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When games are released on a yearly basis for any sport, the challenge for its creators is to make sure it is more than just an update of the players and teams that fans are being asked to part with their cash for.
Fortunately, in the case of F1 2011, the Codemasters team behind Formula 1’s official return to the wider gaming arena last year has a sport that’s made plenty of its own changes to get their teeth into. There was no danger of this year’s game being a repainted version of the 2010 edition, so the fact that it has improved graphics, updated cars and driver line-ups are all inconsequential, especially to the hardcore F1 fans who are so keen to have their sport represented properly.
So beyond all the usual gaming speak, just how well does F1 2011 really capture the essence of a sport that has changed so much in the past 12 months?
New for 2011
Starting with the big talking points, KERS, DRS and Pirelli tyres are all in for this year, and all are represented very well.
Like it or loathe it, the DRS has played a huge part in the complexion of races this year, and it can have the same impact in game form. From lap three of your race you’ll find yourself looking ahead and behind to see if anybody is in DRS range.
The system is straightforward – if it is enabled the ‘DRS’ on your dashboard lights up, and it is activated by pressing a button rather than holding it. It closes automatically, although only when the brakes are applied rather than the system that some teams are supposedly using that closes it when you lift off.
The system has been tuned really well, so that it offers a noticeable increase in speed (along with an improved slipstream effect for this year). But just as you think your pass is going to be a breeze your car often hits the 18,000 rev limit. Sometimes the passes are too easy – as has been the case in races this year – and the flipside of that means that you can find yourself helpless if someone gets within DRS striking distance.
All cars, drivers and tracks are updated from F1 2010
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This year technically marks a gaming return for KERS, which featured in the F1 2009 title that had a low-key release on the Wii and PSP. Back then, it was a rather crude, exaggerated boost system, even featuring a whooshing sound every time you hit the button.
The 2011 version of the system is far more refined. There is no dramatic change in sound, just a subtle tweak to the engine note when your finger is on the KERS button. It does make a noticeable difference, and as a race develops it really is a useful tool.
For a couple of examples; find yourself in a battle with another driver and there is a genuine benefit to changing your KERS usage each lap depending on the circumstances. If you’re not under threat on the run to Les Combes at Spa, then try saving it in case you need to defend through the final sector of the lap.
And likewise, if attacking someone at Interlagos, you’ll be better off saving it for the final run up the hill rather than wasting some of it trying to make a marginal pass elsewhere. It can also be used as a defence mechanism against DRS, so quick thinking is required at all times.
Finally, those who dismissed the drivers’ claims that they would have too many buttons to worry about in 2011 will get to experience it for themselves, particularly on a qualifying lap. If you don’t have the ability to maximise your KERS and DRS around a flying lap you will slip down the grid, as the computer-controlled cars will squeeze every ounce of performance from these ‘aids’ in qualifying spec.
Not everyone is crediting this year’s all-action GPs to KERS and DRS though, with Pirelli’s high-degradation tyres taking a lot of the plaudits. And particular attention to detail has been paid in this area as well.
All four dry tyre compounds are represented and clearly different, which wasn’t a requirement last year when the markings only illustrated which was option rubber and which was prime. This year, each compound really has a different feel, and when you put your first set of supersofts on there will be a lot more grip to be exploited.
The high degradation is well represented, and tyre dropoff has been improved over last year when the only real indication that you were in trouble was when the car would break away into rather pathetic spins. But this year there is more of a measurable degradation, which is noticeable in the handling and (as in 2010) the appearance of your tyres. And if you stay out too long, your rubber will ‘fall off the cliff’ as the drivers put it.
Tyre wear means that the real world buzz word ‘undercut’ will enter your gaming vocabulary. It’s not as much of a guarantee as it has been in a lot of races this year, so don’t expect to jump up the order simply because you pit before everyone else. But if you’re in a nip and tuck battle, there is something to be gained from getting in a lap before your rival.
