F1 2010 may have all the glitz and glamour of the Formula One season and sideshows, but the main event is where the action really is. Thankfully, the game engine created by Codemasters is brilliant, offering players a terrifyingly accurate portrayal of what it’s like to get behind the wheel of an expensive high-performance race car. Read on to find out why it’s one of the finest racers currently available on any platform in this part of our F1 2010 review.
Read the rest of our F1 2010 review
F1 2010 review
F1 2010 review: Career mode
F1 2010 review: Presentation
As has been the case with most F1 titles over the years, F1 2010 features a plethora of driving aids. If you decide to begin the game on its easiest mode, you’ll find all of these are switched on. Your braking and traction control will both be handled automatically by the computer, and you’ll need not concern yourself with gear changes or monitoring your speed when driving in the pit lane. In fact, all you need worry about is making sure the car is pointing in the right direction.
However, it soon becomes obvious that when playing F1 2010 with all the driving aids enabled, you’re going to be nothing more than a mobile chicane. Codemasters has deliberately made the computer assistance overly cautious – it causes you to brake way before you reach a corner and prevents quick exits by keeping your revs as low as possible, essentially to avoid you spinning off..
Slowly but surely, F1 2010 encourages you to let go of the technological comfort blanket and switch off the driving aids. Braking is usually the first to fall, and you’ll notice a dramatic improvement in your lap times as a result. Of course, with this comes a risk – if you misjudge your stopping distance and fail to scrub off enough speed before you reach a corner, then you’ll end up in the gravel.
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One by one F1 2010’s aids fall until you’re confident enough to work the gears and mollify your revs by gingerly dabbing the analogue triggers when exiting a corner. The only aid you’ll probably want to leave on is the racing line guide, which not only illustrates where your car should be on the track, but also changes colour depending on the situation. If you’re fine to go pedal to the metal then it shines a reassuring shade of green, but when you need to put the anchors on it switches to red. The great thing about this is that it’s context-sensitive – if you enter a corner faster than expected the line will glow red earlier, encouraging you to bring your speed down quicker.
F1 2010’s gradual learning curve means you become more involved as your confidence and experience grow. With all the aids switched off the potential for a catastrophic accident is massive, and therefore complete concentration is required. It’s a whole new level of immersion when compared to the likes of Race Driver: GRID, which was enjoyable but required little in the way of technical proficiency.
That’s not to say that F1 2010 is entirely different from its stable mates. The ‘Flashback’ facility – which was pioneered in GRID and carried over to the more recent DIRT 2 – allows you to rewind time following a mistake. Although it may be curiously at odds with the intense realism of the rest of the game, it’s a Godsend in certain situations. After all, when you’ve spent the best part of an hour practicing, qualifying and fighting for a race win, the last thing you want to have to do is restart an entire race due to a solitary lapse in concentration. The Flashback feature – which can only be used a limited number of times – removes the need to quit the race, and as such is a very welcome addition indeed.
One aspect that is less appealing is the rather tame degree of crash damage present in F1 2010. Granted, front wings fly off with very little persuasion, but aside from a few bumps there’s very little in the way of carnage in this game. Of course, such horrific accidents are not supposed to be revelled in, but after the glorious carnage of Racer Driver: GRID, we expected a little more debris following a 220mph prang.
This relatively small issue aside, F1 2010 is one of the most technically adept racing simulations money can buy. Few titles of this ilk manage to replicate the same level of detail, realism and complexity, making this a game for true petrol heads. Regardless of your interest in the sport of Formula One, if you desire a racer with brains and power, then Codemasters’ latest release fits the bill.
Read the rest of our F1 2010 review
F1 2010 review
F1 2010 review: Career mode
F1 2010 review: Presentation
