Yep, it\\'s yet ANOTHER racing game on the Dreamcast. No, don\\'t close this page in disgust just yet! This game\\'s a little bit different, you see. It\\'s not your normal racing game. There are no cars to choose from, for example. You get to drive the Ferrari F355, and that\\'s it. However, what it lacks in options it makes up for in hardcore realism.<br><br><br><br>Yu Suzuki, the creator of this game, likes Ferraris. He likes them so much he decided to make a game that was as close to the experience of driving a real Ferrari as you could get. Legions of programmers modeled the F355 in exhaustive detail, even sampling the actual engine sounds for this game. And, I gotta say, Mr. Suzuki succeeded. The gameplay on F355 Challenge is as close to real as it\\'s possible to get in a current-generation video game. Or rather, the arcade version is as close to real as it\\'s possible to get, down to having to make pit stops during races.<br><br><br><br>The Dreamcast version may use the exact same game engine, but something got lost in the translation. With no wraparound monitors, no steering wheel, and no brake/clutch pedals, a lot of the meticulous realism that made the arcade F355 so impressive becomes pointless on a console. Yes, you can use a racing wheel peripheral, but it\\'s not an integral part of the gameplay any more.<br><br><br><br>In other words, F355 on the Dreamcast is a bit TOO real. At the very least, it\\'s more realistic than it needs to be. A lot of the appeal of the arcade version came from the way you had to steer with one hand, shift with the other, and handle the car exactly as you would if you were a genuine F355 driver. You can\\'t do any of that with the DC port.<br><br><br><br>So, you\\'re left trying to handle a car designed for full-cockpit control with an analog stick and trigger buttons. Now, I like racing games, and play them a lot, but the realism in this game drove me nuts. It definitely took a while to get used to (even with a racing wheel), and I\\'m not entirely sure I mastered everything. F355 Challenge is not a game for amateurs. You\\'d better be dead serious about your race simulations before getting this game, otherwise you\\'re going to get frustrated quite a bit.<br><br><br><br>To be fair, the game does it\\'s damnedest to help the tyro racer. There are three driving modes to choose from, as well as four \\"assist functions\\" like automatic braking. There\\'s even an extensive training mode. With everything in this game set to the easiest it can possibly be, it does everything but steer for you. And even then, all you have to do is follow the red line.<br><br><br><br>Of course, most gamers would rather put training wheels on their bicycles before using all these easy modes. They\\'d rather jump in and race to win. Well, I\\'m gonna say right now that you\\'d better be patient enough to go through the training modes if you\\'re gonna have a chance at this game. This is not something you can jut crank up and race with. This is a sim game, not a toy.<br><br><br><br>The array of gameplay options just emphasizes that. There are six tracks to start from, and more can be unlocked. There\\'s timed checkpoint racing, championship racing against other cars, full car adjustments (including everything from color and number to suspension and camber), split-screen two-player racing, a time attack mode, a mode where you can download someone else\\'s race data and race against THAT, and even a way for you to use the DC modem to read the F355 webpage as you\\'re playing! If you can handle the realism, you\\'re probably not going to get bored with F355 Challenge any time soon!<br><br><br><br>I saved the mention of graphics for last because they\\'re so damn good that I didn\\'t want them to overshadow what I had to say about the gameplay! The cars are sharp, the framerate is fantastic, the backgrounds are really nice (even though some tracks look more bland than others), and cockpit view is as close as most of us are going to get to being behind the wheel of an actual Ferrari F355. Just look at some of the screenshots!<br><br><br><br>The sounds are likewise impressive, with realistic engine sounds, downshifting noises, brakes squealing, and so on. The best part, though, was the mock-radio. As you drive, in pretty much every race mode you pick, a radio station (complete with announcer) plays various rockin\\' tunes. The songs all sound like classic AC/DC hits, even though I haven\\'t yet been able to figure out exactly who performs the music. Whoever is responsible, the songs definitely enhance the mood of driving a Ferrari down a straightaway at 200 miles an hour!<br><br><br><br>Overall, Ferrari F355 is one of the best racing games ever made for the Dreamcast. But be warned: its realism is not for the casual racer. Like the Gran Turismo series, F355 takes dedication and a lot of work to become good at. Once you do get the hang of it, though, the graphics, gameplay, and sounds make for one kick-ass driving experience. It almost makes up for the lack of a shifter and pedal peripherals.<br><br><br><br>Almost.<br><br> <br />