F1 2010 Review
Formula One racing with responsive driving, solid visuals, great learning curve spoiled by AI, performance and unpredictable penalties.
Online the game doesn’t shine like other Codemasters games because as a simulator the collision and penalty system does not work when there is a delay between what you see and what is actually happening. A few races I had cars appearing from behind me and becoming translucent before my eyes as they moved through my car. Other times in the same race there would be a collision, sometimes with a penalty and sometimes nothing. This variation also applied to corner cutting and illegal blocking and I kept glancing to the top of the screen just to see if I’d be punished. The net code isn’t accurate enough to simulate a race with real collisions and consequently the online portion is very inconsistent.
The first corner in this multiplayer game had 5 collisions
Since most online races are only 3 laps in length with no practice time the setup also seems to go against the style of the single player experience. There were sadly a few griefers who knew of an impending loss and decided to just ram your vehicle for kicks earning disqualification but spinning you out in the process. If they were lucky they could take the inside line at full speed and have you turn into them leaving you with a 10 second penalty. Varying settings also throw havoc to your skill and the host may also set penalties very high resulting in quick disqualifications.
The game lacks the immediate jump in fun that can be had with other racing games but it definitely has a higher level of satisfaction when you spend hours on a track and produce the perfect entrance and exit out of a difficult corner shaving a fraction of a second off your personal best time. Taking a corner at full speed in Monaco only to miss the railing by inches does feel fantastic. It succeeds even just to get that track repetition where you literally feel in the racing zone with only one thing to focus on, the next corner.
F1 2010 may not be a pure simulation but it can be close enough to one and will please those who greatly enjoy the Formula One motorsport. I certainly recommend turning as many assists off as you can, learning the track without the coloured arrows just feels right. The driving is slick and responsive and visually does enough to make you feel like you are really on one of the famous tracks. I don’t recommend the game for racing fans after pure arcade action even though you can adjust various settings to make it close to an arcade experience.
Victory celebration? No I'm shaking my fist at another ridiculous penalty
Performance, AI and penalty problems aside it’s a nice racing game that maintains a good level of fulfilment as you learn each track like the back of your hand knowing when to break at corners and getting a feel for the speed of your car. Online the collision dynamics and net code is too problematic to get full enjoyment, especially with frequent incidents on the notorious first corner. Not as polished or well presented as the other games from Codemasters but overall a good emulation of Formula One racing.
Our ratings for F1 2010 on PC out of 100 (Ratings FAQ)
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