Take the Eau Rouge flat out in this week’s Throwback Thursday, where we take a look at EA Sports and ISI’s F1 2002. The title was not only released for PC, but also for the Playstation 2, Xbox, Gamecube, and Gameboy Advance (Visual Science developed the console versions of the game) Simulating the 2002 Formula One season, F1 2002 also served as a modding hotspot for the community to extend the life of the title.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jvc1u4EEYa8[/youtube]
F1 2002 was released in June of 2002, and features all 22 drivers and 17 tracks of the 2002 Formula One World Championship. The sim also included some features such as challenges (akin to Gran Turismo’s license tests), dynamic pit crews, and a draft meter that could provide a “boost” (for the sim purists, this could thankfully be removed).
While many people saw F1 2002 as just a “roster update” with not many new additions (and some removals raised eyebrows), but at its core, it was a comprehensive simulator with potential. A modding community formed around the title, and added some quality content to the sim. One of the most notable mods was the 2002 GT mod, created by SimBin Development Team. The mod featured all of the cars from the 2002 FIA GT Championship, and set a new bar for 3rd party add-ons to racing titles. Another modding group that got its start in F1 2002 was CTDP, whose first mod recreated the 1995 Formula One season.
While F1 2002 was eclipsed a year later by EA’s swan song, F1 Challenge 99-02, F1 2002 will likely hold a spot in many sim racers’ hearts, with what it brought to the table post-release. You can still find F1 2002 on Amazon or other retailers if you look around. Do you have some fond memories of F1 2002? What was your favorite mod for the sim?