DRIVERS POINTS final standings:

 © 2011 FOWC Ltd© 2011 FOWC Ltd
CONSTRUCTORS:

“Jaws, kill Mr.Bond.”

Jaws, not a very good driver.

Maldonado, not a very good villain.

Check back regularly for the latest 2011 car launches. Gone are the days of lavish launches – instead we have seen a few low key launches, some purely on the internet. Times are hard! We will post the pics as and when the cars are launched on this page…

Lotus Renault GP 2011. Courtesy of lotusrenaultgp.com

Team Lotus 2011 Image Courtesy of TeamLotus.co.uk

Sauber 2011 courtesy of Sauber

Ferrari f150 courtesy of Ferrari.com

McLaren 2011 Launch courtesy of McLaren.com

Virgin 2011 Car Courtesy of Marussia Virgin Racing

Force India 2011 courtesy of Force India F1 Team

The first thing you may notice when loading up the game is that it has taken a lot of the basic ideas from “The Grid” game, also by Codemasters, for its menu system.

On first starting you need to select your name (note this is for your career game mode, your online multiplayer name will be what you set up when registering your Microsoft Live account (PC/Xbox users)). You then get quite excited as it asks you to select what you want to be called over the pit radio etc. A list of names appear, but then you soon realise there are not that many names so it is highly likely that your will not appear. For example, Neil, which is quite a common name is not on there, but some not so common ones are. I guess the designers put their names in to the mix and then got on withg focusing on the game. Luckily there are some generic nick names to choose from. “Kid”, “Mate” etc are quite good to go with, but my favourite had to be “McLovin”.

In the Arcade mode you can jump into any 2010 car

So you’ve done all that and got to the main option area. Here is where you can change controller type, sound, graphics etc. By now you are no doubt itching to get on with the game, and this is where you can do a couple of things. The first, and the main beef of the game, is Career mode. You have to start in one of the new teams -so HRT, Lotus or Virgin. The idea is, as you progress and complete certain goals (i.e. Qualify 18th or higher in race 1 for example) you will get more offers from the better teams. You can choose different length of careers from 2 to 7 years (that is hundreds of hours play by the way!), different levels of play from easy to expert. Different length of race lengths from 20% to 100% and then the weekend itself can include all 3 practice sessions plus qualifying and race, or you can do 1 practice session, qualifying and race. So there are plenty of options depending on what you want out of the game. But career is definitely the main solo player game.
The artificial intellegence is actually quite good for the computer controlled cars. There is a level of patience from them, or if you are alongside them on the racing line they will yield if you have the advantage, rather than them doing their own thing and not know you are there. They make little mistakes during the race just like humans do too, you can be following and see them fight the back end of their cars when they put down the power – odd to think this is all being done by your computer! However, this means they can also be hard to race, and this is where it is quite realistic. If you qualify last on the grid at Monaco the only way to pass would be to barge most of the time, and that will without doubt result in a penalty to yourself. As too would be cutting corners too often. You often get warnings, but then you get a time penalty. This would be added on to your time at the end of the race. You have to make a pit stop during the race and this is quite good to add to the activity on track and to the realism. Where a circuit is tough to overtake, qualifying is key.
So what is it like to ‘drive’. Well the realism is certainly some of the closest I have experienced in a computer game, things like colder tyres, gravel on your tyres, cars in front, all affecting your handling make this a superb game – but I wont go so far as to say it is a simulator. iRacing and Rfactor are for you if you want to drive simulators, this is definately in the game category of racing. I would say if it was a simulator most gamers wouldnt be interested in it, especially long term, as it would take too long to get up to speed and at the end of the day that is not what will sell, a fun, but ‘realistic’ game will sell. Plus you want to have fun in multiplayer mode, not get a load of abuse for making mistakes or getting in the way!
Graphic wise, it is fantastic in my opinion. It is not photo-realistic but it does have great attention to detail. The car renderings are superb, I would say the way this game has stepped up to take into account the different light conditions, from a sunny Melbourne to a night race in Singapore, is fantastic.

The view from the office

If you are just wanting to dip in for a quick race there is the “Grand Prix” option, which I would say is the typical “Arcade” option. Quickly pick any car, any track, and away you go, you are racing. There is a time trial mode for setting quickest laps – and probably good fun if you have a few mates round and dont want to wait a whole race to have a go each.
But the big draw for me is the online multiplayer option. Racing against complete strangers, and friends, in a virtual grand prix. Loads of options in terms of type of race, level etc., Whack those speakers up, grab your wheel and be prepared to start sweating as you fight against others for the glory. It can be carnage at times, but a lot of fun.
I would say the career mode can be fustrating if you are impatient, like a real racing team, you spend a lot of time not racing. In a way that makes the actual races even more special. You have spent all that time setting up the car, testing new things in free practice, trying to post a qualifying lap time, you find yourself thinking more in races. You find yourself becoming more patient behind a slower car and waiting for the right moment to overtake to ensure you dont get spun out or given a penalty. You just find yourself thinking more about the overall race outcome rather than just that one move at that time. When you are making your pit stop in the race, if you are held by your lollipop man whilst another car is driving passed you find yourself lifting your arms in the air and shouting “come on, you could have released me!”. And if that is not like the real thing then I dont see how any other attempt at an F1 game could come close.

Your engineer, looks like an accountant, sounds very much like Rob Smedley!

This was always going to be up there as one of the best F1 games purely by the fact the computer technology is there to handle such realism, but it could have easily turned into a quick cash in on the F1 brand, knowing anything with that official tie up would shift units. Luckily Codemasters taken their time, worked with the likes of Anthony Davidson to get the realism right, and whacked in a nice bit where you have to handle the media after a race. This can hurt your relationship with your current team but also open doors in better teams for example. There seems to be a lot of borrowed stuff from the 2008 codemasters game “The Grid”, but the tweaks are in the right places, and at the end of the day that was a good place to start to develop another driving game. So, it isnt a 100% realistic simulator, but it is a game that at many times immerses you into it so much that for some moments, you feel you are a back marker struggling for grip and thinking to yourself, when will I ever get to drive that Red Bull.
F1 fans who like racing games will not be dissapointed. Gamers who like arcade style racing games, where drifts, and power ups are the key to having fun will walk away frustrated.
All in all a fine effort. 8.5/10.

Tested using the following set up:
PC Version running on an Intel Core i7 930 @2.8ghz
6gb Memory
Windows 7 64 bit
Ati Radeon HD 5800 graphics card
Controller: Thrustmaster F430 Force Feedback Wheel

This youtube clip pokes fun at Rubens Barrichello after his outburst after the German GP: