Developer: Codemasters Birmingham
Publisher: Codemasters
Platforms: PC, Xbox One, PS4
Tested on: Xbox One
F1 2015 – Review
Just like every year, F1 enthusiasts can rejoice with the release of the yearly iteration of Codemasters’ F1 games. Nonetheless, with the many issues surrounding the 2014 edition, this one had a lot to make up for. Luckily, with Codemasters finally stepping into the ‘next generation’ with this release, it was clear this rendition would have a lot more to offer than the barebones 2014 version. Strap in tightly, we’ll have to race through both the 2014 and 2015 season for this one.
Story
Games such as this one don’t rely on any story value, as it is (almost) solely about the simulation experience. Nonetheless, F1 2015 offers you the chance to play through both the 2014 and 2015 seasons, which creates a small portion of story value. Other than that, you make up your own story as you go. That being said, a game such as this revolves almost entirely around realism, trial and error and of course fast cars.
Graphics
Not only thanks to the engine overhaul, but also with the impressive graphical boost, it is clear that F1 2015 has finally brought the F1 franchise to the next generation. You’ll experience realistic looking cars, drivers and detailed tracks.
Compared to the 2014 edition, all the rough edges have been removed and the cars look quite lifelike. The proper lighting and textures have been used to give all the cars a glossy look, making them stand out. The tracks are not empty anymore and have the proper whistles and bells, as well as realistic looking surroundings. This removes the fact that in previous editions the tracks were awfully bland compared to the vehicles themselves.
Weather effects have been made clearer and how your car interacts with them as well (graphically speaking). Whilst rain might not be the most stunning weather condition, the game manages to make it look quite impressive when racing around. Thanks to the immersion, it makes the rain come off very convincingly. Be sure to mess around with the different camera angles a bit, to see which mode works the best for you. Overall, it’s all the little details that make this iteration of F1 that much more realistic.
Sound
Don’t expect that much music, outside of the menus, as it’s all about the roaring of engines, pit advice and commentaries. At the beginning of races, you’ll be able to hear commentators, to give you the feeling of an actual event and after that, it’s an intimate date between you, your engine and the pit crew who whisper you instruction. Nothing more, nothing less.
Gameplay
It’s not all about flashy cars and impressive driving in F1 2015, as it situates itself in the simulation genre, aiming for a realistic experience. Other than arranging the settings for the coming races, racing and trying out the different modes and racers, there is not that much extra to do.
Codemasters has placed its focus on new driving mechanics, making the game feel even more realistic, which in turn makes it harder. Whilst this is not bad, even in combination with the fact that you will get punished even harder for every little mistake, there are a decent amount of flaws that will immediately kick you back to reality. For example, during races, you will often get punished for the mistakes the AI makes. You will not only receive seemingly random penalties when other drivers hit you, they will sometimes even drive you off the road and receive no penalty themselves. Nonetheless, the overhaul of the engine, makes up for a decent amount of these annoyances.
For newcomers the game will be quite overwhelming, as even the easy season mode offers no real tutorial mode, thus leaving the players to fend for themselves. Navigating through the many options is certainly appreciated by the veterans of the genre, it would certainly help newcomers to get started. That being said, the many options will add up to the realistic atmosphere and will allow you to tweak enough with the settings to find your ideal driving setup in order to start the race.
During the race, you will be able to find the proper settings for newcomers and veterans alike. You can activate enough assists, to show you where you have to drive, when to brake and so on, or you can simply turn them off and go for broke. The fun part is that you can slightly adjust all of these settings, in order to learn the ropes.
Whilst all the racing mechanics are certainly up-to-date, the amount of game modes aren’t. The older renditions of F1 often had (many) fun modes, outside of the normal championship modes. As with the 2014 edition, F1 2015 walks the same path of offering a slim amount of content. Even though the game itself offers you the chance to play through the 2014 and 2015 seasons, it’s sad to see that many classic modes are, once again, not implemented.
Conclusion
F1 2015 offers a glimpse of what F1 should look like on the next generation of consoles, with amazing graphics, the pleasing sound of powerful engines and above all, a great new engine to keep things fresh and even more realistic. Sadly, it lacks sufficient content to leave the previous installments in the dust. Even though this version is an improvement from F1 2014, there is still much to improve content wise. Nonetheless, you’ll certainly be able to burn some rubber with this one.
F1 2015 - Review,
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