Grand Prix 3

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a game by Microprose
Platform: PC (2000)
Editor Rating: 7.3/10, based on 2 reviews, 3 reviews are shown
User Rating: 8.0/10 - 4 votes
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See also: Monaco Grand Prix Games

For a racing game that was released 20 years ago, Grand Prix 3 still holds up very well. This was a pretty big leap in the world of simulation racing games. It was a massive success and I would go as far as to say that the current F1 games that we have owe a great deal to games like this one here. However, does this hold up after all these years? Let's jump in the drives seat and find out!

The Complete F1 Experience

I will admit that the more modern F1 games go far more in-depth with how much you are immersed in the world of F1 racing. Grand Prix 3 though does hold its own and offer a very compelling F1 experience. You have the 1998 season to play through. You have all 16 tracks from the season and each one was recreated as realistically as possible by 2000 standards.

You have 11 teams with 22 drivers as well. It is a pretty cool “going back in time” kind of thing to play this now, especially if you are a fan of the sport. The goal is to try and help your team become the champions at the end of the season and win as many trophies as you can.

They Call Me Speed

The presentation is pretty solid. While the menus may be a tad boring and barebones, they do serve their purpose. Grand Prix 3 at the time of release was head and shoulders above any racing game on a console in terms of the visuals on the track. The cars themselves look great and each track has been recreated as faithfully as possible.

There are new dynamic weather effects added to this game which also look great. Seeing the rain pound down on the track or the sun in the distance is great stuff and helps add to the overall realism of the game.

On The Track

As you already know, Grand Prix 3 is a realistic racing sim. The handling does take a while to get used to, but for the most part, it is great. The AI of the other drivers is very smart and they will not just let you pass them with ease. There is a good progression system where you can upgrade your car. Changing tires and making good use of your pitstops is something you simply must get used to. It may lack the flair of a modern F1 game, but this is still a very addicting kind of racing game. I am sure that if you are a fan of F1, you will get even more out of this game.

I think that this is a game that holds up surprisingly well. Does it match the current F1 games that we have now? I would have to say no, but it is easy to see why back in 2000 Grand Prix 3 was such a massive hit. It is still a fun game to play and if you have an interest or love for 90s F1 then you are going to get even more of a kick out of this game.

8.5

Final Score

Pros:

  • You can play through the 1998 F1 season
  • The game is a lot of fun to play
  • The tracks are fantastic
  • The game still looks pretty good
  • In many ways, it set the groundwork for what the F1 series would become

Cons:

  • The game does feel rather dated
  • The overall presentation is kind of barebones

Download Grand Prix 3

PC

System requirements:

  • PC compatible
  • Operating systems: Windows 10/Windows 8/Windows 7/2000/Vista/WinXP

Game Reviews

What we thought

"The series has become too familiar. And although it's well worth buying this third instalment, It's hard to call it an essential purchase."

What you said

People say:

  • I think you've completely missed the mark with your review of GP3. You said it's too clinical for non-hardcore enthusiasts, but that's just rubbish.Yes, you can mess around with gear ratios and stuff, but even the worst player will be able to finish in the top six on Rookie mode after just a few races. Granted, the crowds look poor, the tyre walls adequate and the pit crew shoddy, but does that matter? The sound is as good as in any other F1 game and commentary would've just been off-putting -although pit crew communication would've been nice. However, the quality of the Al, little touches such as dry lines on the track and mistakes from other cars, coupled with the fact that it's easy for newcomers while still catering for hardcore F1 fans, make GP3 an essential purchase.
  • GP3 is basically GP2, with graphics that look about two years old. GRTIets us down with blocky close ups, pop-up scenery, and cut-out crowds that sparkle. Force feedback is a disappointment, simply throwing you from side to side, with the odd kerb rumble thrown in for good measure. The awkward wheel display means that if you glance down at it, you almost always crash. A television style race banner, which works so well in other F1 sims, is needed. Pit lane renderings are laughable, with cars floating in mid air, while driving 50+ laps makes you realise just how lacking in atmosphere the game is. GP3 desperately needs pit lane communicabon, which gives race information, team orders and a Walker-Brundle type commentary opbon. The sound is basic and tinny - where are the 600 BHP throaty engine sounds? And there's still no parade lap, safety car or team tactics. I'm so critical because it's not the great leap forward we were promised. If it had come out two years ago, it would have scored 96 per cent, but today, all things considered, 80 per cent is just about right.
  • Thank God, at least someone can still give accurate and unbiased reviews we can rely on. How certain other gaming magazines could rate GP3 so highly is beyond belief, as it's a game with dated graphics and numerous flaws. Basically, it's exactly the same as its four-year-old predecessor. I think you got the review pretty much spot on with 80 per cent. Although you could have mentioned that the game runs poorly with a Voodoo 2. Don't get me wrong, I love playing GP3, but 80 per cent is the maximum you can give a game when there is no split-axis peddle option (pretty much a necessity for a driving game!), replays are only ten seconds long, the graphics and sound are dated and there are loads of annoying bugs. I'm going to go back to Grand Prix Legends, which is still the most entertaining racing game, even though it's two years old.
  • I think GP3 is dreadful. I've been waiting for it for a long time, and I'm afraid to say that I'm hugely disappointed with one major part of it. It's too damn hard. So hard in fact that it's almost unplayable. I've completed both GP1 and GP2 on the medium difficulty settings, but even the Rookie level on GP3 is proving too hard. I qualify about 10th, but in the few minutes between my qualifying lap and the end of the session, I somehow always end up at the back of the grid. I feel like I shouldn't even bother with the qualification session, and should just go straight into the race. After all, I'll still be starting from the same place. In the race, as soon as I hit the throttle, my car wants to spin, even with the acceleration aid on. As for the car set up, what am I supposed to know about the intricacies of down force and brake balances? Surely these factors shouldn't affect your car as much as they do on Rookie level. I've been an avid gamer for years and, while I don't consider myself to be the best game player in the world, I'm certainly not the worst, particularly since I've completed loads ot driving games in my time. I understand that this is a simulation, and in this respect the game is superti. My point is that playing a game if you can't enjoy it is pointless. Surely it should have been simpler on the easier difficulty settings, so as not to put off too many people early on. Personally, I doubt I'll ever play it again. GP3 could have been the best racing game ever, for both rookies and pros. As it is, only people who are prepared to invest all of their spare time into it will ever truly master it. I'm sure not that many people will be prepared to do this. I've spent $30 that I couldn't really afford on a game that I thought was going to last me a very long time. And after a mere two days, I'm pulling my hair out and screaming because it's not up to scratch. This isn't just my opinion, as many of my friends feel the same way. We're all avid gamers and we all agree that GP3 is a huge disappointment.

