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Ferrari F355 Challenge for PlayStation 2
Ferrari F355 Challenge for PlayStation 2 is a circuit racer devoted entirely to the Ferrari F355. You drive the same sports car on eleven circuits, including Monza, Suzuka and Ferrari's Fiorano test track. You therefore mainly learn how the car responds to braking, turning in and accelerating again. Training displays a recommended line and provides cornering advice. You can then practise alone against a ghost car or compete against other cars. Braking early can achieve more than another few metres at full throttle.
Arcade uses checkpoints that extend the remaining time. Championship connects six races into a contest for points. Great Driver Challenge also assesses your driving technique: overtaking and slipstreaming earn points, while contact with other cars or walls and excursions off the track cost points. You can use driving aids and gradually switch them off, such as traction control or automatic braking before corners. Setup also changes the Ferrari's behaviour. Springs, ride height and wing angle, among other settings, let you approach a circuit in different ways.
You play alone or with two people on a horizontally split screen. For a duel, you use two controllers; no Multitap is needed. These two-player races use a first-person view. An ordinary DualShock 2 is enough, although the game also supports certain Logitech wheels for PS2. Saved driving data lets you examine your racing line, speed and gear-change points afterwards. This lets you look for places where you could improve a lap.
Region and language
Our PlayStation 2 games are PAL editions and come with a Dutch or English box, unless stated otherwise. By default, you receive the version for the European market. We note it in the product details if the region is different or the box is in another language. In almost all cases, the game is playable at least in English, and often in the other five common European languages too.
Manual
Ferrari F355 Challenge for PlayStation 2 includes the manual unless the product title states otherwise. If the booklet is missing, the title says “No Manual”. This lets you see before ordering whether the game comes with a manual.
The manuals included with our games usually contain at least English and often around six European languages. The exact languages vary by edition, so Dutch is not always included. The booklet explains the controls and the main rules. You can use it to check how to control the game, which actions are available and how its different features work.
The history of Ferrari F355 Challenge
Ferrari F355 Challenge grew out of Sega AM2's F355 Challenge, which appeared in arcades in 1999. Yu Suzuki and his team built the game around one Ferrari and practising on real circuits. One striking arcade edition used three screens to provide a wide view from inside the car. A Dreamcast version was followed by the PlayStation 2 conversion in 2002. The European PS2 release arrived in September. This home version uses an ordinary television and does not reproduce the arcade's complete installation.
In a conversation at E3 in 2002, Suzuki explained that the move to PS2 was technically difficult because of differences from Sega's Naomi hardware. The team therefore could not simply transfer the same technology unchanged. That background makes the PS2 release a separate console adaptation of an existing simulator. Its original manual also describes support for Logitech GT Force and Driving Force. In addition to a controller, a wheel and pedals could therefore bring part of the original racing feel into the living room without being compulsory.
The PS2 release retained the focus on measuring, practising and trying again, but also gave races different objectives. Great Driver Challenge assesses sporting conduct and technical performance alongside finishing position. Saved driving data shows line, speed, engine revolutions and gear changes in graphs and replays. That fits the idea of getting to know one car increasingly well. Where many contemporary games expanded their offering with cars from numerous manufacturers, F355 Challenge explored its one Ferrari through circuits, setups and driving aids.
Similar games for PlayStation 2
Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec shares the attention to braking points, setup and real circuits, but lets you build a collection of cars from different manufacturers. Ferrari F355 Challenge keeps the same car central. Your progress therefore mainly lies in a better line and adjusting that one Ferrari. Practice helps in both PS2 games, but Gran Turismo also adds driving licences, purchases and technical upgrades to the choices outside the race.
Like Ferrari F355 Challenge, Ridge Racer V has a clear arcade background and local two-player racing. Namco's fictional cars, however, revolve around differences in grip and long drifts through Ridge City. Ferrari uses real circuits and places more emphasis on controlled braking and turning in. In Ridge Racer, you can deliberately slide through a corner; in F355, you are more likely to investigate which braking and steering inputs keep the car settled and improve the lap.
R: Racing combines real racing cars on PS2 with Racing Life, a story about driver Rena Hayami and the people around her. Ferrari F355 Challenge has no comparable story-led career and concentrates on the car, circuit training and measurable performance. Both let you adjust settings and practise races. R: Racing allows room for different cars and disciplines, while Ferrari has you understand the same F355 ever better across a range of different tracks.
OutRun 2006: Coast 2 Coast also lets you drive Ferraris, but uses long drifts, traffic and branching roads for a different kind of race. You drive through scenery and choose a route along the way. Ferrari F355 Challenge puts one model on closed circuits and gives setup and braking points more weight. The shared Ferrari name therefore says little about handling here: OutRun is about a continuous journey, F355 about refining each individual lap.
Burnout 2: Point of Impact also asks for precise steering at high speed, but rewards risky driving close to traffic with extra boost. Ferrari F355 Challenge uses no comparable boost meter; in Great Driver Challenge, collisions actually cost technical points. In both PS2 racers, you try to maintain speed, but their rewards differ. Burnout makes near misses part of the pace, while Ferrari has you concentrate on a tidy line between the other racing cars.
