Formula 1 2010

This is a game that I have been waiting for for along time.
Keeping an eye on it from the start, watching the development
diaries and previews.

I am a big driving game nut who enjoys a challenge and Ive
really enjoyed racing sims, Rfactor, GT Legends and GTR Evo on
the PC along with your usual console racers.

I bought the PC version of F1 2010 due to having a decent
graphics card and setup with a Logitech FX wheel and pedals
You really do need a wheel for any driving sim its adds so
much more immersion.

The other advantage with buying the PC version is that the
graphics can be tweaked as much as you want and that the likely
hood of mods being made available for it as time goes by
polishing the look of the game even more.

The only downside is that the game, as other comments and
reviews have made, feels unfinished and a patch would make a
huge difference. The list of bugs and issues are listed in
nearly every review so I wont list them.

The first time I played the game I found it really frustrating
and difficult and didn't really enjoy it. After having a look on
various forums and sites I discovered that its worth while
tweaking the controls for the wheel and the difficulty settings
to suit. I liked the settings set at hard so the fantastic AI
would be a challenge but the car would handle as I wanted.

After I had done this and a couple of laps into the game the
game started to open up and became more enjoyable as I had a
better feel for the car and the tracks. Once you have conquered
the the corners that spin you out and get back onto the racing
line you do get a sense of achievement and want to do more and
more laps taking on the next car in front.

You will be disappointed at first but when you get everything
setup correctly and to how you want the game to feel it really
will make you want to take on more laps and not retire the game
to the pits.
______________________________________________________________

UPDATE - I have been playing this game now for the past week and
I cant put it down, especially after I have configured my wheel
for a more immersing, sim like game. The setup is as follows:

Steering Deadzone - 0%
Steering Saturation - 75%
Steering Linerarity - 70%
Throttle Deadzone - 0%
Throttle Saturation - 100%
Brake Deadzone - 0%
Brake Saturation - 100%
-----
Forcefeedback settings - set all at 100%

ENJOY!

My system spec.
AMD Phenom 9650 Quad-Core 2.3 ghz
ATi Radeon HD4870 1GB
3GB DDR2 Ram
23" Samsung Syncmaster 2333HD Monitor
Thrustmaster Ferrari GT Experience Wheel

With my system spec I am able to run the game with 1920x1080 resolution, 4x MSAA and all other display settings on high. With these settings I haven't experienced any noticeable frame-rate drops or lagging at all. My experiences so far have been primarily within the career mode (expert difficulty, 50% races).

Having played rFactor and F1 Challenge 99-02 in the past, F1 2010 was always a must-buy and it is easily the best racing game I have ever played.

These are just some of the positive aspects of the game, and it certainly isn't an exhaustive list.
- The graphics are fantastic at the above resolution and the visual experience enhanced during wet races in particular.
- The handling is challenging enough to be rewarding when you post a fast time or string a series of laps together during a race.
- On expert difficulty the AI is genuinely difficult to beat, to the extent where finishing 18th in a Lotus can sometimes feel like a victory.
- The small details, such as the ability to adjust wing angles and engine settings during the race makes the game seem that bit more realistic.
- The career mode, whilst not perfect, seems to give the game longevity offline. The possibility to rise through the ranks from a team such as Lotus to one capable of challenging for and winning world championships is exciting, particularly when any respectable result in a lower team seems like such an achievement early on.
- The game is more immersive than any other racing game I've played. The changing weather conditions, strategy calls, tricky AI and generally realistic race results all adds to the enjoyment of the game.

There are some areas that could be improved
- Lack of safety car
- Penalty system sometimes over picky
- Questionable AI in wet weather. I was able to qualify 10th in the wet in a Lotus at China.
- Frequency of punctures (although I am experiencing these less often as I become smoother and less prone to off-track excursions!)
- Lack of podium celebration
- Replay system not brilliant

Appreciating that this is the first current gen F1 game (after F1 2009 on the Wii) codemasters has developed, the positive aspects of the game far outweigh any negatives and after 3 or 4 days of playing, I haven't experienced anything other than enjoyment.

I would recommend it to anyone with any interest in Formula One, and if my experience so far is anything to go by, you really won't be disappointed.

This review is not a direct comparison of either game its merely an opinion of my own experience.

AFter having bought F1 2011 for the xbox 360 and completed it, I enjoyed it so much I bought F1 2010 for PC at a bargain price from ActivateGR just to compare the titles. As a PC & Console gamer I really have no preference when it comes to which platform I use.

At first I could not really make my mind up which version I liked best , both look really good and as a F1 fan I cant fault either game on Graphics, after a few days playing F1 2010 it became apparent that there was only ever going to be one winner for playability and overall fun factor and that was F1 2011 on xbox , with absolutely no issues whatsoever on the xbox the game overall is outstanding and I give it top marks in every department.

F1 2010 on PC on the otherhand is miles apart in both playability and the fun factor quickly diminished within a few hours of play, I have absolutely no idea how this game could ever have won a bafta award, to say the least its contrived gameplay is probably the most annoying factor about the game and if you are unfortunate enough to own this game then you will know exactly what I mean when I say that. For those who don't know well let me tell you what I found out after only about 5 hours gameplay, the main gripe I have with the game is that the car setups make very little difference to the overall handling in the main game race itself, spend an hour or so on setting up your car in practice or qualifying just to spin out on the exact same part of the track during the main race, over and over I found this to be the case, at first I thought it was just me but after making changes to my setups using maximum downforce and best possible handling setup the car still spun out usually just before you pit in or shortly after, Armed with this knowledge I proceeded to drive on the particular area in question like and old granny just to find that the car still spun out of control.

I have played just about every racing game worth mentioning over the last 20 years , this title in my opinion only won a bafta because there was a niche in the market at the time in hit the shelves (and it looked good) the forthcoming profits from this title paid for F1 2011 which is by far a more complete and enjoyable game to play.

I would also add that I would not recommend any of these titles as a multiplayer game if thats your intention, both games quite honestly online are an absolute joke full of cheaters who record absurd times for laps and races, do some research of your own don't just take my word for it, I would say quite honestly the top 1000 times on leaderboards in both xbox and Pc for both games are dubious and anyone with knowledge of online gaming will know that basicaly racing games and shooters are the pits, but as a singleplayer game or private multiplayer gaming I would Highly recommend F1 2011 on xbox.