Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli Review

By Dan Whitehead Published 25 September, 2008

Circuits freaks.

Version tested: Wii

There was no realistic way that the Wii version of System 3's pet project, Ferrari Challenge, was going to improve on the PS3 original - a decent but never particularly memorable racing sim. At the very least, this version of the game deserves some credit for retaining most of the game's features, even if the online play has completely vanished.

Sadly, where the game stumbles in this incarnation is in an area that is bound to cause controversy - the Wii controls. It shouldn't need to be said, but I'm a Wii fan. It's a clever console, a fun console and its focus on simple communal entertainment rather than surface sizzle is a breath of fresh air. It's just not a very good platform for a serious and technical driving sim.

There's a reason why the Wii library favours games like Mario Kart and Excite Truck rather than games in the style of PGR or Gran Turismo. Realistic driving sims require a level of feedback that the Wii's input devices just aren't designed to deliver, and Ferrari Challenge suffers as a result.

Control is either via the remote alone or the remote and nunchuk, and neither feels particularly comfortable or natural for the genre. The joypad simply isn't an option. I habitually keep a GameCube controller plugged in for Virtual Console releases, but Ferrari Challenge refused to even start with this "unsupported device" attached.

Playing with the remote alone is particularly patience-testing, with the two available configuration options unable to place all the functions you need into an intuitive arrangement. It's the motion-sensing that proves fatal, however. There's just not enough precision for a game of this type, and with a game built around heavy steering and hard braking, the remote feels too flimsy and insubstantial for the job. I even clipped it into a Wii Wheel to see if that made the experience more tangible, but to no avail. Tilting a plastic rectangle in mid-air is simply a poor fit for the simulation genre.

'Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli' Screenshot 1

Vintage Ferraris can be unlocked through the Challenge mode.

Things improve considerably with the nunchuk attached. The controls map to a more instinctive set-up with acceleration on the remote's B trigger, steering on the nunchuk stick while the C and Z buttons are split between handbrake and normal braking. It's no replacement for a proper force feedback wheel, but it's at least possible to concentrate on the racing rather than the controls and start to win events using this mode.

This brings us to the recurring complaint from the original, namely that it's just not that interesting or exciting as a racing game. It gets most things right, as far as physics and handling are concerned, but lacks that ephemeral spark that distinguishes a truly great racer from the herd. It's adequate rather than inspiring, and for a game supposedly built around throbbing passion for a particular brand that's a serious chink in the armour.

Rather handily, Oliver's recent review of GTR: Evolution pretty much nailed everything that's missing from Ferrari Challenge. When he sang the praises of "the Wagnerian clamour of the V8s, the palpable sense of mass in motion, the furious tyre versus road judo" he was eloquently describing the exact same vehicular alchemy that Ferrari Challenge so sorely lacks, particularly in this rather more drab version.

'Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli' Screenshot 2

Is that car's wheel creeping through my windscreen? I rather think it is...

Obviously the visuals aren't going to match up to those in the PS3 version, but the fact they probably wouldn't trouble the PS2 is cause for concern. We know that the Wii is capable of sharper, bright, slicker graphics than this. Instead we get a range of Ferrari cars that look more like plastic toys, rattling around Hornby circuits decorated by crude foliage.

There's damage, but it just looks weird, bending bonnets and bumpers into odd triangular shapes but having no obvious effect on the car itself. The music also warrants special mention, if only for providing a constant backdrop of bland mismatched rock, rap and dance muzak that calls to mind the most generic game soundtracks of the early 1990s.

Everything that wasn't quite right about the PS3 version remains less than inspiring on the Wii, but the game itself is even more lacking in the presentation department. I hate criticising the control in Wii games, because some people will just assume that the Wii has persistent control issues (not true) or that the reviewer is incapable of mastering them (also not true). The simple fact is that the Wii has a unique control system that is a fundamentally poor match for a specialised game with very specific control requirements.

Ferrari Challenge will probably still appeal to Dads eager for something blokey to play during those rare moments when Wii Fit isn't dominating the screen. Under those circumstances, the almost total lack of any other serious racing sims on the platform will probably make this look more appealing than it actually is. If you can get used to the nunchuk and remote as a surrogate wheel then the experience is passable, but nothing more.

