Written by: Ian

 

 

 

F1 2010 roared onto the grid as the best F1 game in years last September. How well does "F1 2011" game fare in comparison? The developers have been playing the game up, promising improvements in all areas, so here’s hoping for a superior upgrade to what was already one of my top 5 games of 2010.

 

 

Unfortunately the ‘live your life’ section of the game has been reduced from an already basic level to a real shell. Your manager is now gone, replaced by a faceless email system, and the press interviews seem more lifeless than ever, whilst there’s no winner’s press conferences anymore, just paddock interviews.

 

The career structure has barely changed, and I was really disappointed that Codemasters didn’t add in anything worthwhile, especially as they called this area out for attention before even 2010 had shipped.

 

 

The racing is obviously where it’s at though- as true F1 fans will always clamour for gameplay over graphics. There is no doubt that gameplay has gotten some noticeable upgrades since last year.

 

 

The handling model is now more realistic, and even experienced drivers will think twice before turning the race aids down to the settings they once used. The cars have significantly more oversteer and wheelspin than before. Next up come the tyres. With the new Pirellis comes a new tyre degradation model, and it’s brilliant. Your car will start to handle like a pig in mud unless you pit at the correct time, and you will ‘fall off the cliff’, losing 6-8 seconds a lap once they are down to the red zone.

 

Unfortunately though, due to a current bug, the AI are unaffected, making wet races where pit stops are not required far more difficult than they need to be. Then you have the addition of DRS and KERS, two devices used to aid overtaking, providing boosts on tap. They are really great additions, as good usage can really lower your lap times, whilst using them indiscriminately will have you facing the wrong way or smashing into a wall as the handling goes to pot, especially when using DRS.

 

Unfortunately, like the aforementioned bug, the game has once again shipped with too many glitches in it. Co-op championships have an AI error in them that sets the other racers down to amateur after the first race, and the AI and car performance is automatically levelled out to equal.

 

 

The game also gives out penalties too easily still. Having said that, the game is still great value, with all 19 tracks from the FIA 2011 season featured, including the new tracks India and the classic Nurburgring. However, that means you lose Bahrain and Hockenheim from the line-up, even from multiplayer, which is disappointing. You’ll easily get your money’s worth though if you love F1- the new cars, tracks and rules means a full season is definitely the way to go, and completing a single player and co-op season with 20% races and qualifying will easily take 15-20 hours, without even starting on time attack or standard multiplayer.