Codemasters' F1 2010 review

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Home » F1 Blog » September 24 2010 at 17:30 | posted by Sean Russell | 7 comments made so far - add one
Photo: Codemasters' F1 2010 review

Codemasters' F1 2010

The good

The first thing that strikes you is the graphics, they are stunning. The graphics really come into their own when it starts raining and you just look at it and think “wow” especially around Monaco.

This game is a true simulator and is really quite difficult (which is probably not helped by using the pad). The difficulty is not a bad point because I like a challenge and F1 is not supposed to be easy.

Qualifying 20th feels good when you are driving for teams like Lotus; in any other game 20th is a bad result! Beating your team mate (Trulli in my case) feels amazing and I felt quite tense waiting to make sure he did not beat my times. Building you car to race winning position is a very rewarding experience and truly makes you feel like an F1 star.

The weather system is fantastic. One minute it is dry the next it is heavily raining and you have to come in to change your tyres the decision could me make or break because as you roll down the pit lane you are praying that the weather does what you want it to and also that you slot back into a nice position in the race

Now to the real business, the racing. The feeling of speed is unbelievable. The AI is really competitive and moves to defend as well as tries to aggressively overtake you. Even practice is exciting, trying to work your way to the highest you can get to, above your team mate feels great even though it doesn’t matter at this stage. During the race it is possible to change your engine settings, wing angle and select your tyres for your next pitstops which is really smooth and a great addition.

The Bad

No safety car. I would think that is pretty basic but Codemasters’ said that they did not have time and are looking into it next year. Another thing I would have thought would be pretty standard is a podium! There is no podiums on this game which is really peculiar.

The live the life aspect could be a lot better done. I personally would like to see the ability to walk around the paddock your self bumping into fans and the media. There is only ever three answers and the questions you are asked are very generic.

There is no driving around the track and into your grid position or parade laps both of which I would like to see, if you are supposed to live the life you should be able to do that! 

Helmet selection is small. There should be a wide range of helmets or a customization mode which I am sure most people would like.

Online

If you and your mates drive appropriately and respectably then the online is really good, if however there is no respect to the one move rule or the “no smashing” rule then it can be quite boring and frustrating. But that is no fault of F1 2010 merely a problem with the racing genre as a whole.

Things I would like to see for 2011

- Podium 

- Safety Car

- Team co-op

- Expansion on "live the life"

- More dynamic interviews

- (A dream) I would like to see the drivers moving teams season to season

- Helmet customization

- And interaction with the other drivers off the track

Overall F1 2010 gets an 8/10. This is Codemasters’ first game and it is brilliant and an even better foundation for 2011. With the introduction of a safety car and other little details it should blow this one out of the water. For now this is the closest most of us will get to being an F1 driver and I am certainly not complaining. Roll on 2011!

8/10

I could fit so much more in but I like to keep my articles short!

Posted by Sean Russell - Follow him on twitter @SeanRussellF1.

Recent comments on this article:

#1 charly | 26 Sep 2010, 06:33 Reply »

Hello dear enterf1 team, since it seems like your contact form is broken, I'll try to get in touch via this comment form.

I'm the admin of www.f1racingbooks.com, would you be interest in a partnership with us?

Thanks,

Charly

#2 MartyP | 29 Sep 2010, 14:38 Reply »

Great review. I think it's a wikid game and I've had a lot of fun playing it. I like that the braking is really difficult to master because many racing games often make that quite easy. I also like that you can choose 'quick set-up' or play around with the fine details, instead of just one or the other.

Sounds like we both use the d-pad! I'm sure the other controls can make it easier but I'm used to the buttons!

If I could just one think I would make the penalties optional because I don't always agree with the Codemasters stewards. I love that if you cut a corner, you only get a warning or penalty if you clearly took an advantage, but I don't like the penalties you get for contact with other cars. The stewards in the game are VERY harsh. Even the slightest brush can see you given a penalty. Even with the option turned to "reduced penalties" they can be harsh, so I'd like to see them turned off completely.

Hehe, and I'd also like to see the start lights!

#3 SRussell | 29 Sep 2010, 17:11 Reply »

I use the stick I really dislike the d-pad on the xbox :P you can turn penalties off if you want in the options menu but I think I would be to tempted to cheat!

I don't mind the penalty system but I would change it so if you overtake by cutting a corner you should be told to let whoever it was pass instead of instanly giving me a drive through.

Another thing I forgot to mention was the damge system is pretty bad but I have so much to say that tommorow I will probably put up a one week later review follow up to this because I have noticed a few things that need to be revealed :P

#4 g zoli | 29 Sep 2010, 23:12 Reply »

silverstone:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37OsbYf2Sm0&feature=channel

#5 Jimmy@enterF1 | 30 Sep 2010, 00:11 Reply »

My game has turned up, just waiting on a PS3 and a HDMI cable!

I'll read the manual in bed for now haha!!! Looking forward to the next set of thoughts on the game!

#6 Jonathan Dowling | 28 Oct 2010, 17:04 Reply »

Hi, I love the game can't get enough of it but there are a few points in which i feel coud be improved for the next game. i have listed these below.

1. wheels should fall off easier when hitting barriers (more damage even on full damage setting)

2. On wet stages it becomes too hard too see all of the time you should put on the visor sheets to take off to make vision better for a short period

3. there should be more commentating during racing

4.you should have more control of the pit stop to make you pit time quicker

5. you could possibly add a create a player part into it creating faces etc so you can see them on the podium etc

6. you could add a game updater on to it to update cars, drivers and tracks

7. there should be a split screen multiplayer option as there not being one seriously suprised me

8. You could have a create a car function to create the look of the car e.g. colour and sponsors and a choice of car parts

#7 g zoli | 12 Nov 2010, 21:29 Reply »

vettel vs my melbourne :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xD149R1LBnc

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