''Formula One 2003'' is a racing video game developed by Studio Liverpool and published by Sony Computer Entertainment exclusively for

PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...

. It is a sequel to the

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

video game '' Formula One 2002'' and was based on the

2003 Formula One World Championship The 2003 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 57th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It began on 9 March 2003 and ended on 12 October after sixteen races. World Championship titles were awarded for both drivers and constructor ...

Gameplay

The game features all ten teams and twenty drivers competing in the 2003 Formula One World Championship (except for mid-season changes), as well as the sixteen circuits and Grands Prix that formed the championship calendar. The game also includes the new one-shot qualifying rules and points system introduced for the 2003 Formula One World Championship, as well as the alterations to the Hungaroring and Suzuka circuits. There are eleven game modes available for single and multiplayer, including single-player arcade and simulation single race, time trial and championship modes, multiplayer for up to 4 players and a non-interactive spectator option. Online connectivity is not supported. The game features all the drivers and tracks from the 2003 Formula One World Championship, but does not represent the replacement drivers that featured in the real

, therefore Nicolas Kiesa, Zsolt Baumgartner, Marc Gené and Takuma Sato are not featured.

Development

''Formula One 2003'' was announced in a press release from Sony Computer Entertainment on in June 2003 with a July release date. The game was the first ''Formula One'' series to have an exclusive license from the Formula One Administration (FOA), which is responsible for the commercial rights and promotion of the Formula One world championship. The exclusive license granted Sony Computer Entertainment the sole rights to the ''Formula One'' series for four years.

Circuits

The game features 16 official Formula One circuits based on the

. * Albert Park Circuit; Australian Grand Prix * Sepang International Circuit; Malaysian Grand Prix * Interlagos; Grande Prêmio do Brasil * Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari; Gran Premio di San Marino * Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya; Gran Premio de España * A1-Ring; Grosser Preis von Osterreich * Circuit de Monaco; Grand Prix de Monaco * Circuit Gilles Villeneuve; Grand Prix du Canada * Nürburgring Großer Pries-Strecke; Grand Prix of Europe * Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours; Grand Prix de France * Silverstone Circuit; British Grand Prix * Hockenheimring; Großer Preis von Deutschland * Hungaroring; Magyar Nagydíj * Autodromo Nazionale di Monza; Gran Premio d'Italia * Indianapolis Motor Speedway Grand Prix Layout; United States Grand Prix * Suzuka International Racing Course; Japanese Grand Prix

Covers

Similar to the FIFA series, ''Formula One 2003'' has different cover art depending on the region. David Coulthard's McLaren MP4-17D is used on the European/Global release. Fernando Alonso's Renault R23B was used on the Spanish release. Michael Schumacher's

Ferrari F2003-GA The Ferrari F2003-GA was a highly successful car used by Scuderia Ferrari in the 2003 Formula One World Championship. The chassis was designed by Rory Byrne, Ignazio Lunetta, Aldo Costa, Marco Fainello, Nikolas Tombazis and James Allison wi ...

is moved from the second car to the leading car for the Italian release. Heinz-Harald Frentzen's

Sauber C22 The Sauber C22 was the Formula One car that Sauber, Sauber Petronas used to compete in the 2003 Formula One season. The C22 was driven by Nick Heidfeld, now in his third season with Sauber and was paired with experienced former Williams Grand Pr ...

is featured on the Swiss and Dutch releases. Mark Webber's Jaguar R4 is used on the Australian edition.

Reception

''Formula One 2003'' gained mixed to positive reviews upon release, holding an aggregate score of 67.20% on ''

GameRankings GameRankings was a video gaming review aggregator that was founded in 1999 and owned by CBS Interactive. It indexed over 315,000 articles relating to more than 14,500 video games. GameRankings was discontinued in December 2019, with its staff bei ...

''. Kristan Reed of '' Eurogamer'' praised the controls and the graphics, stating "every track is packed with detail, down to the individual trackside adverts, yet there is never any hint of pop up or the kind of draw distance issues that have blighted just about every F1 game ever made". He did however have reservations about the game's car damage and crash physics. He gave the game 8 out of 10. Brodie Gibbons of ''Futuregamez'' also praised the graphics but criticised the sound and replay value, scoring the game 77%. Writing in '' The Guardian'', Jack Schofield noted that the game did not offer a large improvement over its predecessor outside the rule changes, but concluded that it "offers more than enough to keep casual gamers happy".

References

External links