A genuine contender for pole-position.
Watching on TV Formula One looks almost too easy - high performance machines engineered to perfection gliding serenely around Silverstone and Spa or darting amongst the buildings of historic Monaco. The fact is television has lied to you, perhaps not for the first time. F1 cars do not glide serenely, they are yowling, skittery, terrifying visions from a psychopaths nightmares. Trying to get one around Monaco without binning it unassisted is like attaching a pair of screaming tigers to a child's tricycle and trying to ride that to the shops. Every corner seems like an impossible geometric turn, bumps and cambers you never knew were there threatening to hurl you off into the nearest sand trap or crash barrier. What this game does best is delivering the challenge of F1 to the average sofa dweller - an experience that remains as accessible as it is challenging and terrifying.
Helping to keep things accessible is a full and exhaustive list of assists and difficulty controls, including AI skill, damage & tire wear, the now standard Codemaster's patented replay system and, most importantly of all, traction control. It takes a bit fiddling around but soon everyone will find a combination of assists and difficulty levels that caters precisely to their individual skill levels. Game modes include a full career mode over multiple season, single GPs of almost any length you choose as well as the usual time trial and multi player modes. The career mode disappoints slightly based on what was promised, your relationships with teams making little difference to a standard arc of progression, but I hope to see a better attempt at a great concept in the future. Opponent AI & behaviour is a triumph, cars skittering realistically and battling furiously for every corner & position. Whether you're facing down a hungry young rookie like Kobyashi or a seasoned pro like Schumacher, you feel like there's a distinct and real intelligence fighting back as you try to squeeze past or hold them off. Tires are also brilliantly simulated, making combative driving near impossible if you tear them too hard at the start of the race.
Presentation as with all Codemaster's racing titles is strong though lacking in one or two spots compared to their other recent titles like Dirt 2. The "living paddock" is all present and correct and the mid-session garage view does help give a great sense of occasion and immersion to everything you do. The general graphical quality provided by the EGO engine is again strong though this time a little rough around the edges compared to their other titles. Cars and tracks are lovingly rendered and rich with little details. A few jagged edges and the odd seam are still apparent, though nothing you'll likely notice at 100+MPH. The most noticeable graphical dysfunction is in your wing mirrors with a heavily simplified rear view of the action which can become a bugbear in tight racing situations when you dare not pan the camera away from the front. The lighting is also superb but dynamic lighting is an absent feature.
The dynamic weather system, F1 2010 being the first Codemaster's title to utilise it, is superb and is everything that was promised. The wet weather spray from cars looks fantastic and can severely hamper your visibility as you'd expect. As the race progresses dry lines emerge realistically and organically as the field ploughs a route through the damp. Your ability to manage changing conditions quickly becomes paramount as drizzle changes to a downpour and then back to pure sunshine almost as quickly. A snap decision or a well considered tire strategy set pre-race can mean the difference between finishing in first or in the barrier.
Overall, F1 2010 has room for improvements but it remains a super reboot for the Formula One franchise in video games. F1 fans should not think twice about picking up this fantastic companion piece for their favourite motor sport and general video game race fans really should take it for a spin to see what it offers. It's not quite up to the level of blockbusters like Forza 3 or GT5 but the racing experience it offers is one you simply won't find anywhere else.
