Warm Up!
Score: 95% ESRB: Everyone Publisher: Microids Developer: Lankhor Media: 1/0 Players: 1 - Multiplayer Genre: Racing
Graphics & Sound: I think the hardest thing a racing development team has to do is make asphalt look pretty. With Warm Up! , Microids did a shocking job making not only the asphalt grayish with little rock thingies, but also making the corresponding race environment look authentic. With over 15 races spanning over just as many countries it seems, a whole multitude of backgrounds and colors had to be created...and boy do they look good! Of course, what would beautiful smooth asphalt and rows of dancing trees be without the cars? Over 22 cars available on this one, makes many an F-1 nut (including myself) extremely happy. Each car is as distinct as the maker it proudly displays. Each of the cars are as streamlined as anyone's face on Cosmopolitan , and every car has its own individual sponsors. You can even change the colors of the cars to correspond to anyone's right-brained tastes. This is totally how racing should look. Even at 220 mph, the cars still look good. Finally, as a real kicker, the crowd that comes out to every race looks astonishing. I always feel like the backgrounds can make or break a racing game, and Warm Up! made it. From the pit crew hustling, to the rubber marks that you could peel off the road, you're in for some real sweet eye candy on this one. The sound is definitely what I was looking for. The engines sound like they're loaded with lots of horses. The crowd roars its approval as you make a daring pass, and gasps appropriately on any wrecks. The tires squeal as they lay a fresh layer of rubber to the asphalt, or when they bark their disapproval to you braking too fast or sharp. The music is an original score, and man is it good. Racing music needs to be in your face, and Warm Up!'s music is truly fist pumping. It's a good blend of rock and techno beats, and its done very well. The sound does nothing wrong here, as it adds another crisp layer to the visual presentation, and to the overall feel that you're right there in Monaco cheering your favorite F1 to victory.
Gameplay: Warm Up! is no different from any of your really planned-out racing games. It has your run-of-the-mill Arcade Mode for all you 'I've only got 5 minutes and I have to race' types out there. You can select from a number of cars and racing teams, and get out there to smoke the competition. There is a Simulation Mode which allows you to race an Exhibition or Grand Prix. The Grand Prix is a lot like your normal Championship Mode where you have to race effectively over a whole season to win the points championship. There is also an option to create your own championship, including the races you really like, and the order you want to race them in. After each race, you can modify your car to make it better, or in my case repair it, since I spent more times showing my sponsors off to walls, than to the finish line. There are a ton of options, which I absolutely love. Once you're on the track, the realism is kind of tainted a bit. These machines go in excess of 200 mph, so when they hit something, they're sure to not hold up well. Well, I found that I could do some amazing things and only my spoiler would get messed up. Occasionally, my engine would catch fire (this equals 'BAD'), but for the most part, the damage engine isn't too realistic. It looks okay enough, when the cars do get damaged, but I was a little let down when I clipped another racer heading the wrong way, and we kind of bounced off of each other. Granted, I would probably be complaining if the damage were all-too-real, as no race would ever be finished, but I thought Microids could've added a bit more realism.
Difficulty: WU! isn't too difficult, yet retains enough challenge to make you feel like you earned a win. You aren't going to start out, and win a championship right off the bat. You have to learn how to coast the curves, and slingshot out into the straightaways...like real racing. Of course, you have every option available to tune your car, so you'll find a tuning that suits you quickly enough. Trust me, for all you Sim fans out there, Warm Up! will let you tune EVERYTHING pertinent to the car's performance. Its absolutely brilliant. If you find that it gets too difficult being an F1 driver, there are options which let you choose Steering Assist, Brake Assist, and even a preferred line to follow on the track. This line maximizes your braking and acceleration, thus being the quickest and most efficient way to win a race.
Game Mechanics: Warm Up! has an initially steep learning curve that can be discouraging, but all the options make this game as customizable as the United Nations. I didn't find a tutorial in the game, but with a Practice option and all the tweaking you can do, you'll soon find out what everything does. The controls are a little difficult to master, what with keys being all over the keyboard, but it is accomplishable. I would recommend a joystick or steering wheel, as Warm Up! can get intense, and sweaty fingers equal mistakes on the keyboard. Of course, my fingers could've been sweaty because I ate my wife's chili that night, and boy does she use some jalapenos! Again, if you put the time into mastering this game, the effort is well worth it. Riot Rundown: Wow, what a brilliant game. I love tons of options, and the overall feel of racing an F1. I think this game will only appeal to true racing fans, but boy will it tickle their fancy as they run the first race of the season in Australia, or the speed-happy course in America. I was very well pleased with the Gran Turismo 3 -like intro, and the gameplay and graphics only added to that. A wonderful game overall that racing fans will play again and again.
-Sydney Riot, GameVortex Communications AKA Will Grigoratos
Minimum System Requirements: Intel Pentium MMX 233Mhz or equivalent AMD, 32MB RAM, 3D accelerator card - 4MB of memory, Sound card, CD-ROM drive Recommended configuration Intel Pentium II 300Mhz or equivalent AMD, 128MB RAM, 3D card- 16 MB of memory, Sound card, CD-ROM drive X16   Test System: 433 mghz processor, Win 98, 128 megs of RAM, 8 MB video chip, Phillips sound card
Tropico: Paradise Island Warrior Kings