F1 2010 Review

17 Sep 2010 at 16:05:23 by John Robertson
Systems used to review this title: (360)

It’s been quite some time since a Formula 1 game has appeared on either the Playstation 3 or Xbox 360, with the latter not having ever seen one, so fans of the sport are sure to pleased that the long wait is over. Indeed, with the recent rule changes to the sport helping to create one of the most memorable seasons of all time - resulting in increased viewing figures and a heightened interest from the mainstream media - now seems like the perfect climate in which to bring F1 back to consoles with a vengeance.

Of course, increased popularity in F1 proper is coupled with increased expectation with regards to the quality of any gaming products aiming to imitate it.  If you’re worried that F1 2010 is destined to fail to meet those expectations then you’re probably not alone, officially licensed F1 games of the past have been a mixed bag to say the least.  However, this time, the worry was all for nothing because F1 2010 is a fantastic representation of the sport and one of the finest racing experiences on the market today.  Seriously, how could we have expected anything less from a studio with the racing pedigree of Codemasters?

It all starts with ‘feel’.  The way the cars feel, the way the tracks feel, the way the weather feels, the way you A.I. feels, it all feels truly authentic.  Never having taken part in a real F1 race myself I can’t vouch for the authenticity completely but, it’s great that what you see on TV has been replicated in such detail and with such obvious passion for the source material. 

As you’d expect, the cars are extremely fast and responsive.  Once you’ve got the hang of them they can be thrown aggressively into corners, weaved in and out of the back markers and generally controlled to within a few inches of accuracy.  Each team feels suitably individual; the McLaren’s, for example, are lightning in a straight line but lack the superb down force that allow the Red Bull’s to enter and exit corners with terrifying speed.  This lends itself to some extremely interesting encounters between different teams, depending on which tracks you’re racing.

Of course, with such a powerful machine to control you’re going to want to play sensible most of the time.  Play with the assists off and you really need to think about feathering the throttle on corner exits to prevent yourself going into a spin, not locking up your brakes on your approach and keeping a cap on your revs to prevent the engine overheating. 

Those seeking a truly realistic experience should play in this manner, as well as indulge themselves with the plethora of setup options on offer for altering the aerodynamics, gearing, suspension and so on.  For novice racing/F1 gamers it’s probably essential for most to play with the assists on (including the now common racing line overlay and flashback/rewind system) until you’ve a bit of experience under your belt, then you can start removing them one by one as you become more comfortable with the handling model.  Setting fast lap times without assists is a wonderfully satisfying experience.

Depending on what length of race you choose to compete in, the dynamic weather system has an enormous bearing on how you approach the race.  Surely the finest example of weather effects in a racing game, tracks prone to weather changes (Silverstone, Melbourne etc) can go from dry and bright one minute to wet and dark the next; completely altering the way you need to approach the race.  This forces you into thinking tactically about when to pit and change your tyres and alters the psychology of your race as areas of the track that, only a few lap before, were potential overtaking points are now housing puddles of water that make aggressive moves too risky.  Rain can also severely hamper your visibility; get up behind a rival in the wet and the spray coming from their rear wheels makes it almost impossible to see anything except their red safety light. 

Unlike many racing games today, the A.I. in F1 2010 actually seems somewhere close to human intelligence levels.  There’s no ‘on-rails’ feel here.  Take the inside line against an opponent and they’ll usually (depending on the driver) stay out wide to give you enough of a gap to squeeze through without causing a collision.  Vice versa, if you show any signs of missing the breaking point, or straying out too wide, the A.I. will alter their course on the fly to take advantage of the space you’ve left across the apex.  Certain aggressive drivers (Vettel, Hamilton, Kobayashi, for instance) will try to make more of these opportunities than most, forcing you to act differently depending on where you’re placed among the field.  It all feels wonderfully organic and life-like. 

The main bulk of the game is located in the career mode in which you join a team as a rookie driver; the goal being to become as successful as possible over a number of seasons.  Depending on your selected difficulty and preferred career length (three, five or seven seasons), you’ll have the option of starting out at differently advantaged teams.  Select a harder difficulty and longer career and you’ll be limited to Lotus, Virgin or HRT.  Go for an easier, shorter career and you can start battling for points positions immediately with Force India, for example. 

A lot of emphasis has been put on making you feel like a driver who is part of a bigger team, rather than just simply skipping through to each race day.  You can take part in test sessions to unlock performance upgrades, talk to the media about your performance and your personal goals, and position yourself ahead of your teammate when it comes to having final say on how you want the car to develop.  While it may not offer as much extra-curricular depth as a Football Manger, it’s great to see this kind of thinking applied to a racing title.

While the audio design for the cars is fantastic, with the engine, collisions and tyre squeals all sounding great, the voice of your race engineer over the radio quickly becomes tiresome and repetitive.  At one point, while racing for Team Lotus, he even insisted that overtaking Felipe Massa’s Ferrari ahead of me should be an easy task.  I think not.  Still, it’s a minor point of contention that does nothing to harm an otherwise fantastic experience.

There’s so much on offer here that it’s impossible to cover it all without waffling on for ten thousand words.  Those with an interest in Formula 1 will appreciate the work that has gone into the finer details such as having to contend with dirty air behind an opponent, having to look after your eight engines through a season, the track drying along the racing line more quickly than off of it and the positive reaction from your Lotus team as you manage to pick up a single point in a race.

With a fantastic single player and an online multiplayer that allows for all the same functionality (pit stops, weather, collisions etc) F1 2010 is a game that all racing fans – F1 buffs or not – really owe it to themselves to pick up.  Not only is it the best representation of F1 to date, it’s a game that accurately simulates its chosen subject matter as well as the best of sports titles.  Whatever racing bug they’ve got at Codemasters it’s a darn good one to catch.  Bravo.  Insert corny pun about being in pole position here.

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