5 / 10

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Picture of Dan.

About Dan Whitehead

Dan has been writing for Eurogamer since 2006 and specialises in RPGs, shooters and games for children. His bestest game ever is Julian Gollop's Chaos.

Read more articles from Dan by visiting the Dan Whitehead archive page.

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Comments (42) Latest comment 3 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • rodpad #1 3 years ago

    First!

  • peterfll #2 3 years ago

    A Wii game not reviewed by Ellie? What happened? Is it because cars = boys?

    \sexism rocks.

  • Darren #3 3 years ago

    Why is it that these kinds of Wii games usually look worst than the same kind on the PS2? Isn't the Wii supposed to be more powerful? Shouldn't this game be looking better than Gran Turismo 4 for example? Is it because developers are just lazy and think Wii owners don't care about good visuals or is it just that the Wii's graphics hardware really ain't all that good? Cartoon looking games tend to suit the Wii best (for obvious reasons) but any attempt to create semi-realistic looking visuals on the machine so far seems to have fallen flat.... where are Factor 5 when you need 'em! LOL

  • yupyup #4 3 years ago

    It's just not a very good platform for a serious and technical driving sim.

  • Z101 #5 3 years ago

    "Realistic driving sims require a level of feedback that the Wii's input devices just aren't designed to deliver"

    Thats a ridicolous statement. Only the Wii controls (with a wheel!) are able to give the player a true driving experience.

    But so far no publisher tried to make da real racing sim for the wii. Ferrari Challenge on Wii or PS3 ist a nice little game, but nothing spectacular.

  • Stuz359 #6 3 years ago

    This is so frustrating. The Wii is probably on a par or more powerful than the original Xbox. On the Xbox, you had Colin Mcrae 3, Toca 2, Project Gotham Racing 2 and Forza Motorsport and as Darren Mentioned on the PS2 you had Gran Turismo 4. All of these games look infinitely better than this.
    This is just a case of a lazy port to try and cash in on the Wii's success. I love the Wii I think it's a fantastic console but this is just unacceptable.
    Just because it's not as graphically powerful as the PS3 and X360 does not mean developers should not try to do some decent graphics/games. I mean, look at SMG, it's a beautiful game to look at.
    Developers need to start giving the Wii the respect it deserves and not just a cash cow.

  • adamamosa #7 3 years ago

    wii fit tends to occupy the space beneath the screen. Never the screen itself!

  • Senate #8 3 years ago

    does anyone remember a car game for wii that featured classic 30's/40's cars? i wonder if that is still coming out, i miss good car games I'm sure I'm playing MK to death now.

  • quantumsheep #9 3 years ago

    Are we getting a review of the Wii version of Force Unleashed soon lovely Eurogamer peeps??

  • DanWhitehead #10 3 years ago

    So surely the correct comparison is between the Wii controls and that of the PS3/360 pad?

    It still comes up short. They're perfect for Mario Kart, or even Need For Speed, but the Wii controls just don't suit a serious simulation.

  • DFawkes #11 3 years ago

    Didn't want on PS3, still don't want. Not control issues (which I generally maintain aren't an issue) that put me off, just a game based around one Car Manufacturer. I never use Ferraris in sims, because they're rubbish without the proper sense of speed you get in a real car.

  • Daikon #12 3 years ago

    System 3? As in "Last Ninja" System 3?
    They're still around?
    And if so, why are they not working on a next gen Last Ninja instead of this Ferrari stuff?

  • neonemesis #13 3 years ago

    Another GT Pro Series then, if anyone remembers it from the Wii launch. That supposedly had terrible controls too.

    If I do buy Ferrari Challenge then it'll be the PS2 version for me seeing as how it probably be identical, have decent controls and be about half the price.

  • Bagpuss #14 3 years ago

    @Stuz359

    When you bought the Wii, you bought into a world of casual gaming mediocrity....once the controller gimmick wore off, what did you expect?.

    No western developer is interested in boring their development teams to death in trying to push last-gen tecnology.

  • jonsaan #15 3 years ago

    Z101. Mario Kart is unplayable with the wheel. let alone a Ferrari sim.

