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Lets remember I'm reviewing a game although some might suggest it is a driving simulator.
I've been a hard core Formula One fan since the 1960s.
I've also been playing Gran Turismo (Prologue) for more than a year on my PS3. A game I both like and find quite frustrating.
The first thing to realize is this game is geared toward a very hard core F1 fan, who wants to role play and engage in the strategy of a race weekend or season. IF you are looking for most of the nuances of being a F1 driver OTHER THAN DRIVING this may be your game. This is NOT a hard core driving simulator. There is a great deal to the game that has nothing to do with driving and a great deal to do with how you interact with the press, how you set up your car, how you manage pit stops, how you deal with changing weather, etc. So if you want to live the life of a F1 prospect then this is your game! For most gamers the races are excessively long (even at the shortest settings) and I doubt many will want to pretend to be a F1 driver.
This game is certainly meant to be played as a role player, you have to be smart about your interviews with the press, smart about set-up and smart about pit-stops. Your goal is to progress to being a top level driver which also includes wise contract negotiations.
The actual driving/physics are mediocre --which means that most game players will find the physics reasonably friendly. You can turn off ABS braking and the only result you will find is that you can not steer if your brakes are locked. Traction control can be turned off and the only problem you'll encounter is that you can't mash the accelerator if you are in a Low speed turn. But there is no real simulation the physics are quite simplistic but that does not mean easy!
I've been playing the game with all these aids off and I can say this game offers very little regarding the true physics of a race car. I've taught performance driving, using real cars, for over 20 years. Nevertheless you still have to be very accurate with your steering, pick your braking points well and modulate your throttle in low speed turns. The game is still a challenge. To get a good lap you'll have to put in a lot of time but just to be clear the physics are simplistic and far from entirely accurate.
This game offers none of the subtitles of driving a real car at the limit. I don't necessary mean that as a criticism. Very few gamers would want a true simulation. Cars, driven at their true limits, are very difficult to control. However ---if you want a true DRIVING simulation this game offers little approaching that lofty goal!
I think the appeal of this game is limited to true F1 fans. You certainly have to be exact in your driving and you also have to deal with weather, pit stops, tire choices, when to change an engine, etc. It will take a lot of effort to advance your career and complete the game. But the races are excessively long (yet mimic a true F1 race). A major problem with the game is you'll be unaware of any opponent behind you because the mirrors don't work. Overall, this game strikes me as a lonely and often dull (abet technical) form of competition.
I suggest you pass on this game unless you like the idea of role playing as an F1 driver.
Your wiser choice MAY be the forthcoming Gran Turismo 5 (due November 24, 2010)
Other comments:
1.) The graphics are either excellent (for still frames) but only good (in the actual game play) when viewed on a 1080p monitor connected to the PS3 via an HDMI cable
2.) The multi-player (on-line) is OK but not great. You can set up custom races as short as 3 laps and restrict what driving aids can be used. You can also turn off collision so you are freed from other people ramming you off the track. But it is all a bit confusing to use and it may be difficult for someone to find a race you set up. Nevertheless it has more options than Gran Turismo Prologue and thus has to be viewed as a minor step up. I hope the upcoming Gran Turismo 5 will have a far better on-line lobby. Overall you will find few racers competing on-line.
3.) The weather effects are nothing less than stunning. When it rains --well ----it seems like it is really raining! Graphics fans will love this.
4.) There is no manual/user guide available within the game (and the tiny brochure included in the packaging just covers the bare basics). For a game so immersed in the details of Formula One it amazes me there is no in-game manual. I know the sport extremely well but will everyone?
5.) Driving Aids: The map of the race course that you can (optionally) display is too short to be of any real help and the racing line, another option, is too short and hard to see to be really helpful. So I doubt anyone will find much help from those aids. But Beginners will find considerable comfort with the game's other aids such as automatic braking, ABS and traction control (all of which are banned in the real world of F1).
6.) As previously noted, one of the biggest problems with the game is that the mirrors don't work. You won't have any sense of the cars behind you except for the maps. That really lessens your sense of competition and hurts the game-play. More often than not your greatest threats come from behind. This is a major oversight in the game and often makes a race seem lonely and quite dull.
