Weekly Review - Formula 1 2011

16th September

Formula 1 2011 is the official racing game of the formula 1 calendar. If you follow formula 1 you'll no doubt know the basics on Formula 1 and all the racers and teams. For those who don't, Formula 1 racing is one of the fastest in the world. The season is split into 19 races all around the world ranging from Australia to Canada. There are 12 teams this year with 2 racers in each team, racers get points for a top 10 finish from 1 point for 10th place to 25 points for a win.

As there is no story mode in this game the score for Story is negligable.

Gameplay

Formula 1 has a main career mode where the player creates a new character with plans of becomming the Champion, however he has to start at the bottom with one of the worst teams in the season. He must prove himself by acheiving objectives in the races such as acheiving or exceeding the final position set for him and being in the highest place at the end of the season possible. Doing these objectives gains reptaion and with enough, the character may be approached by another team offering them a chance to race for them.

This career mode lasts for 5 years, which for most people will be enough to become champion with one of the better teams, however you feel that maybe it would have been better to let the player have more seasons.

There are also other game modes such as a normal grand prix season as one of the real drivers, and also a chance to create custom seasons and single races, there are also many multiplayer game modes. The final type of race is the scenario mode where the player must perform certain challenges with certain cars, unfortunately there are only 7 of these when you feel there could easily be more.

On to the racing itself. The game really gives off a sense of speed with its motion blur and feedback on the camera when the car goes over bumps or collides or any other action that affects the handling. The overall simulation feel is very good, far better than formula 1 games have been, and with the option of turning on Traction control, ABS and driving lines, is clearly aimed at both beginners and experts alike.

The game also includes the new advances in real Formula 1 with new Kers and DRS options for cars.

Graphics

The game has some nice graphics for the cars and tracks, unfortuately they do feel rather dated and are noting compared to other racers available on the market today.
There is a good amount of different camera views that don't reduce the quality, and the cockpit veiw is good to show all the detail on the steering wheel and someof the insides of the cars. Damage is also very impressive, the clipping is good and damage is accurately represented from punctures to broken nosecones.

The graphics for the people are also not quite up to scratch, they have very wooden and clearly looped animations, and the voice acting really isn't good. Another point that has to be made is that no commentry is available whatsoever, while this is a minor issue it seemed to me a wasted oppertunity, I used to really enjoy listening to the commentries in the older games and with advances in technology it should be able to be much better now.

The HUD itself is very neat and well placed, nowhere near in the way of racing but easily viewable for those who want it, however it too has nowhere near as much detail as there used to be, another minor problem that would probably just affect me more than other people.

It has to be mentioned also that the grpahical quality is greatly reduced when it is used in splitscreen.

Longevity

With a 5 year career mode that can have races lasting 2 hours and weekends up to 8 hours, this can be a very long game indeed, over 200 hours for the hardcore fans a season. Add into that the multiple game modes and online multiplayer and there really is alot here for one game. One problem however is how repetetive it can get to be continuously racing, so this is definitely a game best played in short bursts.

Story ------------- N/A
Gameplay ---------- 9
Graphics ---------- 7
Longevity --------- 8
Overall ----------- 8