DRS and KERS is featured to help you attack and defend
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On the flip side, in longer races it is possible to reap the rewards of playing a conservative long game. Start outside of the top 10 in a Force India, for example, and it can be worth trying to go for the harder tyres and fewer stops to find yourself in the points and fending off faster cars in the closing stages. It can work.
Another significant addition to the game is the expansion of the multiplayer element. While we haven’t had a chance to try out the exciting-sounding co-op career mode online, we were able to sample the new splitscreen mode, for a form of multiplayer racing that has almost been forgotten in this online era.
Understandably, doubling the potential number of cars on screen (a full grid per half of the screen) reduces the framerate slightly, but this is combated to a certain degree by simplified graphics. The pitstop phases have their effect on this as well, as 12 crews running in and out of the garages is asking a lot of the machine to keep pace.
But overall, full-grid races with a friend are a welcome addition, and it is possible to get into some good wheel-to-wheel combat.
Gameplay
As you can imagine from the taster above, there is plenty to get your teeth into with F1 2011 and the frantic nature of the racing this year is there to be discovered. But some of the more subtle tweaks to the game itself haven’t quite hit the mark.
The game’s creators are determined to give the most authentic experience possible, and their attention to detail across the board is admirable. It would appear that from the car handling side of things they have tried to simulate the fact that racing cars on the limit move around a lot more than TV pictures can ever do justice to.
However, in trying to achieve this, what we are left with is a car that almost floats across the track, and often wallows around in the middle of long corners. Sometimes the rear of the car doesn’t feel attached to the ground, meaning corners where stability shouldn’t be an issue (Blanchimont at Spa, and acceleration zones like Turn 2 at Istanbul Park and Turn 3 at Sepang) can be too much of a handful.
This problem can be combated by using traction control, which while disappointing for purists does at least allow players to get on with attacking rather than scrambling across the track and off the racing line just to keep the car in a straightline.
As with last year’s game, those wanting to play with a controller rather than a steering wheel are likely to find a bit of feel lacking in this department as well. The steering wheel sensitivity in F1 2010 could hardly be faulted, but with a controller it was very difficult to be precise.
The safety car is now part of the F1 gameplay experience
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This area has clearly been worked on, and while it is much better at certain speeds, there still seems to be something lacking in very slow and very fast corners in particular. Most of the time it just simply feels that the car won’t give you enough lock no matter how slowly you take a hairpin, while the lack of quick direction change – something F1 cars are famed for – means that high-speed gems such as Abbey and Copse at Silverstone become frustrating as the car will not throw itself at the apex despite the level of downforce being generated.
Much focus has been put into improving the computer cars, otherwise known as AI (artificial intelligence) to give a better racing experience. The changes are noticeable, particularly at the start of a race and when cars are either directly in front or behind you.
Your rivals will dart around in your mirrors looking for a gap, and they’re not shy in moving over on you just as you think you’ve got a run on them. This new-found aggression is a great starting point, but it falls down when they get alongside your car and seem to lose all of their mojo – backing out of moves even when they have pretty much won the corner already.
With fierce wheel-to-wheel combat inevitably comes incidents as well, and it’s unfortunate that the penalty system in the game is a little short of matching the precision applied elsewhere. Little touches like earning grid penalties for misdemeanours in practice and qualifying are nice, and it is good to have drive-through penalties applied rather than just time added on at the end of races (unless it is too late in the race to head for the pits).
However, the consistency with which the penalties are earned is lacking. Quite often the game seems to misjudge who is at fault for a collision – we’ve had penalties dished out when cars have driven into the back of us, and been punished for ‘illegal blocking’ when stuck in a first lap pile-up.
The rule that you can only hold up a leader for three blue flags is also in there, but the hesitance of the AI cars to complete overtaking moves means that it is far too easy to pick up a drive through unless you are prepared to brake on a straight to let them through. The elements are all there penalty-wise, they’re just not being used correctly at the moment.
No review of F1 2011 would be complete without passing comment on the popular introduction of the safety car. Unfortunately, as we are yet to see it do anything other than sit at the end of the pitlane (despite some pretty messy first lap accidents), we can’t tell you how that element of the game works.
AUTOSPORT