7.) One major advantage of this game, for hard core F1 fans, is you will gain a very realistic perspective of the tracks. As a game, I can't say I enjoy it very much but I keep playing it because I get a very real sense of the tracks and that heightens my enjoyment when a race is televised
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This review was written November 18th, based on a copy of the game I purchased on September 22nd. Almost 2 full months to think about the game and analyze it properly.I am a massive F1 fan. Massive. I've been following it since the times of Senna x Prost despite my young age. I've been through GP2/GP3/GP4, F1 1998 World GP, GPL, F1 2000, F1 2002, F1 99-02 Challenge, F1 2006 CE, certain rFactor mods, GTR 2 mods, a brief iRacing stint, and the latest F1 2010. I have been driving sims for almost a decade as well so I feel I can talk about this game properly. I'll try to be direct too.
Presentation:
It's very nice to have the Paddock system, in the first few weeks it still seems cool but to be honest, the novelty wears off once you realize how much time is wasted when you have to keep transitioning back to that one area, dealing with loading screens. Despite the setbacks I'll give kudos to Codemasters here, was a nice touch.
Graphics:
At first they seem very awesome, no doubt about it. The cars have a nice resolution, the circuits look pretty, the stands are "alive," the pitcrew is properly detailed. However the helmets are incredibly low resolution compared to the cars, and their mapping just baffles me. The rain looks very good on the track and so does the spray over the front tires from the cockpit view.
The lighting of the game has a filter that makes colors less lively which may not be noticeable by several people, but I feel it takes a little bit away from what it could have been. On TV the cars may look one way but live there's real vibrant colors and they're very reflective but not poorly done like F1 2006. F1 2010 gets that reflection the best out of F1 games I've seen; talking more about reflections, they have a funny effect because their frames per second is at a lesser rate than the game, so they stutter by.
Audio:
Absolutely love the sound of the cars. F1 doesn't have the v12s or v10s of not long ago but the v8s don't sound that bad and this game does a great job in that aspect. Overall the audio is good, we don't have an annoying announcer (i.e. James Allen) bugging us and we do have some pit radio messages every now and then sometimes they're fine, sometimes slightly off. It's funny when it's off, to be honest, so I'll let that one slide :P. Lastly, on audio, you may be disappointed not to see your name in the list of possible names with audio, but the name is basically only mentioned once on the interview. I picked Colin just for laughs.
Gameplay:
Here's the thing: Codemasters hyped up this game a lot, review sites and shows didn't play enough to really tell us anything, so when the community got a hold of the game it was shocked. Car behavior on the dry was ok, on a wet track it was problematic. Too much grip with wet tires on, and just a generally super forgiving gameplay. Unless you touched the kerbs! They were terribly modeled and sometimes you can just ride them (when you shouldn't as in real life you'd probably damage the undertray an even screw up the gears, as we've seen with Sebastian Vettel) and sometimes you can't even look at them and they'll throw you off. I think Monza was an example of poor kerbs. Oh, you don't need TC even in the rain. It's incredibly tough to lose the rear, wheelspin is completely off.
Anyway, it's understandable this game isn't made to be a sim but Codies could have been straightforward instead of beating around the bush with their and Anthony Davidson's crap (there's a reason he hasn't been on a F1 grid for several years).
Closing statement on driving: It mostly makes sense to drive the cars so if you can remember where kerbs give you problems you'll be fine.
Live The Life:
Simply put, you don't. It's a very shallow experience that will be summed up with you not caring for the press and actually hating your agent :P.
Now, to point out the bad stuff...
CONS:
TERRIBLE AI rubber banding. Qualifying lap times are completely unreal. Race times are unreal. The AI has predetermined laptimes for every session, the only one who has to worry about setting a certain time around the track is you. You may overtake Vettel on your hotlap but he may still have the faster laptime. Also, do not be surprised to see a lower team car jumping several positions during pitstops or later in the race as they set fastest time. This game is terrible with that. Don't be surprised to see the HRT set the fastest lap of the race, or to see a computer-controlled car simply appear infront of you after warping 100m behind you. The AI has set times for each sector so they'll warp if these are outside a certain range.
Fuel Simulation and Tire Wear. Another aspect of the game that pretty much only applies to the player. It is incredible how this issue also got through testing, or it didn't but was ignored. To be brief: The player suffers from both but the AI doesn't.
