The sunset over Monaco.
To an onlooker, motorsport seems like a dense and very niche subject filled with people you wouldn’t want to bring round for dinner, because rather inevitably the conversation would be filled with, opposite lock, rear diff’s, gear ratios, side partings and a very healthy dose of Ferrari badges. Codemasters seem to have realized this and as a result F1 2010 strips most of that away and delivers a fine driving and F1 experience to those not necessarily “in the know”
The experience in question is that of a fully fledged F1 driver. You are a new driver that has secured a spot on one of the 2010 Grand Prix’s new teams. Codemasters have been touting this as “Living the Life.” While although it’s not living in Monaco, dodging taxes, and danger the game does a good job involving you with the media and the race team. F1 2010 does this by having a sort of race hub, the paddock area which you roam around, full of press, pit girls, your team, and of course the lavishly furnished RV where you can find your agent. The career mode is where the race experience really comes into full view, as a new driver to Grand Prix, your goals are structured as such, and you won’t be expected to fight up top with the McLaren’s, Red Bull’s, and Ferrari’s. But rather staking your place somewhere mid table and while it doesn’t sound very interesting, you get rewarded well and your team goes berserk when you complete your objectives even more so when you surpass them and It really does feel rewarding even if you aren’t at the top, but when you get there. Boy is it special.
Now this is all fine and well, but since this IS a racing game we need to get to that part. The race! A race weekend is made up of either a long or short edition, a three practice session, an equally long practice session (if you make it into the next heats) and race day, naturally, and of course a shorter version for those so inclined.
The driving model has been “tuned to offer an experience like GRID” and not Papyrus and in that regard it is fairly forgiving, as one slip can ruin a drivers race day the flashback system is in full effect, as a more casual driver I would of liked to see a few more of them, on a 32 lap race 4 can sometimes be a little limiting for the perfectionist in me considering there is so much to go wrong. This attitude is also reflected in the pit lane as well, tuning is very basic and limited you only need to bother adjusting the car to how you like it, a bit of stiffness here and there for example and as a result really every aspect of driving seems softer, the game does a good job of easing you into the occasionally insurmountable task of taking an F1 car to 380kph, and while I can’t vouch for the realism of driving an actual F1 racer It’s fun taking your opponents on the inside of the track and holding a car to its limits, It’s fun. The dynamic weather adds some replay-ability and makes the game a little more interesting dealing with overheating tyres with stagnant water puddles which dry up over time for example. And of course the game does a brilliant job of conveying speed, being the only sport I know of to make 140kph, idling around a corner seem unbelievably slow the other end feels well done as well barrelling down straightaways in top gear it is really satisfying.
The special moments I talked about earlier are enhanced by the game’s visuals and sound and the rain hits hard and beads on the camera while the noise of the v12’s blare away and kick you in the back of your chest. As you thunder through spa at 380kph, The HUD is also well done and feels like you’re watching a formula 1 broadcast the red, white and black really is a nice contrast and this theme carries through, throughout the game, along with a brilliant Drum n Bass and Rock soundtrack the game does a great job of immersing you in the role of Star Driver.
However, as nice as this all sounds the game isn’t without any flaws; the AI isn’t necessarily “rubber bandy” but racing against them sort of feels like racing a scalextric car, pushing corners harder, faster and accelerating out at speeds not possible, especially if their car has suffered damage, getting out cornered by a car without a front wing brings nothing but frustration. Along with the pit crew being overly cautious, pitting on the same lap as others can be disastrous, even as first one in and finished, your pit boss will wait until “the coast is clear” and can throw away races at the tone of holding your head in disgust at the 25 second wait in the pit. Along with other non-realistic aspects that even with a toned down attitude towards F1 and realism one would expect like correct tyre wear, fuel simulation and the reduction of tyre puncture occurrence sort of dampens the experience a bit. Things that you tend to forgive and forget in the middle of a race, battling against Michael Schumacher and having a blast, but it’s like playing a game with Chlamydia, there aren’t any symptoms but you know it’s there and it sort of spoils the relationship.
Most of those flaws aren’t circumstantial in multiplayer but I have been unable to get very many good races in and don’t feel qualified to talk on the subject. There’s multiplayer and it’s probably good.
So as the chequered flag flies to the hardcore F1 fan this game although the first in an almost decade drought of F1 on the PC, F1 2010 will probably feel like a let down by the lack of “hardcore” elements but for everyone else, like Chlamydia loads and loads of fun to get, but perhaps not living with it for the rest of your life though if you aren’t able to recognize and diagnose the symptoms.
