Codemasters F1 2012

[txz4]

Whos playing?

For anyone wondering if they should get it, here is my take:

1) The learning curve is VERY steep, tough game. I find myself wanting to play more and more because of this.

2) very realistic game play. Similar to GT5 but much more rowdy and faster.

3) Ive only played the quick race mode because i want some more experience before starting a career, the quick mode is amazing. You can set if you want a one lap qualifying all the way up to a full qualifying session. In Quick race mode you can also set the race to be anywhere from 3 laps to a full race.

4) its true to the rules. You MUST use the prime tires. DRS zones mean you have to use good strategy. KERS is awesome and replenishes every lap, seemingly depletes at about the rate of the real guys.

5) like real F1, the good teams are good for a reason. From Torro Rosso to Red Bull you may gain about 7mph on the straights with similar setups.

6) depending on difficulty chosen, you can get rewinds (i have 2). basically if you crash during the course of a race you can rewind and correct before you do, but its limited.

7) this last one is good and bad. You can get blow outs, broken transmission, blown engine, brakes going out etc. Touching anything with your wing means its going to get taken off as well. Because of all this you have to race with a ton of focus to be sure your not damaging anything while still running fast.

Complaints:

1) Can be frustratingly difficult.
2)bots seem to be amazing qualifiers but not the best racers (though still very hard and damn near impossible with lesser teams), this also results in strategy changes.
3) they dont give you advice on setup before different tracks. there is a quick setup menu with about 6 options ranging from full downforce and no top speed to full speed and very low downforce. From what i can tell they also independently tune your car based on these options IE camber etc. You can also independently tune just about everything if you want.



All in all, if you are a veteran simulator enthusiast BUY IT!! If you are a big F1 fan buy it! If you want a racing game that requires thought to play BUY IT!

You can alter the difficulty which ive heard makes the cars more manageable to drive, not sure how much difference it makes. Based on what ive taken from it, its a serious racing sim for racing sim people.

P.S. I play on the PS3 and i have a racing rig (bucket seat, pedals, wheel).

[BMW_Belgier]

Good review

I played the old one years ago... Very fun and already then, pretty difficult...

[FormulaMMM]

I am somewhat obsessed with this game after having it for a couple of months. It is incredibly good. Best driving/racing game I have ever played.

Certainly difficult -- way more so than '10 and '11. I like it, adds to the realism. The way an F1 game should be, imo.

Took me quite a while to work up to "Legend" difficulty level. Still I can't qualify better than mid teens on certain tracks.

Also really like the emphasis on setup. Aero, brakes, engine mapping, gearing, all really impacts performance. And yes, seems they want you to figure out the right setup.

My complaint is the AI is questionable in some circumstances. Way more interference from slow going cars in practice and quali than is realistic.

Only other downside is that it has made Forza a snore! I find it basically unplayable after F1.

[txz4]

Originally Posted by FormulaMMM

I am somewhat obsessed with this game after having it for a couple of months. It is incredibly good. Best driving/racing game I have ever played.

Certainly difficult -- way more so than '10 and '11. I like it, adds to the realism. The way an F1 game should be, imo.

Took me quite a while to work up to "Legend" difficulty level. Still I can't qualify better than mid teens on certain tracks.

Also really like the emphasis on setup. Aero, brakes, engine mapping, gearing, all really impacts performance. And yes, seems they want you to figure out the right setup.

My complaint is the AI is questionable in some circumstances. Way more interference from slow going cars in practice and quali than is realistic.

Only other downside is that it has made Forza a snore! I find it basically unplayable after F1.

Obsessed is really the best word for it. After the first day of playing, its all i wanted to do for a few days. Really, I was filling out lab reports at light speed to get home earlier last week!

I havent delved into the specifics of tuning just yet, ive been relying on the quick setup option and have dialed in a little more downforce individually. If it makes that big of a difference, i may put in the effort to figure it out sooner than later

I agree on the slower traffic and blocking, at the same time i saw some very questionable "yielding" at last weeks GP, so maybe not that unrealistic.

In my view, the thing that makes the game so good is the sensation of speed and the instability of the cars under acceleration and deceleration.