F1 2013 – Review

With the 2013 Formula 1 World Championship coming to a close in just 4 races from now, Codemasters has managed to release F1 2013 just before Sebastian Vettel will likely be taking his fourth title. Is the game as strongly in the lead as Vettel is?

Story

As the title of the game is self-explanatory, let’s instead  take a look at the changes compared to last year’s version:

• The Young Drivers Test has been expanded, while maintaining the same basic structure as was seen in F1 2012.
• The difficulty has been tweaked and a new setting was added.
• The new F1 Classic Mode, where you can drive with cars from the eighties and nineties, complete with drivers of that era. Depending on what version of the game you get however: the Standard Edition only contains the cars from the eighties and two historical circuits, the Classic Edition includes all the classic cars and all the old tracks.
• Different handling for the classic cars, making them more difficult to control, especially when accelerating.
• You can now save the game in the middle of a race. This means you no longer have to spend several consecutive hours behind your screen in order to a full grand prix.
• A more realistic handling of the cars, especially when negotiating corners.
• Pit stops were changed significantly. They are now faster, and your pit crew now behaves more realistically.
•  It is possible to drive on the old tracks with the modern cars and vice versa.

Graphics

Something we’ve had to remark in too many reviews of late, is that we’re pushing the limit of the current consoles. Significant improvement in graphics have been lacking and F1 2013 is no exception. That’s not to say however, that F1 2013 isn’t the best looking game of the series.

F1 2013 has only had minor graphical tweaks when compared to last year’s version, but the new details are very noticeable however. For example, the wings now jiggle realistically. The rain effects are worth mentioning as they guarantee ethically pleasing races. Sliding off the curbs and getting a face full of barrier has never looked more beautiful.

A bit too beautiful perhaps, as the tracks look too clean. This is fitting for the newer tracks like the Yas Marina circuit, but it looks totally out of place on older circuits like the Autódromo José Carlos Pace (Interlagos) in Brazil.

Sound

Let’s be honest here. For F1 fans and petrol  heads in general, the only thing that really matters here is how the engines sound. Last year’s version already had the current V8 engines spot on, but Codemasters has gone through great lengths to ensure that they got the V12 engines of some of the classic cars bang on as well.

When my jaw really hit the floor was when I realized Codemasters have even got 90 year old Murray Walker, the voice of Formula 1,  out of retirement to provide an intro for the new Classic Mode.

Gameplay

Before you start your career as a Formula 1 pilot, you must first complete the Young Drivers Test. This hasn’t changed much compared to last year, but it includes a few more tutorials and there are more gold medals to be earned. In the tutorials you learn all about what the best racing line is, how the car works, what KERS and DRS do, what the impact of your driving style is on tire wear etc. Depending on how well you do, and how many medals you earn, different teams will be interested in you as a driver.

After completing the Young Drivers Test and selecting a team to drive, you can start making your way to the top of Formula 1 racing. You will go through all the grand prix weekends where you then compete with all the real drivers. If you perform well, better teams will be interested in employing you and give a drive for the next season. A better car will of course improve your chances of winning a title.

You can choose how involved you have to be during a race weekend. Casuals players can simply do a few laps in qualifying and then go straight to the race, with a limited amount of laps if they so choose. Players looking for total simulation can opt to set up the car to their liking themselves, by driving all the practice setting and fiddling with the wing position, braking, gear ratio’s, anti-roll bar settings etc. All of which have a realistic and noticeable impact on the car.

The Champions Mode from F1 2012, in which you went head to head with the 6 former world champions in game, has been scrapped in favor of the Scenario Mode. You will be thrown into a situation with a specific goal: for example finishing in front of your teammate or pitting for fresher tires when other drivers stay out and using them to take the victory, winning a race after a poor qualifying session, etc. The scenarios are diverse and there are 20 in total. It’s worth mentioning the classic content has specific scenarios as well.

There are of course other modes where you can simply drive a single grand prix or a time trial mode where you can try to be your best times. The multiplayer mode is fairly elaborate as well, as you can even drive a whole season in co-op.

Conclusion

Codemasters hasn’t made any shocking improvements to the gameplay, but their tweaking in the right places makes this the best F1 game yet. The new Classic Mode is a great innovation the long-time fans of the sport will most certainly appreciate.  They’ve also managed to make the game equally fun for casual F1 fans as for the diehards that require total control over car setup. A quality effort.

Helaas

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