
	Platform Xbox 360 Genre Racing Publisher Codemasters Developer Codemasters Birmingham ESRB E (Everyone) Released September 20, 2011

- Every aspect of Formula 1 racing is covered, including each and every driver and racetrack from the circuit to a strong single-player mode that completely involves gamers in what it takes to be a successful F1 driver and constructor team

- Online play can be lag-filled and extremely confusing when opponent’s cars “ghost” randomly in front of you; disconnecting from multiplayer sessions before the race ends also an issue

Review: Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit (360) Review: Split/Second (360) Review: Baja: Edge of Control (360)
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F1 2011

Score: 8.5 / 10

Codemasters has firmly established itself as one of the premier developers of racing videogames, having a impressive garage-full of titles in multiple racing categories: rally car racing with its Dirt franchise, street racing with Grid, and Formula 1 racing with its new sequel on the Xbox 360, F1 2011.

F1 2011 is a complete and very detailed racing simulation that has every aspect of F1 racing available, beginning with having each and every driver on the circuit, as well as each and every track that hosts F1 events. A strong single-player career

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mode involves gamers in what it takes to be a successful F1 driver and constructor team. During race events, including qualifying, gamers are given an objective, such as finishing in a certain place (or preferably higher).

By meeting that objective, players “rank up” with experience points that eventually allow them, in the

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constructor role, to upgrade the team’s cars with newer and better parts, giving the gamer a much stronger opportunity to not only win races but finish atop the team and constructor standings at the end of the season. Grand Prix mode is similar to career mode, but allows the gamer to custom-create the race season calendar, using only the racetracks that they want to use. Instead of creating a driver, gamers are given the opportunity to select from an actual F1 racer and team. too.

Online is the only area where F1 2011 isn’t completely solid. Finding online races isn’t difficult, and there are a handful of multiplayer races like the basic three-lap Sprint along with Pole Position (20-minute race with winner having the fastest lap), Endurance and Online Grand Prix (15-minute qualifying and seven-lap race). Getting in a race is easy; staying connected the entire race isn’t oftentimes. Disconnecting in the middle of a race, especially if you are in the final stages of whatever online mode you are in, is very frustrating. Even more annoying is the lag and “ghosting” of rival online gamers’ cars, particularly in the beginning of any race when everybody is closely bunched together. Opponent cars will vanish and reappear randomly, so gamers never really know if they’re about to collide with the car suddenly in front of them or not. When cars have opened up separation from each other, the ghosting effect generally vanishes.

Graphically, F1 2011 is appealing and realistically representative of the F1 cars and racetracks, and also has dynamic weather effects, but it isn’t quite as impressive as Forza Motorsport 4. While the sounds of F1 racecars is genuine, some gamers might get weary of the constant bee-buzzing revving engine noise, although having the voice of the team crew chief giving you advice and race info is a nice touch that combats that somewhat.

Controlling the racecar is not too frustrating either, and one particular option made driving along the curvy F1 circuit roads much simpler and crash-free for me: automatic braking. By initiating the auto brake, gamers won’t have to worry about knowing the precise moment to brake, since the car does it automatically, especially when whipping into intense curves that can throw inexperienced racing gamers into walls very easily if the manual brake is used. With the auto brake, and the solid steering, F1 2011 is extremely responsive.

For hard-core auto racing gamers, especially those that are fans of Formula 1, Codemasters revs up an immersive, realistic racing simulation in F1 2011 with all the official drivers and tracks of the F1 circuit and a nice selection of gaming modes, including a engrossingly robust career mode.

Lee Cieniawa
lcieniawa@armchairempire.com

(November 9, 2011)