September 24 is a day that many F1 fans look forward to perhaps even more than the actual races, because on that day they will be able to sit in their favorite car and drive the best tracks in the world in stunning HD. Developer Codemasters is optimistic that this game will bring enough to the table to please all F1 fans, from the most experienced to the most casual. To put things in perspective, I went to Gamescom in Cologne to find out.
On the drive to the German city, I wondered how crazy I was to drive all that way for just one game. Granted, it’s a full event, but I knew most of the games wouldn’t interest me and wouldn’t buy them anyway.
Once there, I was immediately caught up in the excitement of overdressed gamers (dressed as their favorite gaming character) and underdressed women (great!) as I made my way to the arcade.
F1 2010 was the first thing I saw upon entering. The big silver build and worn tires were hard to miss. The position was called deep silver and it was packed to say the least. A queue, showing no signs of moving, surrounded the booth. I decided to take a look and come back later for my first few miles.
Towards the end of the day, I literally discovered the Microsoft booth. F1 2010 was on display and all that was sitting between me and the wheel was a man, a German. Fortunately, he decided to end the day fairly early and I was finally able to play the game in peace. Sure I heard a German murmur from behind, but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t directed at me.
At the end of Gamescom, I experienced highlights (meeting sackboy, Vader, and the like) and stumbled into a few slumps (waited ages to play Sony’s move, thirsty for the slowest-moving line ever, and no get an F1 t-shirt from Codies). But overall it was an amazing day and finally here are my F1 2010 finds from Codemasters.
Codemasters Booth Experience
As I said before, I was watching the booth from a distance, not wanting to queue. I was disappointed that the line was that big just to do a single race against other attendees. But then a treat came out of nowhere when the blonde girl from the booth came up to me (and my friend) and asked if we wanted to play, her voice sweet of hers. We nodded loudly and were able to walk to the front, and within minutes we were sitting in the F1 booths ready to play.
The version I played at the Codemasters booth was on a PC set to medium graphics, and it showed. Textures weren’t as sharp as I was used to in videos and the overall picture, while pretty, was a bit soft.
When everyone was finally ready, I asked one of the helpers, suitably Dutch like me, if he could turn everything off and put me in full view of the cabin. He helped and turned off the standard T-cam view and all aids. The race started in the pit box with a stopwatch counting 0:30 until the start of the race in Spa (dry). In the pit box you can see the latest weather reports, change tires and do a few other things I didn’t have time to look at. When you’re ready, the team will help you drop the box and the car will drive out of the garage.
Unfortunately the cinematic stopped there and suddenly I was on the grid with all the other cars. It would have been better if I could drive myself to the grid and feel the chills of the race, but that was not the case.
When the race started I experienced my first problem. The shift lever on the steering wheel would not return to its position after shifting. I discovered this quite late and was forced to shift up and then push the gear lever into position before shifting up again; this has cost me a lot of time as i was stuck running for at least ten seconds.
I drove to Eau Rouge and found that I could play pretty well without the assists, considering the unfamiliar setup and physics. Note that all other players were racing with auto gearbox and all assists on.
In the final corner I had caught up with the cars that overtook me after my gear change problem. I was revving up for a final attack for first place all the way to the final hairpin. I braked perfectly and had my line, took him on the inside and was ready to drive to the finish line, when all of a sudden he hit me from the side. He got a ticket for causing a collision and I was backing up to get my car out of the wall. I realized that I couldn’t drive fast anymore, so I thought I could still win this… when the third place car appeared on the straight. I finished second goal to the left with a feeling of excitement and adrenaline.
I found that without all the aids I could drive the car quite well. It was driven like an updated F1 Championship Edition with more emphasis on getting good cornering traction. Because press the throttle a little too hard and you will surely spin.
Also the cars understeered a bit, this was probably due to my cautious driving, car set up and F1 type steering wheel with broken gear stick. But that’s okay because the car responded well to my input. It was amazing to find more and more grip in the corners.
In the end I glared at the German who turned me around, didn’t notice and left the building. The helpful Dutch also showed me the way to the exits, not being fooled by my attempt to hide in the simulator to try again.
Microsoft Booth Experience
Just when I thought my F1 experience was there, in the last room, there was a Microsoft pod running F1 2010. I was excited and for the first time I had access to settings that allowed me to set up my own race on one of the available tracks. . The menus loaded quickly and the graphics were easy on the eyes.
I decided to start a practice session in Hungary first. Every good F1 racer knows that most of the gains can be found in the practice session, it’s the perfect way to prepare for the 1.5 hour races that follow.
I found myself sitting in my car with options to change settings, tires and hit the track. The virtual screen in front of me gave me good access to qualifying, weather expectations, circuit information and more. I was amazed at the effective and realistic approach to getting sources of information, but couldn’t spot a way to see the other cars on the track using that method. For me, it’s a must have for all F1 games and is very exciting during LAN or online sessions.
So I started P1, in my Ferrari, and I was the first car to tackle the tarmac. With all the assists off and a solid Microsoft wheel in front of me, with poor quality pedals, it turned out to be a very pleasant experience. On my first lap I noticed that the car was skidding and how unstable it was when braking and accelerating. It was very difficult to push and I decided to use it as a lap to warm up the tyres. Unfortunately, I can’t hide the fact that I spun once when I pushed too hard.
My second lap was better. The tires were hot and a little voice inside my head convinced me that the track gained grip every time I crossed the finish line.
At the end of my first run I went in and noticed that of the 8 allotted, 1 was slightly worn. The game counts the tires you use and allows you to go out with worn tires, really awesome!
When I heard voices behind me, I decided to leave the session and go out in a slower car in Abu Dhabi. I went out and sure enough, the race was in twilight conditions, just like in real life. The setting sun gave off a beautiful yellow glow, making the environments glow like never before.
I was near the back and made a wobbly start in my Sauber. I realized that the old trick of positioning the car on the inside and passing 10 cars didn’t work. The AI cars were moving around the track surface trying to find an opening, leaving me in the middle losing positions.
After the start I recovered my composition and was able to get close to the Lotus, Virgin and HRT cars. It was tough and it took me a while to overtake them in my Sauber, but with a bit of aggressiveness it worked. Then I had a bad start and an HRT car hit me in the side, causing me to spin into the wall and end my position race.
The damage was very good. Parts of the Sauber flew everywhere as only one side of my wing was smashed to pieces, with the other half intact. In the race I noticed a problem with the radio equipment. The guy said things that didn’t make sense. For example, when he was behind someone in two turns, he said that he had to get out of his hot air because the engine was overheating. Now I love that engine temperature is in the game, but I’m pretty sure the margin is a bit bigger than that.
The graphics on the Xbox were a step up from its PC counterpart, which was set in the middle. The track looked amazing and I was completely drawn into the experience. But again I found the image a bit soft.
And so my 2010 F1 experience ended. I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it, especially as the handling was so good. It felt like an updated F1 CE, which is a good thing. The cars understeer more than in F1 09 on Wii, and I honestly felt where the grip was and where it wasn’t. And some of the curbs were walkable, but not all! These are aspects that give me the impression that this game is doing a good job of representing the difficulties and experience of F1. Smart handling is more forgiving than the likes of rFactor, but who’s to say which is more realistic?
The bottom line is this: F1 2010 pretty much has the whole package. It’s got the sound, it’s got the graphics, and I really enjoyed the races. I could feel what happened to the car and found myself dealing with it all hard. But then again, I’m used to the likes of GTR2, rFactor and back in the GP4 days. I’d say I’m a foodie with a capital E. And this enthusiast will definitely buy F1 2010 as soon as possible.
