F1 2010 review

So this is what Formula one has been missing.

Number crunching, broadcast-style sequels with little to no expansion upon the virtual form of the sport killed what we thought of F1 games years ago. Unlike sports games such as FIFA, minute changes in controls do not make for a whole different experience.

It’s a racing game. It needs a reboot, which is exactly what Codemasters has delivered.

Much down the same vein that DiRT 2 was delivered, the televised aspect of the sport has been removed to create a more complete experience. The menu is your first immersion into the world of a career as a Formula one driver. A fully interactive main menu “hub” laid out around the paddock area. Game options can be accessed, as well as dealing with team contract offerings from your secretary and interviews with the press outside. This is when you first realise that F1 2010 is a different beast of a game to what we would’ve been expectant of.

You then begin your first racing weekend of your career; you are transported to yet another menu hub from within your car in the garage. From here, you can manipulate pitting tactics, tyre changes, car modifications and tweaks in relation to the weather and track temperature. It’s all very involving and complex in options and tactical prowess, which is why there is an option to let the engineer determine all of that so you can just get out and race.

And then we move onto the racing itself, which should come with a word of warning: if you feel confident with racing games, there’s still a very good chance that you’re going to need time to work out the physics of your car, so don’t ramp up the difficulty at the beginning. I made this lesson and paid dearly, coming in last with about a thirty second distance from 23rd position up ahead. This is not to say it’s a bad experience, when you get used to things such as being steady on the accelerator as you exit corners so you don’t lose traction and spin, it is an exhilarating game.

The sport lends itself to some thrilling battles, which are translated well into the game, creating some tense gambles of late braking and undertaking on corners. Making its return is the flashback feature, which pleased many a perfectionist in DiRT 2; enabling the player to rewind anything they fluff up for a second try. It’s good; but thank God they’re limited to a maximum of 4, otherwise they’d be used extensively, break up the pace of the game, and destroy what this game has realised.

So this is what Formula One has been missing.

It wasn’t realised by games gone by, not even the BBC have hit the nail on the head with its coverage. People speak of the glamour of F1, a true spectator sport. A club of high class and a symbolism of the finer pleasures in life as cars rush around the casino in Monte Carlo. This is of course correct to assume; but merely half the story. It’s a culmination of racing skill, technology and expense, shot out of the starting grid to speeds of 200+ mph.

Codemasters has found the almost enlightened ground, realising in interactive form that a driver’s career is not podium hording; but a character building life story, which always leads from the pleasure of just racing on these prestigious circuits. It’s about the importance of your qualifying lap, gaps between racers ahead to take advantage of in pit stops, reserving your engine when you can, and then ramping up the throttle at key moments.

It’s about the good and the bad, leaving with a smile and leaving with an overcoming sense of doubt. For this, F1 2010 becomes the most rewarding game of the year. Replayability? You won’t be putting this down as you keep hammering for your first points position, as you gun for the online time trials, as you boost your driver level and build up through the teams.

The resurrection. We welcome Formula one back to video gaming with open arms.

Sonic 4: Episode 1 review

From the start, lets just get straight to the point about Sonic 4; no deviation necessary.

This is not the greatest Sonic in the world; this is a tribute.

We’ve been… “blessed” with three-dimensional games of the blue Hedgehog’s adventure over the previous few years, and the idea of a return to the side-scrolling formula has been merely a twinkle in the eyes of millions. Now its here, and what a reboot it is!

First things first, a correction of a very easy to make assumption, and it’s the title. “Episode 1.” Although it is the first of an episodic saga in the works from Sega, this is by no means a short game for what it’s worth. It’s comparative in length to the symbolic Megadrive titles that Sonic 4 takes a little too much influence from.


Level design is, as it was two decades ago, amazing, and the razor sharp controls keep up with the speed; but there’s a torpedo in the water. There’s nothing wrong with it, it brings back the enjoyment and speed that Sonic is known for (even on the iPhone); but you really have played it all before. I know it’s a tribute, but a frame-for-frame recreation of some of Sonic’s boss battles is taking it a little too far. There are some new-wave moments, such as mine carts that require the accelerometer to control, and balancing on boulders as they crash through levels at high speed. You can tell that effort for originality was implemented into some aspects, and that the intention was for homage to what went previous; but I would’ve preferred something completely new.

The presentation is where this tribute act really starts to make sense. I could talk about the 2.5d graphical presentation mixing both the vividly colourful backdrops with razor sharp textures, and the beautiful return of 16 bit soundtracks. But the only way you can really sum this up is to say it feels like coming home. Sitting in your living room, blowing the dust out the cartridge, the smell of dinner filling the air as you spend hours getting the jumps just right to get the fastest time to brag to your friends back at school.

And it’s at this point that you get what this is all about. It’s not a sequel. It’s not the greatest Sonic in the world. It’s a tribute; but at the same time it means so much more than that.

It’s memories.