciding your starting position for race two. So a poor qualifying session isn’t necessarily the end of the world. The two races will be either 5 or 15 minutes long depending on which length you opt for. Most of the time one of the two races on a race weekend will be in wet conditions. This is the mode that will unlock the cars and tracks available the game so make this your first stop.

This seems like a good time to address a feature that even after 25 hours with the game I honestly don’t know if I love or hate. The AI.

Clearly no racing game is complete without AI controlled cars to race but the AI in Ferrari Challenge ranges from amazing to downright rage inducing. Like most games from this era the AI can and often does drive like you simply don’t exist. It will drive into the back of you while you’re braking for a turn or will pit manoeuvre you if you dare get in its way. But when you’re doing the overtaking it actually moves off-line to defend its position into corners, although there’s times it will dive across the track right in front of you in the braking zone which in racing is a big no no.

Once you learn how the AI behaves you can have some amazing and close racing with it but it can still be unpredictable at times doing things that in a real race would warrant and instant black flag and thats why I can’t tell if I love it or hate it.

As for the remainder of the game modes there’s Trophy mode that gives each and every car in the game a 3 race one-make tournament to compete in.

An Arcade mode that offers four tournaments of increasing difficulty and Time Trial which is fairly self explanatory.

There is multiplayer that is still online however there is nobody playing it as you can imagine. But if you could get a group together the mode is still functional for you to play.

As you progress through the game you unlock Challenge Cards for things like winning a certain number of races or finish a race without going off track, that kind of thing. These cards are essentially Top Trumps cards and you can have a full game of Ferrari Top Trumps with the cards you’ve unlocked which makes for a nice change of pace on occasion.

Performance wise the game received a patch that dialled back some of the visual effects to improve the frame rate which is a mostly stable 60fps. There are drops on some tracks, most notably Spa in the rain but it’s nothing too jarring.

The single biggest performance issue I noticed is navigating the menus is slow as hell and quickly becomes frustrating. I though it was just because we’ve been spoiled by the PlayStation 5’s super fast SSD but I fired up Gran Turismo 5 and the menus were snappy and responsive. So it’s definitely a Ferrari Challenge issue.

Verdict

Ferrari Challenge is a hidden gem of PlayStation 3 racing simulators and Eutechnyx has made one hell of game here that you don’t need to be a Ferrari fan to enjoy, obviously Ferrari fans will get more out of it but I wouldn’t call myself a Ferrari fan and I thoroughly enjoyed this game.

The cars feel and look great and even though some artistic licence has been taken on a few of the tracks they are all well made and fun to race around.

Trophy Information

Ferrari Challenge has no multiplayer trophies and the platinum is earn-able in 2024 and will take around 25 hours depending on skill level.

2024 Buyers Guide

Ferrari Challenge is available on the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Nintendo DS and Wii however the PS3 version is best of the bunch as it’s the only HD console it’s available on.

It is still available on the PlayStation Store for £11.99. However a note of caution before you buy the digital version. The digital and physical versions have one important difference that’s worth noting before you buy.

The physical version will update to version 2.02 and the digital version is 2.03. This difference affects the AI in the game with the difficulty in the digital version far higher than the physical version.

A copy on disc for PlayStation 3 will cost around £10. A copy for the PS2, DS and Wii costs around £5.