To start things, I have to admit that my high review rating for this game carries a bit of nostalgia and also rating the game for what it was at the time it was released (this was the first F1 game released for the Nintendo 64) The period between 1993 to 1998 was perhaps my peak era of personal F1 fandom in which I religiously stood in front of the TV every Sunday with my dad to watch my favorite team (Williams Renault) take on different circuits around world, so having an official licensed game with the real tracks, drivers, and teams was amazing regardless of how average the presentation and graphics of the game were.
Graphics were not the best but the game did its best to portray official sponsors, team logos and liveries, and track specific features to the best of its ability. Gameplay was actually very solid with customizable fields for the cars (speed, handling) as well as track settings (such as number of laps, pit stops. etc) in order to tweak the gameplay and provide a sim-like experience.
Tracks were well designed despite the hardware and software limitations of the time and featured the existing track geometry with signature curves (such as the Spa Francorchamps curves and elevation changes) and even signature objects such as the Suzuka GP Ferris wheel.
Bonus observation: this might have been the first N64 game to feature hyper-compressed FMVs cinematic sequences (shown at the end of a race). They looked blurry and were a joke compared to what CD media produced at the time for PlayStation games but it was good for cartridge games.
Graphics were not the best but the game did its best to portray official sponsors, team logos and liveries, and track specific features to the best of its ability. Gameplay was actually very solid with customizable fields for the cars (speed, handling) as well as track settings (such as number of laps, pit stops. etc) in order to tweak the gameplay and provide a sim-like experience.
Tracks were well designed despite the hardware and software limitations of the time and featured the existing track geometry with signature curves (such as the Spa Francorchamps curves and elevation changes) and even signature objects such as the Suzuka GP Ferris wheel.
Bonus observation: this might have been the first N64 game to feature hyper-compressed FMVs cinematic sequences (shown at the end of a race). They looked blurry and were a joke compared to what CD media produced at the time for PlayStation games but it was good for cartridge games.