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It’s been increasingly frustrating to go online every evening & see my all GTP buddies logged into GT5P – none of them apparently willing to try Ferrari Challenge. So here, I've stuck my neck out, & as a public service, I've compiled the top ten reasons why Ferrari Challenge is a better game than GT5P. Yes, I know, I must be 
1) Tracks – FC has got 14 excellent tracks, some of them long-established favorites like Spa, Mugello, Montreal, others great, but less-known like Mont Tremblant & Virginia Raceway. In comparison, GT5P offers a handful of tracks, some of dubious interest &, in any case, not all available for online racing.
2) Physics – I wouldn’t go so far as to say FC has better physics. The physics are excellent, perhaps a little less detailed & complex than GT5P, but what is far superior IMO is the implementation of FFB. FC is the first console game I’ve played that really communicates the feel of driving & cornering at speed through the wheel. The driver can actually feel the sense of weight transfer & loss of grip – the tires not just sliding through the turn, but alternately gripping & slipping as they are pushed beyond their limits. On the fast downhill corners of Spa, you can actually feel the back end lighten up as the weight shifts to the front tires under extreme braking & turning – it’s really an amazing sensation. In comparison, in GT5P the physics may be there, but you don’t really feel them in the same way, you have to find the correct balance more by experience & trial & error.
3) Private Lobbies – no need for further comment. Also: there is no region locking or “World Events” – Hello Oz! Hello Sweden! Hello Tajekistan! Let’s get it on!
4) Online options – pick your car, track, the length of race (it’s great to have the option of running a 30 minute race with well-matched opponents!), assists available etc.
5) Offline Gameplay - decent AI & no ridiculous "mission" events that require endless repetition to learn exactly how to pass 15 cars in 3 laps!
6) Collisions – in FC the cars react to contact – bumping & ramming does have consequences – but not the wildly exaggerated shunting that takes place in GT5P. This remains one of the biggest mysteries about online GT5P – why did PD program these reactions into the online game? A good percentage of the posts on these forums have to do with online “punting”. A lot of that punting has less to do with bad or reckless driving & more to do with the weird consequences of the collision calculations. How many times have you been knocked off by someone ricocheting wildly from a collision with another ricocheting car bumped by another car? In FC you can actually drive side-by-side with another car through a corner, trading paint while you jockey for position.
7) Weather – races in the rain are an option, with more demanding but reasonable physics. The wet graphics are outstanding – the best visuals in the game.
8) Time clock – a small, but significant feature. The game shows the difference between your time & the car in front & behind allowing you to evaluate your driving on a moment-by-moment basis. In practice, this adds interest to long races, particularly when you are a significant distance away from your rivals. BTW, no RBE! Never had it, never will!
9) Visual customization – as in Forza, you can paint & sticker your car to make it unique on the track.
10) Cars – they’re Ferraris!
So, to be fair, here are the shortcomings of FC:
1) Graphics – it’s not GT5P. The visuals, although rich & detailed, have an unrealistic, almost cartoony quality to them compared to the startling realism of GT5P. This gives an arcadey feel to the driving, in spite of the great physics. It takes a while to get used to this after being accustomed to GT5P, but with time it is not something that you worry about. As always: Gameplay>Graphics.
2) No tuning options – if you like to tinker around with your car, you’re out of luck. Personally, I don’t have much interest in this & it makes the racing dependent entirely on driver skill.
3) Frame-rate stutter – although, in general, the online visuals are the same as offline, when you are close (within passing distance) to another online car, the frame rate & sound often “stutters”. This is a significant problem, detracting from the precision of close-racing. However, although disturbing, IMO the major negative aspect of the game, it is not a game-killer. Over-all the racing is very satisfying.
4) No ghost replays offline/online & limited replay functions.
5) Cars – they’re ALL Ferraris!
So, if FC is so good why are so few people playing it? Well, like Formula One Championship Edition before it, it had some problems when it launched. Like F1CE, it’s not a game that is likely to appeal to the “casual gamer”, so, for the casual gamer the reviews are pretty realistic. But for the committed GTPer, endlessly running the same couple of GT5P tracks online, over & over again, & waiting with infinite patience & dedication for any sign of the Fifth Coming, the purchase of Ferrari Challenge should be a no-brainer. Trust me...