  • Camorrista #16 3 years ago

    "Vintage Ferrari’s can be unlocked through the Challenge mode."

    Ugh.

  • rotmm #17 3 years ago

    @Stuz359, "This is so frustrating. The Wii is probably on a par or more powerful than the original Xbox."

    I think this is evidently just not true. And no matter how much Wii owners would wish it to be the case, the console is just not designed with pixel-pushing and shader-effects in mind.

  • neonemesis #18 3 years ago

    is the Wii really that weak in comparison with the original xbox? Its got to be at least on par with the gamecube and as I understood it, the xbox had more powerful graphics chips but a less effective processor than the cube which made them roughly equal. Probably wrong but there you go...

  • UncleLou #19 3 years ago

    The screenshots are absolutely shocking. Grand Prix Legends looked better, 10 years ago.

  • rhubarbandcustard #20 3 years ago

    What I don't understand is why do people spend their hard earned money on a cheap, shitty, underpowered piece of junk like the wii and they then complain that the software released for it looks like a giant splodge of poo.

    I have this title on PS3. Damn fine game. Looks pretty good too.

    PS3>bucket of shit>wii

  • UncleLou #21 3 years ago

    What I don't understand is why do people spend their hard earned money on a cheap, shitty, underpowered piece of junk like the wii and they then complain that the software released for it looks like a giant splodge of poo.


    That's because you're a troll. They don't understand a lot.

  • rhubarbandcustard #22 3 years ago

    Ah yes, but a troll who has successfully steered both nephews away from spending their meagre savings on wii's.

    I win uncle of the year for that.

  • Pac-man-ate-my-wife #23 3 years ago

    Hey Bagpuss and rhubarbandcustard,

    Loving the trolling chaps. Where were you in the de Blob and Tiger Woods thread? Or does posting in reviews of Wii games with good scores make you both look like dafties?

    Anyhow, this is a shite game that no effort has been spent on so no wonder it looks bobbins. There's plenty of lovely looking games on the Wii - de Blob being the most recent imho. I'm not someone who claims that graphics don't matter, but art style and design always over for me so games such as No More Heroes, MadWorld, Zack & Wiki and Okami are what I'm looking for - doesn't matter the polygon count.
    Edited by 2 at 25/09/08 @ 13:48

  • schnide #24 3 years ago

    I'm of the understanding that the Wii is essentially a Gamecube internally with a motion sensor tacked on. Finally people might be beginning to realise how gimmicky this console is. Sure it's captured the non-gaming market, but that's where it's going to stay with games like this. It's underpowered so as to be cheap enough for the new massmarket (nu-gamers?) but it can never be taken seriously by anyone who'd post on this forum.

    Well, mostly.

    Now if they released a high-powered console like a PS3 or Xbox with the motion sensing that Wii-plus offers, that'd be different. But Sony and Microsoft will already be working on that one.
    Edited by 1 at 25/09/08 @ 14:53

  • Quint2020 #25 3 years ago

    Wiilol

  • UncleLou #26 3 years ago

    "t's underpowered so as to be cheap enough for the new massmarket "

    So what? So are consoles, compared to PCs. Following your logic, I don't understand how anyone can take the 360 and PS3 seriously. Play Crysis on a good enough PC, and weep.

  • schnide #27 3 years ago

    How exactly would that be different? Surely the only difference would be HD resolutions. The machine can still get shit ports, uninspired tacked-on waggle control and minigameitis.

    HD visuals do not automatically make games better.

    Oh, how you miss the point. There are games that studios are making which they simply won't release on the Wii because the graphics look, frankly, embarrassing. Just like this Ferrari game does. So a higher-powered machine means that it can get the big names released on it, as well as having games that inexplicably (to me) appeal to families such as Wii Sports and Wii Fit.

    Did you get it that time?

  • DFawkes #28 3 years ago

    So, because this developer didn't put enough effort into the visuals, it's a rubbish game? No amount of power can make awful handling suddenly change to good, change a lack of variety into more, or make the controls better suited to the game. I accept that a proper sim on Wii is unlikely to work unless you get to use a classic/GC controller, which kind of defeats the point a bit.

