Ok, first things to note, I play on an Xbox One gamepad so my review of the handling is based purely on that. First thing you will notice when entering the game is the new menus. They are much better than the previous few with brilliant flow and depth, including mini video's to explain each game mode, much in the way of PCars. These work well and when you select a team/driver they have aOk, first things to note, I play on an Xbox One gamepad so my review of the handling is based purely on that. First thing you will notice when entering the game is the new menus. They are much better than the previous few with brilliant flow and depth, including mini video's to explain each game mode, much in the way of PCars. These work well and when you select a team/driver they have a little animation that looks up to the camera. So good so far. The next thing you will notice as a big change is obviously the graphics engine. Overall I would say the graphics are good. Nothing more, nothing less. They have included lots of nice effects and the resolution is obviously much higher. The frame rate more or less sticks around the 60 mark when racing (30 in replays) and that is a massively noticeable step up for next-gen. However, there are issues. They seem to have applied an unusual amount of blur and haze to the engine that gives a soft fuzzy feel to the game rather than bright and detailed. I'm not sure if it is covering up a downgrade in the graphics to get the frame rate up or whether it was intentional but I certainly don't like it and compared to project cars, the graphics are not as good.
The handling for me is the best so far, certainly. Having not driven an F1 car this is hard to judge but certainly it’s the best mix of consistency and agility that I've seen so far from the CM F1 games. You get a good amount of wheel spin when exiting corners but it gives you enough feedback to correct it in time and you get a real sense of when the car is sliding rather than cornering, which I like. The AI are a lot more fighty than previously and they are faster which will please the best drivers amongst us but there are some odd moments when you will hit you from behind rather than go round you which is again reminiscent of PCars. The difference being that it probably should happen there but it's not really suitable in an F1 game. However, I much prefer this to how it was in 2013 where they point blank refused to overtake you until you had invited them in for a cup of tea and exchanged phone numbers. There were a few racing glitches that I had noticed. In a 25% race, both of the Mercedes cars pitted on the same lap, leaving one to render itself out of the race essentially. I don't know if there was another reason (damage etc.) but it wouldn't have happened in real life and therefore is a bit annoying. There is a bit of artistic licence in terms of car performance but the game does need it to be enjoyable.
Now onto the more negative parts of the game. The one thing I'm struggling with so far is that the game isn't immersive enough into the F1 life. CM have included some TV-like scenes which are a nice addition but I feel they didn't go far enough. The podiums are missing national anthems and the animation is practically the same every time. (20 seconds or so) You no longer see the driver get out of the car which is a disappointment for me and the garages and sitting the grid are very sterile. The garages need more going on and the grid sitting needs so much more life. They need to have people moving about, the grid walk in real life is like the beating heart of the race, and so much tension is built there that its integral to the race weekend and CM could have done the same thing. Once you go to the race from the sterile grid, it instantly starts the lights and the timing seems to be same every time. There is no tension at all. I'll cover what could change this later.
The championship mode (1 season as a real driver) does include much more commentary and additional scenes that I do like and they work well. Crofty and Davidson do a good job introducing the drivers. I haven't completed a race on this yet so I won't review it too much. The 'Pro Season' mode is as advertised. Essentially the same but you don't have a hud and you're forced into the more difficult settings and into the car. Purists will find this mode enjoyable but for me, it’s a little too difficult. (Not that they should change that).
Big things are missing from the game for. For a box-office sports game to be released without a personalised career mode is devastating for me. The most enjoyable part of the games for me previously was imagining that I was the driver, seeing MY character win races and championships and essentially 'living the life' as 2010 stated. I miss not being able to take a team to the top performance wise and to enjoy it when you get there. I miss having to defend my titles and possible hopping teams! I know this is a racing game and I should just enjoy driving round the tracks in the best engine to date but for me it's not enough. This must return in a big way, including parade laps and cool down laps (optional setting). More immersion CM!
Overall, I do enjoy the game. Multiplayer works but is glitchy and you might not feel you have a reason to play without career but if you love F1, its worth getting.… Expand
F1 2015Your Score0 out of 10User Score
