165. Tactics Formula (AKI, Saturn, 1997)

Tactics Formula is a Formula One-themed turn-based tactics game. You control an F1 car in a race with 11 other cars, and each turn you plot out your route, avoiding turning too hard or crashing into other cars. I tried the beginner mode, since I'm a beginner, so I'm not sure if the normal mode is mode nuanced, but all you can do is select left, right, or straight. The opponent AI is either pretty good, or I'm just complete rubbish, because I struggled to get 11th place on the first two courses.

Thankfully, you can enable a "relief" mode where Tactics Formula's AI takes over and plays the game for you. It managed to at least get me to 7th place. After every race you are treated to a replay that shows the race in real time, which is fun after you've been painstakingly plotting your route (or even if you've just been having the game play itself). The music is also a highlight, as is the case for a lot of Sega Saturn games, though it doesn't stop the actual gameplay from being difficult and boring.

2/5, an interesting concept, but the execution is so boring it's more fun to have it play itself