Ferrari Challenge - Bruno Senna, Fast Cars, Girls - Pics Inside
It's a hard life being a superstar racing driver
By Adam Hartley
System 3's Ferrari Challenge: Trofeo Pirelli (pictured below) is potentially one of SPOnG's surprise PS3 games of the year, with a lot to live up to as the 'spiritual successor' to SEGA's mighty F355 Challenge.
I can say this with some conviction as I have spent the last few days playing the latest preview build of Ferrari Challenge: Trofeo Pirelli out at Ferrari's famous Mugello circuit out in Italy. That was in between bouts of driving round one of the most glorious and revered racetracks in the world at breakneck speeds and ogling the most beautiful cars man has ever created. It's a hard enough life sometimes, being a superstar video games writer! The money, the fame, the ladies...
Even more interestingly, I also spent a considerable amount of time interviewing and chatting to System 3 CEO (and passionate Ferrari Tifoso) Mark Cale, driver and car consultant on the game, Bruno Senna (pictured below - the nephew of the late, great Ayrton - who seems to have inherited his uncles' looks, passions and incredible racing talent) as well as Managing Director of Ferrari GB, Massimo Fedeli and Producer of Ferrari Challenge Mark South, from driving game specialist developers Eutechnyx, up in Gateshead.
The level of technical detail in Ferrari Challenge: Trofeo Pirelli, including an insane amount of hard data on realistic car physics provided by Ferrari to the developers, not to mention the 700,000 digital photos taken by Eutechnyx (to date) to faithfully recreate all the greatest racetracks in the world, is simply astounding. Combine this with a jaw-droppingly lovely graphical presentation, Mark Cale's own Ferrari-obsessive attention to detail and Bruno Senna's considerable contribution of 'extra-added magic' and it all adds up to what should be a nicely balanced 'arcade-sim' when it releases this coming November.
Turn up all the in-game assists and put your best-suggested racing line on and the game proves to be surprisingly accessible for the least-skilled racing driver (i.e., me) and also has a decent learning curve so you can work your way up while improving your skills and changing the handling of your car to become - should you so want it to be - a highly realistic Ferrari simulator. Or, as I preferred, you might just choose to play it more arcade style. Either way, it works.
Senna himself is a true video game fan - listing games as his third passion in life (after girls and cars, of course!) - and it is his deep and informed knowledge of game and driving skills that provides far more than simply having the Senna name associated with the project.
SPOnG will be bringing you a detailed preview on Ferrari Challenge: Trofeo Pirelli and interviews with all of the above-mentioned, and all the latest screens and art from Ferrari Challenge: Trofeo Pirelli, next week.
In the meantime feast your eyes on our first batch of snaps from Mugello. And just check out those beautiful SEGA-blue skies.
Ferrari Challenge: Trofeo Pirelli releases in Europe on November 23rd on PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii and DS.
System 3's Ferrari Challenge: Trofeo Pirelli (pictured below) is potentially one of SPOnG's surprise PS3 games of the year, with a lot to live up to as the 'spiritual successor' to SEGA's mighty F355 Challenge.
I can say this with some conviction as I have spent the last few days playing the latest preview build of Ferrari Challenge: Trofeo Pirelli out at Ferrari's famous Mugello circuit out in Italy. That was in between bouts of driving round one of the most glorious and revered racetracks in the world at breakneck speeds and ogling the most beautiful cars man has ever created. It's a hard enough life sometimes, being a superstar video games writer! The money, the fame, the ladies...
Even more interestingly, I also spent a considerable amount of time interviewing and chatting to System 3 CEO (and passionate Ferrari Tifoso) Mark Cale, driver and car consultant on the game, Bruno Senna (pictured below - the nephew of the late, great Ayrton - who seems to have inherited his uncles' looks, passions and incredible racing talent) as well as Managing Director of Ferrari GB, Massimo Fedeli and Producer of Ferrari Challenge Mark South, from driving game specialist developers Eutechnyx, up in Gateshead.
The level of technical detail in Ferrari Challenge: Trofeo Pirelli, including an insane amount of hard data on realistic car physics provided by Ferrari to the developers, not to mention the 700,000 digital photos taken by Eutechnyx (to date) to faithfully recreate all the greatest racetracks in the world, is simply astounding. Combine this with a jaw-droppingly lovely graphical presentation, Mark Cale's own Ferrari-obsessive attention to detail and Bruno Senna's considerable contribution of 'extra-added magic' and it all adds up to what should be a nicely balanced 'arcade-sim' when it releases this coming November.
Turn up all the in-game assists and put your best-suggested racing line on and the game proves to be surprisingly accessible for the least-skilled racing driver (i.e., me) and also has a decent learning curve so you can work your way up while improving your skills and changing the handling of your car to become - should you so want it to be - a highly realistic Ferrari simulator. Or, as I preferred, you might just choose to play it more arcade style. Either way, it works.
Senna himself is a true video game fan - listing games as his third passion in life (after girls and cars, of course!) - and it is his deep and informed knowledge of game and driving skills that provides far more than simply having the Senna name associated with the project.
SPOnG will be bringing you a detailed preview on Ferrari Challenge: Trofeo Pirelli and interviews with all of the above-mentioned, and all the latest screens and art from Ferrari Challenge: Trofeo Pirelli, next week.
In the meantime feast your eyes on our first batch of snaps from Mugello. And just check out those beautiful SEGA-blue skies.
Ferrari Challenge: Trofeo Pirelli releases in Europe on November 23rd on PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii and DS.
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