1) Tracks – FC has got 14 excellent tracks, some of them long-established favorites like Spa, Mugello, Montreal, others great, but less-known like Mont Tremblant & Virginia Raceway. In comparison, GT5P offers a handful of tracks, some of dubious interest &, in any case, not all available for online racing.
2) Physics – I wouldn’t go so far as to say FC has better physics. The physics are excellent, perhaps a little less detailed & complex than GT5P, but what is far superior IMO is the implementation of FFB. FC is the first console game I’ve played that really communicates the feel of driving & cornering at speed through the wheel. The driver can actually feel the sense of weight transfer & loss of grip – the tires not just sliding through the turn, but alternately gripping & slipping as they are pushed beyond their limits. On the fast downhill corners of Spa, you can actually feel the back end lighten up as the weight shifts to the front tires under extreme braking & turning – it’s really an amazing sensation. In comparison, in GT5P the physics may be there, but you don’t really feel them in the same way, you have to find the correct balance more by experience & trial & error.
3) Private Lobbies – no need for further comment. Also: there is no region locking or “World Events” – Hello Oz! Hello Sweden! Hello Tajekistan! Let’s get it on!
4) Online options – pick your car, track, the length of race (it’s great to have the option of running a 30 minute race with well-matched opponents!), assists available etc.
5) Offline Gameplay - decent AI & no ridiculous "mission" events that require endless repetition to learn exactly how to pass 15 cars in 3 laps!
6) Collisions – in FC the cars react to contact – bumping & ramming does have consequences – but not the wildly exaggerated shunting that takes place in GT5P. This remains one of the biggest mysteries about online GT5P – why did PD program these reactions into the online game? A good percentage of the posts on these forums have to do with online “punting”. A lot of that punting has less to do with bad or reckless driving & more to do with the weird consequences of the collision calculations. How many times have you been knocked off by someone ricocheting wildly from a collision with another ricocheting car bumped by another car? In FC you can actually drive side-by-side with another car through a corner, trading paint while you jockey for position.
7) Weather – races in the rain are an option, with more demanding but reasonable physics. The wet graphics are outstanding – the best visuals in the game.
8) Time clock – a small, but significant feature. The game shows the difference between your time & the car in front & behind allowing you to evaluate your driving on a moment-by-moment basis. In practice, this adds interest to long races, particularly when you are a significant distance away from your rivals. BTW, no RBE! Never had it, never will!
9) Visual customization – as in Forza, you can paint & sticker your car to make it unique on the track.
10) Cars – they’re Ferraris!
So, to be fair, here are the shortcomings of FC:
1) Graphics – it’s not GT5P. The visuals, although rich & detailed, have an unrealistic, almost cartoony quality to them compared to the startling realism of GT5P. This gives an arcadey feel to the driving, in spite of the great physics. It takes a while to get used to this after being accustomed to GT5P, but with time it is not something that you worry about. As always: Gameplay>Graphics.
2) No tuning options – if you like to tinker around with your car, you’re out of luck. Personally, I don’t have much interest in this & it makes the racing dependent entirely on driver skill.
3) Frame-rate stutter – although, in general, the online visuals are the same as offline, when you are close (within passing distance) to another online car, the frame rate & sound often “stutters”. This is a significant problem, detracting from the precision of close-racing. However, although disturbing, IMO the major negative aspect of the game, it is not a game-killer. Over-all the racing is very satisfying.
4) No ghost replays offline/online & limited replay functions.
5) Cars – they’re ALL Ferraris!
So, if FC is so good why are so few people playing it? Well, like Formula One Championship Edition before it, it had some problems when it launched. Like F1CE, it’s not a game that is likely to appeal to the “casual gamer”, so, for the casual gamer the reviews are pretty realistic. But for the committed GTPer, endlessly running the same couple of GT5P tracks online, over & over again, & waiting with infinite patience & dedication for any sign of the Fifth Coming, the purchase of Ferrari Challenge should be a no-brainer. Trust me...
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.And i have to say i liked it a lot.The graphics like you say are not the best,but the handling physics are great..👍.only problem is my ps3 got the (ylod)while i was playing it,so i cant play anything at the moment
but rest assured when i get my ps3 back it will be seeing a lot of FC
.I just hope they send back the game to me as well,since its still in the dead one.
I really have no idea why GT5P is like this. Like "Collisions" in GT5P it really makes no sense.
