F1 2010

F1 2010
System: PS3
IGN Score: 8.5
Release year: 2010

For those of you who know me well, you know that I am a pretty big fan of Formula 1 racing. It is the second most watched sport in the world behind soccer. It gets a lot of criticism here in the States for being too much of a fancy car parade, but if you pay attention to the season as a whole each year the racing is usually quite competitive. What I really like about the sport is the cars. Formula one cars are the most technologically advanced cars in the world. Every team has its own wind tunnel and engineers spend millions (yes, millions) of dollars figuring out ways to shave tenths of seconds off lap times around the most complex racing circuits in the world. The FIA is pretty secretive about car stats, but here are a few quick stats I know from watching F1 every week:

• cars weigh around 1300 lbs with driver weight included
• they produce somewhere in the 8 to 900 bhp range
• the cars cost 6-7X what a NASCAR costs - they are $1,000,000+ race cars
• They produce greater than 2G of downforce by just lifting off the throttle
• Their engines are rev limited at 18,500 rpm
  
• They had an older Renault F1 car on Top Gear the other day and it went 0-150 mph in 2.9 seconds

I waited all summer long in 2009 for F1 2009 to be released on the Wii. When it finally came out in November of 2009 and sucked, I was quite disappointed (although not surprised as 98% of games on the Wii are terrible). When I first heard about F1 2010 on the PS3 last spring, I was quite excited and have been looking forward to the game ever since then. Its the first time in 3-4 years an officially licensed F1 game has been here in the US. I bought the game a few weeks ago shortly after it was released and it did not disappoint. This is the best F1 game I have ever played. There are a few things it doesn't do well, but luckily those things are only mild setbacks to what is overall a great game that I would recommend to any F1 fan or racing fan in general. First the good stuff.

This game does an excellent job of simulating the speed at which these cars go around the tracks. As I am driving I really feel as if I am pushing the limit of going fast and being out of control. I hit curbs as I am entering and exiting corners. I can't even look at my telemetry (a complaint I will talk about in a bit) because I can't take my eyes off the road long enough without wrecking. Passing is difficult because it requires you to get off the best line around the track and as soon as you do that you can't get around the track quick enough to catch the guy ahead of you. Again, I watch F1 every weekend and the racing action and the way the sport is represented on the game is the best I have ever seen.

Other positives briefly include the graphics. The game looks spectacular, and this is especially highlighted when racing in the rain. The water sprays on the camera like it would on your visor making it difficult to see when you are driving directly behind other cars. It is quite amazing. All of the real teams and drivers are on the game, as well as the real-life rules like having to pit to switch from prime to option tires. Also the game is quite challenging. You are forced to pick from a weaker team at the beginning of the year, and it is quite difficult to match the speeds of the Red Bull and Ferrari teams. I play on easy with all the driving aids on, and although I've won a few races, I've also finished last in a few races. All of this makes everything you do on the game during a race weekend feel like a real-life F1 event.

Now for some of the bad stuff. The telemetry is a bit lacking. Actually, information in general is lacking. To start off, the timing is on the far upper corners of the screen. Luckily it is color coded (red for slower, green for faster) and the colors catch my eyes, but usually I am so focused on the road I can't look up to see how quick (or slow) my lap times are. And it can be difficult to figure out how far behind I am from the next car in front of me. It would be nice if your crew chief came over the radio and read you this information. His input gets repetitive anyway, so give him something more to say.

The career mode is focused on life as a driver, and has you doing interviews and looking at contracts and team offers, similar to a franchise on Madden. This is a great idea, but is a bit weak and shallow in the game. The interview section frequently asks the same questions and I don't really see the point in it. Again, good idea, but needs to be improved or dropped in future games. Also, the whole menu system in general is a bit odd. However if you are familiar with Codemasters' other games, like Grid or Dirt, it will seem familiar.

What I would like to see next year is an improved telemetry system with more information that can be accessed without crashing your car. Also, the career mode needs to be strengthened a bit. In general, though, this is the best F1 game I have ever played and highly recommend it to any race fan.