In case anyone is interested in a good F1 game...this is one imo - I have 20 hours in it.
I've bought every one of these since Codemasters started the series. Whilst I am not one of those that thinks they've done a bad job, I'm also not one of those who thinks they've been outstanding. I've always viewed the series as a cross of sim and arcade but generally leaning to sim. Sure they've not got all the features of a sim - but I'm talking really about the driving aspect.
In general each of their games have been a hit in some aspects and a miss in others. I really can't think of any one particular one that stood out as head and shoulders above the rest. Probably their last game (or was it the one before) where they shamelessly stripped everything out and left a bare bones game was a slap in the face to anyone interested in the series.
However - I am please to say that I think they have released an absolute belter here.
I choose Manor Marussia and a full career mode meaning 2x90 and 1x60 minute practice sessions, full qualifying and full race. I was dubious about the full race, but actually it turned out great. You have unlimited flashbacks. Considered cheating by some, I love them. They help for those moments when you have to pause to go to the toilet or you pause to catch something on TV or are just interrupted through no fault of your own. Sitting back down and "getting in the swing of the drive" can be difficult and often leads to a lapse in concentration and a crash...hence my love for Flashbacks. You can also save the game or save and exit, allowing you to continue next sitting
Good Points
Immersion
The feeling of actually being in an F1 team is very much here - at last! Meeting your PA (manager?), the practice options, car upgrades, sitting on the grid, slowing for pit entry, safety car, manual starts, formation lap - everything is here to make you believe you are driving in the F1 world.
Practice
It now has a purpose. No longer is it about how the car feels, how the tyres hold out, what it feels like in full fuel. You are doing those things, but with a view to garnering points to assign to upgrades on the car. The more points you get the more upgrades you can get. I'm also pleased to inform you that not only are they difficult to do - so a challenge - but they seem to differ from team to team. I was in a Manor and finding the tyre management OK. I went to Renault, and found it much more difficult to gain any points.
Once you've had your fun on practice you get to choose the upgrade(s) you want to focus on. Each upgrade you highlight will show your cars improvement over the rest of the field.
Qualifying
Doing Full Qualifying is the full format. 3 sessions with the slowest being knocked out in each session. It's very immersive, setting a time and watching to see how you do. Of course in a Manor, I was never getting out of session 3.
Weather
Weather and lighting are fantastic. I was racing Melbourne which started off dry. Some rain started and it came to the point where I knew I needed intermediates on. So in the pits and inters were put on. Further on, the rain was getting heavier. This wasn't just noticeable on the track - it was noticeable on the screen and in the spray being kicked up. It really was seamless dry, light rain, heavy rain, light rain, dry again....very, very well done.
There was also a dry line being made as the heavy turned to light and then to dry.
Race
The race was great and the AI wasn't too shabby. It is of course, an AI - but it was quite aggressive (I have it on Expert). Not to the point of running you off the road, but it won't give like it used to - so you better make sure you keep on track - because contact will likely be made.
Yellow flags are implemented and also Virtual Safety Car. In my full race I didn't come across the VSC but the Safety Car was out once so it's not like the safety car is over used (anyone remember Nascar 2003?)
Blue flags are implemented and they seemed to be well implemented, though perhaps a bit early at times. I was jumped twice by a car I was racing by having to let a faster car through...so you'll have to be on your game with blue flags. And if you don't let them by, a stop go penalty will be awarded.
Communication
Quite good. Engineer was letting me know when a faster car was behind me and to let it through "We are not racing the car behind...". You can select from a variety of options and the engineer responds with meaningful information. You can also tell him to reduce or increase his input and to shut up altogether - that's handy.
I highly recommend using a microphone - the options on the comms menu are many and the comms menu only stays up for 5 seconds - so driving, bringing up the menu, looking through the first page and the second page to get the option you want can be very trying and very hit and miss!
Rival
Early doors for rivals at the moment, but your team mate is your first rival. Points are awarded to you for when you better him (position, sector 1, sector 2 etc) and awarded to him when he beats you. It seems to be done pretty well. These points determine your position within the team and your position in the team will eventually influence any contracts that might be forthcoming.
Tyre Wear
It does seem to be very well modelled. You can certainly feel when the tyres are going off and getting past their best. Also, blistering is modelled visually which was a nice touch. I'd liked to have seen flat spots worked in also though.
Update - the marks on the tyres appear to be marbles from when going offline
Not So Good Points
I'm not calling them bad points, 'cos I don't think they are that bad.
Practice
The Practice element docked me a chance at some points because it said my pace was relative to position 22 in qualifying when my actual target was 21. However, my pace in practice was around 18th or something...so I found that odd (and as it happens, I did qualify 18th!).
Qualifying
It finished rather abruptly. What I mean by that is I was sitting in 14th and there were several cars on track - a lot of whom were going to beat me. But when the session ended, it simply ended...I didn't see each of the cars beating me...which they did and I ended up 18th. I would liked to have watched as one by one their times tumbled and they pushed me down.
Pits
Your car is still automated once you enter the pits. Why? I would like to drive into my pit box - though I do understand that without a pit limiter button it would be very hard to drive at a constant 37mph down the pits.
Formation Lap
Once you get round to the form up stage, your car is automated...again, why? It's great that the formation lap is here - but it would've been nice to take the car to the startup grid.
Comms
Very hard to go through the menus with the controls. Fast keys would've been handy, though they have implemented voice comms. This seemed to work pretty well, even with my Scottish accent.
Weather Forecast
I think this could be better implemented. I knew rain was coming, but it was a bit of guess work when it was going to hit. This made selecting the pit strategy a bit of a guess also.
So in summary, this is imo the best one by far - for giving you that F1 feeling, that sense of belonging, the feeling of having purpose in the team, the AI, - this really is gripping. I've deducted a couple of points for the auto take over of your car and the other "not so good" points.
Score : 8/10
If I find anything else during my season, I'll post here - especially if anything pops up that changes my mind.