Track accuracy is poor. Codemasters outsourced the work on the tracks, and when CAD data was available the tracks came out just fine except Silverstone that has the MotoGP layout. MOTOGP LAYOUT for the F1 TRACK. Also, how the hell does Monaco have a BANKED TUNNEL?! EMBARASSING. Oh yeah, it also rains inside the tunnel!
Terrible replay. Awful camera, very short. Just terrible.
The AI is very good on areas where they fail in many games, like T1 of the first lap. The AI moves about to find the proper line instead of just line-up to be overtaken. They put proper fights for position too. Unfortunately Codemasters screwed up everywhere else. They got the toughest part done but completely botched the easy ones! Careful when passing someone on a blue flag, they may BRAKE on you.
Career is a shame. You could win on Legend your 1st season with HRT and you'll not be offered a contract by a team higher than midfield. It's tough to point out the main problem in that sentence, that you can WIN on Legend with the HRT, or that a top team will ignore the fact you are amazing. Oh, and when you move teams, don't expect to replace the worst performing driver. If you go to McLaren and Lewis beats Button by 50 points, expect Lewis to get the axe.
Pit Stop bugs still happen despite the patch. Seems to be give and take on luck. That means you could be P1, make a stop, and come out P20. Great way of making a person angry.
Force Feedback WEAKER after the patch. It was already poor to begin with...
FPS stutter
You may set laps in quali faster than some AI but during the race the AI will pull laps 5-10s faster than they did in quali, out of nowhere. This relates to point #1 but it's just so frustrating it deserves another mention.
Only accurate tracks and best cars in the game are those with CAD data.
Tracks with poor kerbs (Jump!) and modeling in general, like the exit of Parabolica in Monza. It's like they completely botched some polys while making the track and didn't bother fixing them. Also, how can they put the MotoGP layout for Silverstone in a F1 game?
This game should be avoided, to sum it up. Even casual racers will be upset with the faults the game has. A F1 fan may try putting up with them like me but there's always a limit. I will not be buying another Codemasters game, I hadn't in several years for a reason. I most likely will skip F1 2011 as well.
This game is embarrassing, we wanted a proper console F1 game so bad but we got this instead. Do yourself a favor and resist the urge, this doesn't deserve a purchase unless it's on the bargain bin, and even then only if you're an F1 fan.
2/5 is actually me being nice to it.If you are even a little into F1 you will love this game! I initially used the D-pad for this game, but decided to buy a wheel just for it. Man that was worth it! I bought the Logitech Driving Force GT and it works great. The graphics are better then GT5 and the sound is amazing! My favorite thing to do is probably even just hot laps.
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If you like F1 and have a PS3, just buy it. Don't even hesitate. Especially considering the people who made this game, the driving is exceptionally good. It's very realistic compared to most racing games. Still not on par with gt5 or some other games in that respect, but still very realistic and a ton of fun to play. It can get pretty deep. If you want to fully simulate an F1 season you basically can. The presentation is great. Literally my only complaint is that there are only F1 cars. It would be cool if it had some classic F1 cars like Sennas MP4 from 1988 but all in all, it's a really polished and fun game. Great graphics too. No F1 fan should own a PS3 without this seriouslyI can't believe the number of bad reviews this game has written about it. I can only assume the are from rival industry insiders because after playing the game for a few months now it's obvious these reviews are at best way off the mark and at worst blatant lies.I've played almost every F1 racing game on every PlayStation system since PS1 and this is far and away the best racing experience I've ever played. The graphics are stunning, the sense of speed is just right, the physics are excellent even the load times are minimal and the menus direct and to the point.
The only gripe I have is the level of difficulty. This game is TOO HARD! With a force feedback wheel and many years of driving game experience, I can't beat 16th place on 'normal' difficulty. I don't expect to win every race (that is boring) but damn give me a chance here!
I've followed the cars round the track in practice for several laps and my posted times are way lower than theirs this aspect of the game is clearly fixed which is a real shame. In the real race this doesn't seem to be the case.
I'm starting a new career in easy mode now since I'm clearly much slower than the developers of this game expect their gamers to be!
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