Grand Prix 4, released for the PC on the October 9 2002, is currently the last Formula 1 racing simulator released by the developer Geoff Crammond and the MicroProse label. Essentially serving as a graphical and seasonal update of Grand Prix 3 which had been released in 2000 the game retained the series' legendary physics engine. However it entered the market at a far less hospitable time than its three predecessors, and the game faced stiff competition from an alternative Formula 1 simulation from studios such as ISI.

After the criticism received by Grand Prix 3 for not advancing the series Grand Prix 4 featured a heavily revised graphics engine and updated physics including wet weather driving that even today is considered some of the best to ever feature in a motorsport simulation. Despite this the game still showed Crammond's oft-commented dated approach to game design.

• While it is possible to play the game on a LAN, internet gameplay was not possible, due to licensing restrictions. Some third party individuals managed to circumnavigate this problem later.

• The framerate locked and CPU heavy graphics were still a big issue with the series despite a completely revised graphics engine.

• The mod community faced similar frustrations with the track format and it took fully two years before the track format was truly "cracked". New tracks are now available for the game, including Jerez and two of the new Formula One tracks - Shanghai and Istanbul.

• When the game was initially launched, it had a few bugs. Most of these were addressed by an update patch which was later included with the retail game. Some third party programmers also addressed some of the remaining problems, and included enhancements which allowed the game to follow the updated rules of the Formula 1 championship.

• Many claimed that the stated "minimum requirements" were set too low and that they could barely get the game to run on a significantly more powerful system.

Although the game could be considered a relatively modest commercial success the chances of a further entry to the series could be considered slim to none due to the fact that MicroProse's parent company Infogrames dissolved the developer shortly after the game's release. Also the Sony Computer Entertainment brands exclusive licensing deal for Formula 1 games rules out an update with official stats. An Xbox port of the title had been planned for release in late 2002 before being cancelled in October of that year.

External links

• Grand Prix Games - community site
• GP4Italia - Italian community site

2002 computer and video games | Formula One games | Racing simulators | Windows games | Cancelled Xbox games | MicroProse games

Grand Prix (Computerspiel) | Geoff Crammond's Grand Prix 4