Thanks to years of disputes over licences and copyrights, F1 games have been very thin on the ground for far too long. Respectable efforts have been even scarcer – you have to go all the way back to 1994’s Grand Prix 2 to unearth gameplay that actually does the world’s fastest sport any semblance of justice.
In this time, racing games have come on leaps and bounds, and, luckily for us, developers Codemasters have been paying very close attention. F1 2010 has incorporated all the little features that made games such as Forza Motorsport 3, Grid and Dirt massive sellers, and rendered them even more enjoyable by shoving them underneath a shiny veneer of authentic visuals and nifty touches that’ll make any F1 fan go ‘ooooh’. There are ‘flashbacks’, for example, virtual get-out-of-jail-free cards which allow you to rewind the action a few second to give you another crack at the whip, should you approach a tight chicane with a tad too much gusto. There’s also a fully fleshed-out career mode, which sees you starting out with a small team and progressing up the ranks, on to the podium and, ideally, all the way to the world title. It goes beyond simple on-track action, too – there are also press conferences to deal with, which could hinder your progress should you give controversial answers and irk the team bosses.
Still, your ultimate enjoyment of the game – as with any racer – is likely to be directly proportionate to how frustrated you get with the controls, which, in turn, depends on how many of the various driver’s aids you have switched on. Twenty minutes in you should feel confident enough to turn the braking assist off, at which point it all becomes extremely difficult once again as you learn to take corners without wiping out half the grid and earning yourself instant disqualification. Give it a few laps, though, and you’ll be judging it perfectly and feeling all the more satisfied for it. And with less time crashing, you’ll have more time to admire the game’s excellent visuals.
And golly, does it look good. Come rain or shine (you can set weather conditions to sunshine, torrential rain and everything in between), the cars and locations look spectacular. Best of the lot is Abu Dhabi’s very own Yas Marina Circuit, which becomes bathed in a deceptively calming orange glow as the sun begins to set a few laps in. Come night-time, it’s just as gorgeous, with the lights on the perfectly rendered Yas Hotel threatening to distract you into a spin with their life-like twinkles.
All told, F1 2010 is a thoroughly excellent racing game. There’s enough depth to keep diehard racing fans busy, while simultaneously offering the accessibility to make sure newcomers to the genre will still have a blast. Go get it.
F1 2010 is out now for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC, priced Dhs269.