    But technically, it's adaquete and could do any last-gen game - TOCA Race Driver, Gran Turismo, Forza, F1, WRC or whatever else you can think of. An HD console adds nothing to the gameplay on its own. It's when developers really push it that the extra power comes into play, and a standard racing game wouldn't push a PSone.

  • schnide #29 3 years ago

    So, because this developer didn't put enough effort into the visuals, it's a rubbish game?

    Who said that? What I'm saying is that if you're a consumer, and you're about to buy a console where you see a game running on both a PS3 or 360 against a Wii, you're more likely to buy the one that looks a shitload better. Which of those three consoles is that not going to be?

    If you're going to buy a console because of the control system, which is largely what Wii owners (also known as: families) have been doing, then you're going to buy a Wii regardless. Try and see past the black and white here people - I'm not saying you have to have modern graphics to sell the most consoles, of course you don't, but it certainly isn't helping the Wii's cause to have your games looking last-gen.

    You can release a motion controller for the PS3 and 360. You can't for the Wii. Who's got the advantage IN THE LONG RUN?

  • DFawkes #30 3 years ago

    Sorry, misunderstood a bit there. All I'm saying is this game is the worst possible example to use for why you'd buy one version over another of a game, since it's a racing game. Which one would you buy? I'd buy the cheapest, which is generally the Wii version. Why pay more for sharper visuals (I don't know why, even though I have with Blu-ray)?

    You're right though, many would go for the better looking version with a proper controller.

  • Pac-man-ate-my-wife #31 3 years ago

    I think the moral is: Just buy good games.

  • schnide #32 3 years ago

    The bottom line, as a general rule, is that the more realistic the graphics are, the more immersed you can get in the gameplay. If you're seeing pop up, for example, you're reminded that you aren't really driving in the real world.

    And besides, if you've just bought a £1,000 HD telly then you're going to want to show it off. Thanks for the reasoned feedback DFawkes.

  • J.C #33 3 years ago

    Visually the Xbox 1, still wipes the floor with the wii. and thats a fact.

  • darc #34 3 years ago

    "developers are just lazy and think Wii owners don't care"

    The answer is in the question. This is exactly it. It is a case of easy profitability. The Wii is a huge market with a relatively small available catalog. There's no need to craft a good, and good-looking game, to ensure sales. And the faster you churn this junk out, the less you spend in salaries, and the more money you take to the bank.

    Everyone who concludes the Wii is incapable of running a nice-looking game has been duped by lazy, greedy devs and publishers. Yes, it is a limited piece of hardware, but it is better than equivalent to the best of the last generation, which produced plenty of beautiful games.

    The poor craftsman blames his tools. And laughs all the way to the bank. Seriously, why would any consumer want to make excuses for them?

  • darc #35 3 years ago

    "Sorry, misunderstood a bit there. All I'm saying is this game is the worst possible example to use for why you'd buy one version over another of a game, since it's a racing game. Which one would you buy? I'd buy the cheapest, which is generally the Wii version. Why pay more for sharper visuals (I don't know why, even though I have with Blu-ray)?"

    Do you play racing games at all? I'm guessing no. It's the one genre where I would say, absolutely, a good (eg. CPU-intensive) physics engine and fast frame rate are critical. The best controller for the job is also a must.

    Generally speaking I blame the software devs for the lameness of the Wii catalog, but this is a pretty bad example - I'd never expect to play a great racing game on a Wii. Especially w/ a PC and an XBox360 sitting nearby.

    On the other hand, it shouldn't have to be this bad, either.

  • darc #36 3 years ago

    I still don't get all the hype over Boom Blox. Yes, the physics are neato and all, but exactly how excited am I supposed to get about 5000 levels of, essentially, bowling and Jenga. I can pile up real stuff in my yard and throw rocks at it if the mood really strikes. But that's just me. Plus it made my arm sore. :)

    IMO opinion a better example is Zelda Twilight Princess. Hell, it is a last gen game in so far as it was simultaneously released with a near-identical Gamecube version, and it's [/i]georgeous[/i], smart, ambitious, packed with content... Proving the Wii needn't be an either/or proposition.

