After long last (nearly four years) there’s finally a fully-licensed Formula 1 game in the market. Formula 1 fans can’t believe it, and neither can fans of racing games since previous offerings (a few dubious ones from EA in particular) were not only far from playable, they were released almost randomly for a few years, subsequently disappearing from the face of the earth. Sony Liverpool Studios’ 2007 effort Formula One: Championship Edition was the last decent F1 game, and while it was a solid-enough racer, the rosters weren’t current thanks to some licensing issues, and as a result, the game ultimately failed to capture the magic of Formula 1 racing in all its glory. This time things are different. Racing simulation pioneers Codemasters are at the helm for the latest F1 video gaming avatar in F1 2010, a fully licensed, no-nonsense simulation of Formula 1 racing that is sure to keep newcomers and veteran racing game fans happy. It’s not without its fair share of problems, but Codemasters have pumped in so much F1 atmosphere into that Bluray disc/DVD that it’s worth immersing yourself in the game for a while... even if you’re not a fan of the sport.
Gone are the days of hardcore racing games where newcomers are greeted only with utter disdain for their poor cornering and overtaking skills. When Codemasters reinvented the Colin McRae franchise by putting out DiRT, a gap was closed. Somehow, they had managed to make a single racing game that could satisfy both casual and hardcore players by making difficulty so scalable, that you could either just pick it up and play or turn every imaginable driving aid off and drift around impossibly tight corners. With GRID (which I still consider the greatest racing game ever made), the DiRT formula was transported to a circuit racing environment, but it was GRID’s introduction of innovative features like ‘flashback’ (which has since made its way into Forza Motorsport 3, Dirt 2 and F1 2010 as well) and incredible team-based career modes that make it one of the most significant racing games of this generation. F1 2010 draws heavy inspiration from GRID, managing to improve on several aspects, but because of certain limitations associated with the Formula 1 championships, a lot of the features don’t feel well implemented. The driving itself, like all Codemasters racing games, feels tight, controlling well on the default ‘medium’ difficulty setting. On ‘medium’, several driving aids including ABS and traction control are switched on making your beast of an F1 car relatively easy to control, but it’s still very easy to spin out on corners if you lose concentration even for a brief moment. Hardcore fans will be able to switch off all driving aids, although the cars are literally impossible to control with your PS3 or X360 gamepad with aids switched off — you will need a good racing wheel if you even hope to control your vehicles at the most ‘realistic’ setting. All the cars in the game seem to handle in a similar fashion, but I did notice that some of the ‘better’ team cars (Ferrari, McLaren) drove better, but that was probably psychological. Some of the driving aids are pretty nifty, like the race line (which you can now choose to have displayed only at corners) and an auto-pit feature. Of course, if you’re hardcore, you’ll probably want to switch all of those off right away.
Most of your time in F1 2010 will be spent in the game’s career mode, and it’s really well designed. Like Dirt 2, F1 2010 sports a fantastic interface through which you can negotiate contracts, do interviews with the press, change your helmet design, game settings, and of course, participate in your next career event. While it’s mandatory to create your F1 persona, you can still access the various other game modes like Time Trial (You can race against a ghost car), Grand Prix (fully customisable, and you can race as any one of your favourite drivers) and Multiplayer (LAN & Online).
By accomplishing race objectives and out-doing your team-mate in each race, you will have access to upgrades for your vehicle, and since you’ll start out with one of the not-so-hot teams in the beginning, these are necessary to remain competitive throughout the season. Overall, the career mode does an excellent job of immersing you in the F1 universe, and the feeling of driving practice, qualifying and ultimately, race laps gives you a tremendous sense of accomplishment at the end of a race weekend... even if you fare terribly. However, problems seem to plague both offline and online play: crashes, and penalties for violating race rules. Since Codemasters probably had to work within F1 guidelines, you’re penalised for everything from slight bumps to the rear of badly driven AI cars to mildly cutting corners.
The AI in particular can be horrendous at times, braking horribly and crashing into you from the back and sides, and more often than not, you’re penalised 10 whole seconds for ‘causing’ the crash. While the AI does a decent job of blocking overtaking manoeuvres at times, it’s far from adaptive. Similarly, online lobbies are filled with jokers who seem to be playing F1 2010 like they would, say, Burnout: Paradise. It would’ve been great if the default F1 ruleset could be disabled, but unfortunately, it can’t. I’ve also read online that there’s a game-breaking problem that causes save files to get corrupt after you obtain an upgrade — I have not experienced this, but Codemasters are supposedly working on patching it immediately. While not visually mind-boggling (the PC version comes close, though), the dynamic weather and lighting stand out. It’s great to see puddles forming after persistent rain and gravel sticking to your car tyres, affecting handling until it is shaken off. The PS3 version lags when there’s a lot of visual detail, though.
Verdict
It’s not without flaws, but Codemasters’ F1 2010 is the Formula 1 game that finally does the popular motorsport justice thanks to accessible and addictive gameplay.
— videep@gmail.com
