The world of Formula 1 is made of glitz and glamour coupled with incredibly fast, sexy and superb racing machines that require only the most skill-full technique. Not everyone can handle the requirements of being a Formula 1 driver, just the same as not just any developer is able to create a videogame experience worthy of such a classic and iconic license as the FIA Formula One Championship.
Codemasters has established itself as one of the most qualified motorsports developers of this generation, seeing their label show up during the initial load screen simply oozed the smell of break dust and gasoline. Last year Codies brought back the Formula 1 license in a big way with F1 2010. For the first time, since Sony’s PS3 launch title, we had finally gotten back the king of all racing series in digital form. Codemasters, responsible for the GRID and DIRT series, re-launched F1 into a world of desperate demand for its main event. While F1 2010 was a very accurate and authentic experience, there were still a few gripes the hardcore fanbase had with the title and complained about, such as AI issues and some other inconsistencies, which were later fixed in a patch.
Codies quickly revealed that F1 2011 was in development and that the UK based developer wanted to build on a strong first iteration with a more complete and even better experience. This year’s game has a lot in common with F1 2010 but managed to, not only fix all of the complaints critics ad gamers had previously, but also improve the overall experience.
One of the first things I noticed about F1 2011 was its presentation; Codemasters put a bit more emphasis on the flare around the F1 circuit and placed the player into an office as opposed to a trailer next to a race track. This was just one more thing showing how F1 2011 wanted to be a step above its predecessor. The overall menus slightly changed along with a shortened career mode, which is now 5, as opposed to the long 7, seasons. There are still interview sections between races but these can still be expanded on in future releases of this excellent series, as they just need to be more impactful throughout the career.
The question that every racing and F1 fan is asking however, is; “What about the driving”? I am pleased to tell you all that F1 2011 has managed to greatly improve the handling and AI behavior. Codemasters has really put in a lot of work to balance the overall challenge, depending on which assists and difficulty players select. F1 2011 is an absolute joy behind the wheel, or the gamepad of course, which work equally well. Going around the excellently modeled and updated circuits of Formula 1 really delivers an authentic experience that improves over F1 2010’s outing. The cars feel a lot more grounded and ‘tarmac gripping’ than they did previously, gone is the slight feeling of ‘floatiness’. Taking one of the extremely fast F1 cars from turn to turn, over the curbs, and across blistering fast straightaways, only to shave off a few thousand’s of a second or pass an opponent before the hairpin, is probably the most fun to be had in F1 2011 or any racing game out there.
The feeling of being inside an F1 race has been delivered with excellence. F1 2011 also includes the new rule changes and incorporation of KERS and DRS, which are part of Formula 1 to create additional competition and should lead to more overtaking and track position changes between drivers during races. The team at Codies has done a solid job to incorporate these new assists and make them easy to use as well. KERS stands for ‘Kinetic Energy Recovery System’ and uses break friction to charge a ‘boost’ which can aid drivers to passing other cars or protect against drafting. DRS (Drag Reduction System) on the other hand is used to allow drivers to go faster at certain times when the rear wing is being adjusted to minimize wind resistance.
Using KERS and DRS becomes vital during races, especially on higher difficulties, as every car can use it to their advantage. If those two assists are being used wisely, they can change your race in a flash. After a few laps of understanding how to use it, I was able to catch and pass faster cars and it was more than satisfying to slip by Vettel or outbreak Alonso in a Williams. In addition to KERS and DRS, players still have the ability to adjust the wing and fuel mix to leverage additional strategic elements to get the victory. Any true motorsports junkie will probably only use the edge of their seat towards the end of a race in F1 2011, because Codemasters really incorporated all these features so well.
Another big, and often requested, addition to F1 2011 is the safety car. While it is not often called upon in an F1 race, the safety car can change the outcome of any F1 event. When there is enough damage and danger debris-causing carnage on the track in F1 2011, the safety car will hit the tarmac and bring the field closer together, this can become a massive strategic factor and decide races. During one of my first races in my career mode, I pitted just before the safety car moved on the track and I ended much farther up on the grid than I would have during a normal race because some of the top cars got caught in the pace car phase. This sort of event occurs in the actual F1 championship, as it does in its virtual version of F1 2011.
This year’s game also includes multiplayer and a coop championship in which 2 players will battle the field and each other in a full championship season as teammates. Even though this mode is included in F1 2011, I wasn’t able to fully explore it, because I did not have a ‘coop teammate’ for the full duration. Competitive multiplayer was one of those features that didn’t fully work in F1 2010, or simply wasn’t filled with enough players to be fun and consistent. F1 2011 seems to have turned that around. With more options and larger grid sizes available, as well as added popularity of the franchise, F1 2011 multiplayer has become a truly fun and exciting experience within the game, versus a ‘bullet point’ on the back of the box.
As an absolute motorsports and F1 junkie, I can say that Codemasters has taken a perfectly functional and fun game to another level. F1 2011 absolutely satisfies and wipes out any previous complaints about last year’s game. Codemasters has build on a great base and build an exhilarating racing experience that will satisfy true Formula 1 fans and gamers alike. F1 2011’s presentation, sound and attention to detail really show how dedicated Codemasters is to creating well crafted experiences, true racing simulations and even add the much needed fan service. I simply cannot wait for what we can expect from next year’s version.
Score: 9 / 10
F1 2011 was developed by Codemasters Birmingham and published by Codemasters for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC on September 20th. A copy of the Xbox 360 version was provided to us by Codemasters for reviewing purposes.