    The devs just don't give a s*** is what it boils down to. And in their defense, there are economies at play that make this pretty much inevitable. Crap will sell on the Wii, and the consumers who care about quality have, largely, bought other platforms.
    Edited by 2 at 25/09/08 @ 19:23

  • Grendel #37 3 years ago

    the reviewer say: "There was no realistic way that the Wii version of System 3's pet project, Ferrari Challenge, was going to improve on the PS3 original - a decent but never particularly memorable racing sim"

    well, so you know there is a big group of real sim-players out there (me included) that thinks Ferrari Challenge on PS3 is indeed a memorable racing sim, a great game and the best sim racing ever to grace any Sony console. Forget about GRID or GT5P, none of these gives you a real and tight racing feeling, Ferrari Challenge do.
    Edited by 1 at 25/09/08 @ 19:46

  • smelly #38 3 years ago

    "
    I have this title on PS3. Damn fine game. Looks pretty good too. "


    HAHAHAHAAAAA

    YOU'RE saying the wii doesnt have any decent games.. but you've bought a ps3?

    HHAHAAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHA

  • citizenHUNTER #39 3 years ago

    The in-car screenshot looks horrific on many levels and I hope it's just misrepresenting the true graphics cos clearly the Wii can do better than that. I've just never seen any Nintendo console feature any good realistic racing games, so not my consoles of choice. Bring on GTR on the 360!! :D P.S. Is the handling in this game anything like F355 Challenge on the Dreamcast/Arcade. If so then I'd agree that it sounds better than they're giving it credit for, in terms of being a sim fan (well, the PS3 version obv).

  • captainrentboy #40 3 years ago

    After looking at that in car screenshot I literally puked all over myself.
    See this is what fucks me off about the Wii, it's not the console itself, it's the fact that 80% of its developers release games that look like Pig shit, and know that they'll get away with it (With regards to the consumer anyway) as long as they chuck some form of silly motion control in. Most Gamecube games, graphically, put the Wii to shame, and that shouldn't be the case.

  • bad09 #41 3 years ago

    "It was a shit game on the PS3...."

    I disagree, definitely found it more enjoyable than the snooze fest that is GT5p......

  • schnide #42 3 years ago

    "Now that the PS3 and 360 are around are ALL PS2 games complete and utter shit? The answer is no, they are not. There are some absolute gems on the PS2 which will be continued to be played long after this gen is over. They are not in HD resolution but they have gameplay."

    There are a hundred games on the SNES that still have some amazing games. A SNES is cheaper than a Wii. Why not just buy a SNES? The answer is because if you're buying a console in this generation, you want to be able to play games that look like this generation.

    Do you have a Wii? I don't have a PS3, 360 or a Wii (at the moment) so I can honestly say I'm not biaised in that way. The only reason I can see you defending how embarrassing this game looks is if you own one. That's not a criticism, it's just an explanation, and it's fair enough - it just doesn't change the argument.

    Dismissing the Wii because there are no games on it you like is fair enough, but dismissing the Wii as 'for kids' or 'shit cos its not HD' is not a valid argument.

    At no point did I say there were any games on the Wii I didn't like. At no point did I dismiss the Wii as for kids. And definitely at no point did I ever say the Wii was shit because it's not HD. Another poster introduced HD into the argument - I've not mentioned it once. The fact is that the Wii can't throw enough 3D good looking graphics around the screen at once to remotely compete with the PS3 and 360 which puts it at a major disadvantage.

    "it certainly isn't helping the Wii's cause to have your games looking last-gen."

    Ah, I guess that would explain why it's the worst selling console this generation then? ;)

    Steps sold over 25 million albums. Are they a great band?

    Once again you are missing the subtlety of what I said. It isn't helping the Wii's cause to have the games looking last-gen. When the gimmick of the Wii's control system fades out, it will have little left to compete with. If the Wii was high-powered enough to run the games that actually attract gamers (see numerous "Why has Nintendo abandoned the hardcore?" articles across the gaming press lately) then it could have games like Wii Sports, Wii Fit as well as the more usual fare that looks amazing too. Deny this. And you'll be wrong.