BackF1 2014: Through the chicane
The latest F1 game iteration is better than last year's, without any radical changes
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The 2015 Formula One (F1) season is still some weeks away. Till then, some hard-core fans at least can look forward to F1’s latest game iteration, the F1 2014, now available for your gaming console and PC.
As expected, the F1 2014 builds on last year’s version, an evolution rather than a revolution, but the changes are mostly for the better. Apart from a couple of issues, that is.
First up, it is good that the annoying Young Drivers Test is no longer mandatory when you start playing the game. In previous versions, it was a must to take these tests so that game-play options could be tweaked to the gamer’s skill level. Now, the player selects the difficulty level, and which automatic assists should be turned on or off. Along the way, artificial intelligence (AI) understands the player’s ability, and tweaks the assists accordingly. The menu layout and design remain largely the same, adding to the sense of familiarity.
But it would wrong to describe the game as old wine in a new bottle.
The car and driver grid have been updated, along with the car livery, sponsor logos and driver apparel. The turbocharged V6 engines, the new rules, as well as the races at Russia’s Sochi Autodrom track, Australia’s Spielberg Circuit and the night race in Bahrain, are all there.
Start driving any of the cars on the grid, and you’ll immediately notice that the F1 2014 is easier than the 2013 iteration. The cars get through corners better. And, as the tyres start wearing out, the cars are still driveable—in F1 2013, it was impossible to get even an extra lap
on the worn out set of rubber, before getting to the pit stop. This allows
for greater flexibility in strategy.
Second, backmarkers and the slower cars get out of the way quicker, and more decisively. The indecision and dawdling in last year’s game were extremely frustrating, and led to a few crashes, lost points, and lots of cursing. Third, you can now attack the kerb a bit more aggressively, and not end up spinning around like a tumble dryer. Last year’s serious issues with car handling have been ironed out.
The engine sound is tuned in line with the real-world cars, which means everything is much less noisy than last year. This year’s turbocharged V6 engines don’t make the powerful din that the earlier ones did. This can be a bit disconcerting initially.
There are many race options—single race, short season, complete season, or the patience-testing career mode. This sort of flexibility should appeal to the casual gamer, as well as someone who is in it to test skills over the long run. The career mode now lets you select from any car on the grid. In previous F1 games, the initial pick was limited to the bottom run, the slowest three-four teams, and you had to fight your way up the grid. Now, you can start off in the Ferrari or Red Bull, and start notching up race wins.
Inexplicably, the Classics add-on in F1 2013 has been removed. The Classics mode didn’t really make much sense to casual gamers, but the true F1 enthusiasts loved the fact that they could drive a 1996 Ferrari around some of the tracks that aren’t around any more. San Marino, for example. If this is a feature you love, we would suggest you hold on to that game disc very carefully.
The game developers have officially announced that this particular iteration of the F1 game isn’t available on the newer-generation consoles, the Sony PlayStation 4 and the Microsoft Xbox One, because the game is being “re-engineered from the ground up", with a new graphics engine. There is no clarity yet on whether the new version, soon to be launched for PS4 and Xbox One, will be compatible with the older generation consoles, but it will be released in the first half of 2015.
To be honest, F1 2014 is definitely an improvement over F1 2013 as far as drivability is concerned. It will appeal more than any previous version to the casual gamer. Buy it, because this may be the last iteration for your PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360.
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F1 2014
Developer: Codemasters Studios Birmingham
Publisher: Codemasters
Platforms and price
Sony PlayStation 3: 3,299
Microsoft Xbox 360: 3,299
PC: 1,599
Sony PlayStation 4: Not available
Microsoft Xbox One: Not available
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