After years of absence, since the launch of PlayStation 3 in March 2007, Formula 1 returns to video games. The license, which until 2008 owned by Sony, has gone to the British company Codemasters, renowned experts in driving games to his credit include sagas as Race Driver and Colin McRae. The British company last year launched F1 2009 for PSP and Wii with quite well, but far from outstanding, but the highest expectations were placed on this F1 2010, reaching the next generation consoles and PC. And they have managed to make one of the best games of the year.
F1 2010 is great news for fans of Formula 1. As pure and simple simulator still has some room for improvement. It has several difficulty settings and can activate and deactivate helps, and the extreme level simulation is very good, though not perfect. But as a game of Formula 1, when offering options and possibilities immersion is the best that have occurred since that Microprose Grand Prix 3. Of that, Alonso was in Formula 3000.
Codemasters has decided to offer a Formula 1 game for everyone, but above all to achieve immerse the player in the world of "Gran Circo". We started the game, as we had you in our last contact with him choosing the name, nationality, and nickname of our pilot. As this is the Castilian version, we saw not only the quality of dubbing, excellent, but also how they have adapted different nicknames to Spanish culture. There are some as "Lightning", "Sinfreno", "Supersonic" or "Runner" might be called standard, other word games more or less successful as Vasatogás "," Acién Zero, "" Haste shot "or" Ricardo Firecracker, "and tributes to the Spanish culture as" Speedy Gonzalez "or" Fittipaldi, "the nickname for all weekenders clueless. We can also choose to call us by our first names, from a selection of boy and girl names existing.
Once you have chosen our different names and nationalities, the interviewer asks what a challenge we want (we chose the default difficulty level), how long we want to be in Formula 1 (between three and seven seasons) and, finally, one of the teams we offer the contract (all but the big five: Renault, Mercedes, Red Bull, Maclaren and Ferrari). Upon signing by a team finally agreed to the menu of the game, set in a paddock, while in principle within the caravan where is our agent and we talk about our progress, our demands for more season and some detail.
2010 F1 difference between our experience as a pilot, what we call the career mode, and other game modes. The menu returns to the paddock so we run ("Path"), or choose from Grand Prix, Time Attack, Multiplayer and "My F1", which is nothing other than options. The choice of races, as we noted, we can choose from several races to contend with the duration querámonos, marking a competition agenda and giving the game an estimated duration. We can also opt to play a full season and, of course, not be subject to the computer on which path we are on the way, but we can choose the driver you want (including the one we replaced in the team that we have signed). The trial option allows us to free practice on any track, while the multiplayer discussed later in the article.
The beer of the game, apart from the multiplayer, of course, is therefore in Career mode, form part of Codemasters’ ambitious attempt to immerse ourselves in the world of Formula 1. Start with a few options, but from the fourth or fifth Grand Prix of our first season and we all open. As expected, the way history is organized into different races, and before and after them we will see how the drivers and teams, which have a reputation as a driver, and how happy or unhappy they are with us in the equipment.
Finally, we enter the next Grand Prix, before entering selecting the difficulty level and type of weekend. While in the careers of other game modes we can choose the number of turns in the path so we can choose between short and weekend long. The length includes the practice session, qualifying and the race to complete, ie, with all the time of testing, grading and all rounds of racing. The short workouts limited to one hour and 20 minutes classification, and allows us to select what percentage of race we run. But at least 20%.
This is probably the only issue in career mode, high compulsory duration of the races. While we can shorten the practice sessions as possible (making only one trip, for example), and are also useful to know the path, and the classification only have to make a turn if we are, the races usually have at least some twelve laps. We can do with more, the total of the route, but never less than 20% of the race.
This minimum is unusually long for a game and has its bright side: forces us to experience some of the excitement of F1 racing, with a mandatory pit stop, and also allows us to have time to go up if we have committed any blunder in laps. The downside is that many players may get tired, not of boredom or monotony, only physically tired eyes and reflexes, being forced to run a minimum of approximately 20 minutes. It is true that you can give pause and relax it a while, but would have been better than could be cut to six laps, the pit stops would be mandatory as well, and the game does not require much time and effort.
This is the only critical to a career mode that, moreover, is impeccable. It makes the players really care-free practice and qualifying, the team requires a minimum score on it, and also to be competing with your partner by having the central place in the team. Besides, that also interest free practice, the team timed challenges we face in them from time to time: if we meet, the car will evolve, ie obtain improvements. In these trainings, as well as in the pre-race screen, we can also change the settings of the car. F1 2010 is smart in this regard, by offering a fast set-up ranging from wet to dry, but also allowing us to manually edit each of the parameters of the car on a screen.
