Obviously in the wrong direction. But that isn’t the half of it. If the race car was so hard to control, staying on the track wouldn’t have been that big a challenge. As it was, veering from side-to-side while just attempting to go down the straightaway, and having to reduce the speed to around 75 miles per hour just to control the vehicle which is capable of speeds easily twice that speed, was the beginning of the ridicule from the announcer.

Formula One 99, from Psygnosis, is the kind of program that is great to look at, wonderful to listen to, but a pain to play. It didn’t matter whether the controls were handled by the joystick or keyboard, the car handled like a log racing downstream through rapids.

Instead of the finely tuned, responsive speed burner one is accustomed to viewing on featured races, the car was relegated to a disaster waiting to happen. EASports has successfully snagged the feel of high-powered cars in titles like NASCAR Revolution and the Need for Speed series. Even Activision’s Interstate 82 manages to give the driver some sense of control over his vehicle. That is missing from this title.

You can correct some of the handling problems in the Car Setup in the options’ menu. But every time you adjust one aspect of your vehicle, you take away from another area. You can push the power ratio up, for more speed, but you will take away from the handling. And, of course, if you don’t really know what you are doing, fiddling around in this area isn’t the wisest thing to do. Play the game, get a feel for the vehicle, then tinker. And if you are really bad at driving this, you don’t have to listen to the announcer lambasting your every attempt. Turn him off. The options’ menu allows you to do that.

Actually the options’ menu of Formula One 99 is solid. There are quick a number of real professional Formula One drivers you can choose from to represent your in-game persona, a variety of tracks are available, and you can adjust the weather. And yes, there are flags on the course to indicate what is happening in the race. You have to look up in the corner of the screen to see them, and the last thing you really want to see is a black flag. That indicates a time penalty or disqualification. In a timed event like Formula One racing, those are not good things. A blue flag isn’t any good either. It basically means ‘move over slowpoke and let the real racers pass you.’

Another nice feature is the pit stop. Formula One 99 makes you work your pit stops, and you do have to take them. You can’t just zoom around the track, impervious to wear and tear, and fuel consumption. Bumping or rubbing the walls or other cars can take their toll, and some of the crashes are quite spectacular.

This program is excellent graphically, though there are a few minor flaws, and the audio is first-rate. The game board is varied, and while a little flat in terms of dimensional scenery (no, this is not a 3D accelerated program), is nonetheless bright and well-rendered.

Formula One 99 does support multiplayer gaming through a LAN line, and is rated E for everyone.

Overall, Formula One 99 zips out onto the track with the throttle wide open, but has a little trouble shifting up in the control category. It successfully negotiates the hairpin graphically, and in spite of some stalling, manages to get a checkered flag for audio and the game board.

Install: Easy. Formula One 99 doesn’t eat up much hard drive space, making the installation process a relatively quick one.

Gameplay: 7. The game board is seamless, although there are inconsistencies. Laying rubber on the track is one thing, on the grass, gravel and water is something else again.

Graphics: 8. The graphic presentation is solid. This game looks very good.

Sound: 8. Excellent. Effects, music and voice are all crisp and clear.

Difficulty: 9. This game has a high difficulty factor simply because the race car is so hard to control. Add the element of other drivers and you have quite a task before you.

Concept: 7. Racing games are nothing new, but the Formula One cars adds a nice perspective to the genre.

Overall: 7. The control problems detract from this game, but graphics and audio keep it from running out of gas.