Hamilton… Jenson… You?
Format: PS3, Xbox 360 (version played) Dev: Codemasters Pub: Codemasters
Out: 24/09/10 Players: 1, 2-12 online
So this is what formula one has been missing. Number crunching, broadcast-style sequels with little to no expansion upon the virtual form of the sport killed what we thought of F1 games years ago. Unlike sports games such as FIFA, minute changes in controls do not make for a whole different experience.
It’s a racing game. It needs a reboot, which is exactly what Codemasters has delivered.
Much down the same vein that DiRT 2 was delivered, the televised aspect of the sport has been removed to create a more complete experience. The menu is your first immersion into the world of a career as a formula one driver – a fully interactive main hub laid out around the paddock area. Game options can be accessed, as well as dealing with team contract offerings from your secretary and interviews with the press outside. This is when you first realise that F1 2010 is a different beast to what we would’ve been expectant of.
You then begin the first racing weekend of your career, you are transported to yet another menu hub from within your car in the garage. From here, you can manipulate pitting tactics, tyre changes, car modifications and tweaks in relation to the weather and track temperature. It’s all very involving and complex in tactical prowess, which is why there is an option to let the engineer determine all of that so you can just get out and race.
And then we move onto the racing itself, which should come with a word of warning: if you feel confident with racing games, there’s still a very good chance that you’re going to need time to work out the physics of your car, so don’t ramp up the difficulty at the beginning. I made this mistake and paid dearly, coming in last with about a thirty second distance from 23rd position up ahead. This is not to say it’s a bad experience. When you get used to things such as being steady on the accelerator as you exit corners so you don’t lose traction and spin, it is an exhilarating game.
The sport lends itself to some thrilling battles, which are translated well into the game, creating some tense gambles of late braking and undertaking on corners. Making its return is the flashback feature, which pleased many a perfectionist in DiRT 2, enabling the player to rewind anything they fluff up for a second try. It’s good, but thank god they’re limited to a maximum of four, otherwise they’d be used extensively, break up the pace of the race, and destroy what this game has realised.
This is what formula one has been missing. It wasn’t realised by games gone by, not even the BBC have hit the nail on the head with its coverage. People speak of the glamour of F1, a true spectator sport. A club of high-class and a symbolism of the finer pleasures in life as cars rush around the casino in Monte Carlo. This is of course correct to assume, but merely half the story. It’s a culmination of racing skill, technology and expense, shot out of the starting grid to speeds of 200+ mph.
Codemasters has found the almost enlightened ground, realising in interactive form that a driver’s career is not podium hording, but a character building life story, which always leads from the pleasure of just racing on these prestigious circuits. It’s about the importance of your qualifying lap, gaps between racers ahead to take advantage of in pit stops, reserving your engine when you can, and then ramping up the throttle at key moments.
It’s about the good and the bad, leaving with a smile and leaving with an overcoming sense of doubt. For this, F1 2010 becomes the most rewarding racer of the year. Replayability? You won’t be putting this down as you keep hammering for your first points position, as you gun for the online time trials, as you boost your driver level and build up through the teams. Formula one has been resurrected.
Jason England
Tags: codemasters, driving, f1, racing, Sports