F1 racing just isn't what it used to be. Over the last few years, just about every race has deteriorated into the type of procession you'd expect to see on a Sunday afternoon along a quiet country lane, as convoys of elderly folk make their way back home for tea and cake after a day at the seaside. It's all become a little too predictable. Let me give you just a couple of examples. When he's not nursing any broken limbs, Michael Schumacher inevitably throws away his chances of a third world title by trying to ram his nearest rival off the track during the final race. David Coulthard always claims that it's his year, only to finish third, and Mika Hakkinen consistently displays the charisma of a catatonic newt in his post-victory press conferences. As for watching the races, it's always worrying when you actually start looking forward to the adverts. Yes, Grand Prix racing has lost some of its excitement and unpredictability, some of the magic that once made it so appealing. Which ironically brings us perfectly onto the subject of GP3.

Here We Go Again

Perhaps they all knew something I didn't, but when a copy of GP3 finally, several members of the team reacted with the kind of excitement they usually reserve for knitting magazines. Crowding round my monitor, they claimed that it looked just like GP2, before walking back to their desks with a sense of smug satisfaction. To an extent, they weren't too far off the mark. Basically, and unfortunately somewhat predictably, GP3 is GP2 with a few extra bells, but to write the game off as nothing other than a souped-up rerun is somewhat unfair. To its credit, the game does manage to recreate the sport more accurately than any other FI game currently on the market, and even more faithfully than either of the previous two titles.

Let's start with the graphics ' shall we? As you can see for yourselves from the screen shots, the visuals are somewhat of a mixed bag. It's clear that a great deal of attention has been paid to the accurate recreation of the circuits, with each one actually looking like the real thing in just about every detail. The cars are also beautifully rendered, moving fluidly and realistically, and you can even see their reflections in the water during wet races. However, this apparent attention to detail doesn't apply to everything. The tyre walls are blocky, the pit crews mannequin-like and the crowds look like rows of cardboard cutouts. All of which leads you to think that it's hardly ground-breaking stuff.

And They're Off

The handling of your car has also been modified. Rather than taking corners casually, you now have to really fight with the wheel, as your vehicle threatens to spin off the circuit at any moment. Although it's initially frustrating, it does make proceedings far more challenging, and if you're playing with a game wheel, hugely realistic. The more you tweak the settings of your car to individual circuit requirements, the easier it is to drive around corners, but getting the right balance requires many laps of testing first. Down force, brake balance, gear ratios, fuel load, tyre choices, pit-stop strategies, they're all there, and getting these right can make the difference between finishing first or sixth. It really is that marginal. It's also incredibly anal. If you're not into dribbling spoddily onto your keyboard while weighing up the advantages of lowering your rear wing by one centimetre, then a huge portion of the game's just going to pass you by.

