Fantasic game which captures the spirit of F1 perfectly
Review By TS.
Past few years, Formula One has come under much criticism from the media and sport fanatics due to the 'overwhelming boredom' that was tagged upon the sport. Michael Schumacher, for example, is now a 6 time World Champion - a first time someone has ever got that many championship in F1. This has left many rejecting the series of games... but now, this is your chance to get F1 how you like it. This is your chance to be put in that seat, watched those 5 lights go out, and speed off into a adrenaline pumped race. F1 2005 gives you the chance to be in any of this season's cars and do what you like. This is F1 at it's best.
GRAPHICS: The graphics on this game are.. pretty awesome. It seems the guys at Sony Liverpool gave the graphics engine a complete overhaul this year as the visuals are a lot better and a lot different then previous installments of the Formula 1 series of games. The cars are this seasons set of cars - obviously some cars without their brands of advertising (due to legal reasons) but the cars are obviously noticeable to their real life counterparts. The areas around the tracks, at times, may look a bit bland but when you realise the inner city beauty of Monaco, the rural setting of Silverstone and the wonderful desert setting of Bahrain, you will appreciate how much effort has been put into the looks of this game.
The cutscenes are very very nice to look at - the realistic ITV approach of the grid before the race is very cool as you get a busy, full grid with some races having traditional dancers or local cultures doing stuff on the side or at the front, looking very cool. If you finish in the top 3, you get a podium cutscene with the champagne which, again, is a great touch especially if you have an Eyetoy.
GAMEPLAY: The whole set of cars are incredible realistic. The handle perfectly and the speed differences when you compare the top cars such as Mclaren and Ferrari to the lower league cars such as Minardi, the speeds are a huge difference. The cars act like they should - they can spin on the grass and slow down on the sand traps. Your thumb may hurt at first when accelerating your car to it;s top speed as the harder you press X, the faster the car goes. But still, you just don't notice it after a while and the game regains its speed with you not noticing how hard you're pressing X. The only real upset here is the damage - your car is, well, incredibly tough to damage.
You can go 100mph into a wall and just rattle your front wing, maybe just puncture a tyre depending on the angle. In real life, that would be an instant failure, the car would be crumpled and you certainly wouldn't be able to drive off. Apart from this annoyance, the gameplay is fantastic. The pit stops are quite the minigame - you have to press the buttons that appear at parts of the car during the work takes place. The quicker you react, the faster your pit stop is. It can make or break your race, I guarantee.
SOUND: At times, the sound can be seen as disappointing but it's not really the games fault I suppose. You see, in the career mode, there is no Commentary from James Allan and Martin Brundle, or even no pit crew instructing messages to you. Every other mode, they are there for you. It gets very silent without them as all you hear are 20 cars revving and speeding around you, and the commentary and pit crew add a sense of realism to the game.
The pit crew are fantastic though in the other modes. They give A LOT of very helpful information, telling you your times and how far the person ahead is or behind is, and other stuff. The commentary can be a bit lacking, but it's nothing shambolic. It's a nice touch.
LIFESPAN: There is a wide lifespan to the game that is added on by the Online mode if you have a network adapter, or a new slimline PS2. The modes are simple - Time Attack, World Championship Mode, Race Weekend, and a Career mode. The time attack is self explanatory - beat either the gold, silver or bronze times set for tracks. Beat them all and you may get a surprise... a very nice one at that. World Championship Mode is basically where you choose a race driver from the 2005 championship, and do a whole season of races with him. Its a great mode and can take its time depending on race settings. A Race weekend is self explanatory as well - choose a driver, a Grand Prix, and do the whole weekend from practice to the race. The Career is, in my opinion, the highlight of the game.
You create a driver first and start with a trial from Red Bull, Jordan and Minardi. Depending on how good you do, and how they see your lap times for them, they may or may not offer you a different position in the team whether it be 1st or 2nd driver, or just a Test driver.
The career can last for years, and you just have to build up your reputation and get through the ranks in F1 from these slower cars to the good, fast teams. If you have an eyetoy, you can scan your face into the game so that when you are on the podium, it's actually you! I've done it and its pretty cool. Online is fantastic - 10 cars on a track at a time, but the action is so smooth, you could confuse it for AI! It's excellent online service and well worth the wait for an online F1 game.
OVERALL: Overall, this is an excellent game. It has one or two glitches in it, but nothing dramatic. I seriously recommend this to any F1 fan or racing fan as it's an exciting game that is very realistic and true to the sport of Formula 1.
+ Excellent Online gaming
+ Very realistic gameplay
+ Graphics very impressive
+ Long lifespan
+ Up to date cars
+ Good secrets to unlock
- Damage is horrible
- No commentary/pit crew in career mode
- Won't appeal to all racing fans
- Difficulties may make no difference to some people
NAME: FORMULA ONE 2005
SYSTEM: PlayStation 2
No comments:
Post a Comment