F1 Circus 92, PC Engine

The circus is in town

Game - F1 Circus 92'  Nichibutsu

Released - 1992

System - PC Engine

I love Formula One games but have always found if difficult to find a game that strikes the fine balance between being fun and being realistic - that was until I found F1 Circus 92'. 

There is also a F1 Circus and F1 Circus 91'

The game has three modes - free practice, training and World Championship, it is the World Championship mode where this game really comes alive. You start the World Championship by inputting your drivers name and from here you need to choose your team. However, you can't choose from them all, you have to start with the lower teams and work you up to the big boys through multiple seasons.

You can start with Jordan, Brabham or A.M.F.

You can also choose who you want as you team

mate including a young Damon Hill

After this it is off to the first season where you get to choose which tracks you can race, it is a nice touch the you can do this before the start of every season. At the start of each race you can do free practice and two qualifying seasons (yes, back in 1992 qualifying was over two days). You can also set the various options here as well - damage settings, red flags, game speed, team mate status - there is absolutely loads to choose from.

Pre-race screen

Once you have set the game up it is on to setting up the car! Again, there are loads of set-up options. You can adjust wing settings, suspension, engine and gearbox amongst other things. The great thing is that the settings really do have an effect on the speed and handling of the car- in free practice it is great to try and set up the car to get the best lap you can.

In the lower teams setting up the car is really

important if you want any chance of breaking into

the top 10

So now on to the racing itself - if this was no good the whole package falls apart. The racing is viewed from the top down and does take a little time to get used to. However, once you are get used to controlling the car it really feels quite natural. The A button is used to accelerate, the B button to break and the d-pad to steer the car.

The racing is pretty action packed, in the lower teams you will struggle to break into the top 10 so don't feel too disillusioned if you are not wining races from the start. CPU cars also crash and retire from the race, cause accidents and can get damaged. One thing this game does get across is that an F1 car is very fragile, because of this you need to learn to stay out of trouble and keep the car intact. You can damage a multitude of items on the car, the wings, engine, brakes and suspension, I even had one race where I lost fifth gear and so had to drive to compensate.

Keeping the car on the track can be challenge

at first but it is worth sticking with

Tyres also wear depending on which compound you use. There are four to choose from Very Soft, Soft, Medium and Hard. The softest compound wears the quickest so you will need to pit earlier on those tyres - you can switch cpompounds during the race if you want to change strategy. There are also two rain compounds for when the rain starts. You get a brief forecast at the start of each race that helps you decide which tyre to use, but it can also rain unexpectedly.

Once you have completed the race you get feedback from your manager. Now, the text here is in Japanese so it is not clear what is being said. However, you do get mark out of 100% for you race performance so it is easy to see how you are doing.

Summary

F1 Circus 92' is a fantastic game that does a great job of condensing the complexities of Formula One into a fun game. I know it is not a realistic simulation but the challenge of trying to get into a top team and win the World Championship is a lasting one.

The myriad of options will keep you going for ages. So far I have played three seasons and have made it Williams, but still haven't managed to win the Championship as my team mate beat me to it.

The sound and graphics are good for a game of this type, with engine sound effects being particularly good.

9/10