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Formula One Championship Edition—SCEA
Racers, start your engines.
Video: 5
F1's high points include a re-creation of the 2006 season, so, if you missed it (and chances are you did), you can relive it with all the official circuits from around the world. And, for hard-core Formula One fans, the 11 teams, 22 drivers, and 18 circuits are the next best thing to heading to a big Grand Prix race in person. Best of all, F1 manages to satisfy both the hard-core fan and the casual gamer alike. Racing games are never an easy jump-in-and-play sort of thing. They're more likely a jump-in, spin-out, come-in-last-place sort of thing. But F1 offers enough driver assists—including steering, braking, and stability—so that you can actually stay in the race. You might not win, but you'll do OK. And, with practice, the checkered flag is actually within your grasp. For the serious Formula One racer, the core of the game is the career mode. As with most sports games, this means you start at the bottom as a rookie and work your way up the ranks as you take part in the 2006 season. You'll get to test-drive with some of the teams, such as Midland and Super Aguri. With enough practice—and it does take practice with this one—you can win a spot on the team. You'll interact with your digital agent via an e-mail interface, and, if you're good enough, that could mean offers from other teams.
Whether you're a novice or a hard-core racer, you'll either love or hate the controls. F1 relies heavily on the SIXAXIS steering option with the wireless controller. If you've ever leaned a control in a futile effort to turn…well, let's just say that it won't be so futile. This of course takes some getting use to, but, once you master this skill, you'll see the results on the course. The game is also compatible with USB wheels. (It doesn't support the force feedback, though.) This is such a minor point that it didn't terribly affect my overall opinion of the game.
Any problems with the controls were minor, and I'd forgotten them once I really took the time to notice the visuals. Previous racing games on consoles past always felt like games. There were times when they almost looked like a race on TV, but, alas, something was just not right. With F1, though, the graphics are so incredible that it doesn't merely seem like a race on TV, but a race on TV in HD. The game supports 1080p, 720p, and 480p resolutions in its native 16:9 format. The use of multiple camera views, changing weather conditions, progressive car damage, and lighting effects really make for incredible visuals. You almost need to watch someone else play so you can take in the graphics. Sony has released a few good-looking PS3 games, but this might be the first one I'd call awesome.
The in-game surround sound is really good, as well, and the game's developers have done an excellent job of replicating the feel of the sound—these are loud cars, and you can feel the noise they make as much as you can hear it. Racing games often sound like the real deal but lack that extra punch. If you hook your PS3 up to a good surround sound system, you'll notice that this game turns things up a bit with the audio. Sony's PlayStation 3 has been out a few months now, and, while some of the games have shown off the system's finer facets, Formula One Championship Edition really lets you experience the true power of this new console. It's time to get the engines revving.
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It isn't often that we see a title that scores top marks on video, audio, and gameplay. But, with Formula One Championship Edition, developer SCE Studio Liverpool races to the finish line with a truly perfect game. And, while American fans might be more partial toward NASCAR (even with the cheating scandal), this racing game sets the bar very high with official teams, drivers, cars, weather effects, roaring sound, and so much more. In fact, this game could actually get us Yanks to pay more attention to the world of Formula One.