Similarly, in the sessions can choose what tires to use, and on that screen stop strategy planning of the race: how tires begin (soft or hard), and in return what we want to change from one to another. This is fantastic. At the end of the races we often told reporters with three different answers to each question. Depending on these answers our relationship with the team may worsen or improve. It is a good addition, but some answers are very obvious. Faced with a victory or a good position, three clear choices, in other words, are "I’m the best in the world", "I am a humble guy" and "I owe it all to the team." In the questions on rivalry with our partner, the responses are summarized in "my friend", "decided by the team" and "I’m better than him." It is easy to predict the consequences.
One of the things that attract our attention more to play, and with which we must be careful, are the penalties. In F1 is relatively easy to hit rivals especially in the early races, and in fact the custom of other games, do not give importance to charge from behind a rival, or touch the side. In 2010 F1 cars are very fragile, as in real life, and a rear-end collision, apart from almost necessarily lead to the destruction of the wing (and the opponent’s back), usually mean a penalty. Depending on the level of difficulty, allowing some slight shock, but strong shock that is our fault we always will a penalty: for places on the grid in the practice session, and time, i.e. posts late in the race.
Another common penalty, and especially hard in practice, is to skip corners. If "short" a chicane, or take a corner too on the inside, the game will warn us that we have missed a curve. In the timed session this involves around zero. In the race, depends on the frequency and consequences, and difficulty level. If we do that many times we penalize insurance, and whether what we do and we advance a rival in the process overtaking declared void and we will fall 10 jiffies.
Obviously many times these behaviors are involuntary, and so are the blunders in the form of spin (the chicane de Catalunya is one of the peaks of difficulty of the game at first), exit the track by braking and other past Raikkonen. For this game implements the "flashbacks" as in the latest games from Codemasters, the ability to rewind the action a few seconds to take back that corner, or stop before ramming the opponent from behind. These movements are accessed through repetition menu by pressing the button when you want to "return" and the amount they have is limited by the level of difficulty. In normal, we have three, in four easy, while the expert is simply no.
Another point to mention in this way and racing in general is the weather, as protagonist as shocks to real Formula 1 racing how it changes, tire changes and pit stops. In F1 is present and is dynamic, i.e. we can start a career raining, with intermediate or wet, and letting go of rain and the pavement dries. Factors such as taking advantage of damp or wet areas of the track are at stake, and the entrances to the pits in time will gain or lose seconds.
As far as gameplay and control is concerned, the game includes a number of difficulty levels that automatically turned on and off aid, and improving the timing and aggressiveness of the opponent. In the normal level, we have traction control wheel anti-lock system and a dynamically drawn line indicating when we will stop and accelerate, and that novices will be vital. We can change these settings, deactivate or activate all braking assistance (in this case the game turns into a walk), and even disabling the speed limiter in the pit area. Still, at the maximum level simulation to the game still has a little work. Hay, of course, a variety of views, both inside and outside, enough to satisfy any taste.
Multiplayer mode offers the expected options: quick race eight laps longer runs, and runs completely configurable. A peculiarity of this mode is that the number of runners is limited to twelve, and are controlled by other players or artificial intelligence, and in fact only allowed one car per team. Hopefully in later versions expand the number of players online.
A graphic level F1 2010 is not comparable to the "monster" of this year, Gran Turismo 5, but looks great. Veteran Codemasters’ Ego engine perfectly fulfills its mission, the game moving smoothly, with a great sense of speed, which actually goes well with the effects of sound. Although the modeling of the cars is not spectacular, it is a very good level, although the damage is not too varied. The finish of the stage is not always as good. Some are really colorful and have beautiful visual effects, others are gray off. However, what matters is the feeling of speed and outstanding F1 2010 brings this.
In the sound for their part stress the engine noises and comments of the paddock, over the generic, though nice soundtrack. The dubbing is excellent Castilian; with instructions of our staff constantly comment on how the race goes, who is number one or has the fastest lap newer, or what tires are riding pit rivals. There is also advice about how to advance a rival, or warnings about meeting standards, track conditions and race in general.
Conclusion:
F1 2010 will not disappoint those who have been waiting for the game months and years a great Formula 1 game. Codemasters has used its experience in the genre, but is also steeped in the culture of the Formula 1 to provide a very immersive experience, not just a Formula 1 simulator, but a game of Grand Circus with all the letters that includes all elements of the competition for the player interacts with them. That feeling of viewers to watch the run and will not know if Alonso before his rival as he left his pitstop, as they seize the soft tires one lap to snatch a few tenths or how they affect the impact or sudden weather changes , goes to the game and we are the protagonist.
Surely a title that had to exist for quite a few years and as unfinished business for the future has something more of refinement in the graphics and gameplay (and details such as the safety car, which end up putting it, but hopefully that option). But apparently seen in this first issue, the future looks very promising.