Once you've found your ideal setup, sorted out your race strategy and had a go at qualifying, it's time to start racing for real. It's only now that you realise just how close to the real thing GP3 actually is, although a certain amount of licence has been allowed in terms of collisions and damage and, thankfully, races aren't as procession-like as they've become in real life. Just playing on the Rookie setting is enough to display the quality of the opposition Al, while on more difficult levels, computer-controlled drivers are easily the most realistic we've ever seen in a driving game. They move to block you off if you try a daring overtaking manoeuvre, they all have different race strategies and if you make even the smallest mistake, they'll rarely fail to capitalise on your ineptitude. As if your life wasn't difficult enough though, you have to contend with varying weather conditions, which can not only change midrace, but affect the handling of your car beyond all recognition.

If there's heavy rain, the cars in front of you will throw up a curtain of spray, reducing your visibility to just a couple of metres. Driving in the wet is like riding blindfolded on a unicycle, over a frozen oil-covered lake. Fortunately, you're provided with a host of driving aids to help you get to grips with the controls, which can be turned on and off at will during any part of a race.

Realism Vs Entertainment

So we've established that GP3 is realistic, but is it any fun to play? The answer to this question really depends on what you're looking for. If you're a GP anorak who can't wait to start tweaking car settings, painstakingly learning circuit layouts and braking distances, while not minding the fact that the cars and drivers are (and we had a real problem with this) from two seasons ago, then this is probably the game for you. However, if you're not too concerned with the above, and you just want a fun FI simulation, then you should think hard before parting with your cash.

See, the problem with GP3 is that it just becomes too clinical. The realism and over-emphasis on detail has to a certain extent taken away some of the excitement of just racing, and overall, the game lacks any type of atmosphere. For starters, there's no commentary option, but I suppose you'd expect that from a simulation. However, there's no pit communication either. Entire races are spent listening to nothing other than the engine of your car, which sounds more like a fly in a jam jar than a 600 hp engine. The lack of team communication also leads to a sense that you're a one (wo)man team, rather than a member of a competitive collective. Races would be so much more entertaining if you could get information from your pit crew over a radio, rather than having to squint at the display on your steering wheel, to find out how far ahead of you the car in front is. Then there's the problem that there are no team orders or tactics whatsoever. If you need to win the last race of the season to take the championship, your team-mate will make no effort at all to help you out. Little things like this would have made GP3 so much more fun to play.

Shuffling Forwards

GP3 is undoubtedly excellent, but it could have been so much better. In terms of realism and accuracy, it has no equal, but it's not the huge leap forward from GP2 that we were all hoping for. The series has become too familiar, and although it's well worth buying this third instalment, it's hard to call it an essential purchase. The most amount of fun you'll have with it is if you've got access to a decent LAN connection, as playing with humans adds a random element, as well as rectifying the problem of a lack of team work in the single-player races. (When we asked Hasbro about the game's Internet options, we received a cagey reply. There were no servers for the game as we went to press - watch our Online section for updates). Just like real-life FI though, the series has become too predictable, but if you're a GP enthusiast, then this is the perfect game for you.

Race Ahead

Once you've mastered ttie driving basics and managed to qualify somewhere other than last, it's important you learn the intricacies of each track. Here's our guide on how to succeed on the world's most famous circuit, Monaco

  1. You've qualified fourth, which Is hardly a disaster. However, overtaking opportunities at Monaco are scarce, so It's not going to be easy to move up the field. A fast start Is essential, so revving your engine like crazy and wheel-spinning is not the way to go. Instead, accelerate away firmly but smoothly.

  2. Time for some gentle persuasion. The first comer is a slow right-hander, so when you're level with the car to your right, start to subtly edge towards it. If you can get your nose in front before this first comer, then the other driver should back off and let you through. That's one place gained already.

  3. Staying tight left up the hill, cruise round the long bend in fourth gear moving slowly to the middle of the track as the bend ends, then come down to first for the tight right-hand comer. Accelerate down the small straight, and leave braking as late as possible to close up on the car In front.

  4. This next section Is the most infamous part of the circuit. If you mess It up, you'll get stuck against the wall, or wind up off the track. Either way, you'll end up looking like a total nonce, so stay tucked behind the car In front and hold the racing line.

  5. The sudden distance that appears between you and the in front through the tunnel is pretty deceptive. This Is only because the comer before It is so slow. Start wide and move gradually right. If you're close enough, slipstream the car in front and use the extra speed to outbrake him at the comer.

  6. If you're not near enough to use the slipstream trick, as demonstrated in the picture, then you're going to have to bide your time again. Brake late, and stay tucked right under the rear wing of the car In front, as you go left then right. Don't try anything clever, as you'll only end up spinning or something.

  7. Hit the throttle round the long left, navigate through the s-bend and then the righthander. Make sure you stay just behind the car In front, but be careful you don't collide with it, as you'll break your car's nose, and the driver who you Just rammed will probably try to break yours in the pits later on.

  8. The final bend before the home straight offers the opening you've been waiting for. Brake late, and as your opponent stringently sticks to the racing line, cut inside and accelerate diagonally in front of him. He'll have to slow up to let you through (well hopefully), allowing you to pull away on the straight.

Snapshots and Media

PC Screenshots

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