I never purchased F1 2010 so can't compare the differences between this latest version and it's predecessor – but any self respecting F1 fan should have this game in their collection.
The graphics are impressive, especially the tracks and cars, however some of the animations in the pit area are a bit disjointed. This doesn't detract from the gameplay so it's not really a big deal however. The steering wheels appear to be a pretty accurate rendition of each teams tiller, adorned with countless buttons – of which you can actually control only about three.
The manual with the game was extremely short, and didn't really give you much (if any) instruction on what you can and can't do – and Career mode didn't really have the good built in tutorial that is so common in games these days. I don't know if more information is available in an online manual – but it took me several hours until I realised (accidentally) I could actually change the fuel mix while on the track.
I use a Logitech G25 wheel and there is an annoying thing where if you press Enter at the start of the game (when it tells you to press Enter) the game assumes you want to play with keyboard – and disables all G25 settings. If you have a custom configuration this is all cleared and you have to start from scratch. This is extremely annoying as by default when I choose G25 as my controller, the accelerator and brake controls aren't mapped to the accelerator and brake on the wheel, meaning I need to re-configure this each time I accidentally press Enter. After a bit of searching on the net I found that if you press a button on the gear-stick module (there was no indication of this in the manual or on-screen) it will know you want to use the wheel. What a rigmarole. Apparently this is the same in Dirt so Codemasters faithful might already know their way around this one.
Back to the game, it offers several different modes to suit how much time / inclination you have to race – from Career, to Single GP, to Time Trial and Hot Lap scenarios. Of course multiplayer is taken care of with online, LAN and Split Screen. Online allows you to battle it out with the rest of the world, or team up with a friend to do a co-op season where you drive for the same team doing battle to become top dog driver and get new upgrades first.
Multiplayer against the rest of the world didn't go fantastically well. Everything is good until you get to the first corner when things will almost definitely go awry. I'm guessing the problems are related to the lag as I was playing with European players. It would be useful if there was an option to only play with players in a certain region (or within a certain ping).
The assist settings are quite configurable, if perhaps mostly too easy, and strangely it appears you can change these settings (and AI difficulty) mid-season.
The inclusion of DRS and KERS makes for some furious button pressing trying to get the fastest times out of your car, and they appear to faithfully mimic the actual rules and usages of these devices. Parc Ferme rules however appear to have been largely ignored – while you are restricted to the tyres you set your fastest qualifying lap on, you are able to change your setup as much as you like before the race.
Opponent AI can be a little bit frustrating. The behaviour of lapped cars is unpredictable at best. Often they will swerve off the racing line into your path if you are coming up outside them (they are too slow to react and get off the racing line in the first place), and if you do decide to wait until they move and use the racing line they will almost always pull back into your path as you are about to go through – approach with caution.
The dynamic weather can certainly spice a race weekend up, and definitely adds to the challenge.
While this is a very enjoyable game there are a few things that I think could definitely be improved:
Opponent AI – they often brake too early and drive too erratically when being lapped. Race Lengths – while you can adjust the length of the races and amount of qualifying you wish to do, you can only choose predetermined lengths – and there is quite a big gap between 20% and half distance. Multiple Simultaneous Careers – I'm the kind of person that likes to do things the hard way and put everything on difficult and maximum length, but unfortunately I don't always have time for a race like this. I would like to have a difficult and easier/shorter career running simultaneously. Likewise it doesn't appear that you can have multiple Co-Op seasons – so you are stuck to doing a season through with one friend. Race Modes – it would be good to be able to do a Co-Op or competitive single race against a buddy also. It seems the only way to do this is by having an online race (or networked), in which case you don't get the AI cars which is quite disappointing. Progress Indication for Achievements – While you can see which achievements you have unlocked in GFWL, you aren't able to see your progress on the ones you haven't done. How do you know which track you have yet to win at- How many more practice miles you need to do- Guesswork and trial and error it seems. Data Logging – I particularly would enjoy having data logging and analysis tools, or even a simple export to proper data logging software (like GTR2 has), but I guess that says a thing or two about me. Car Selection in Spectator Mode – maybe I missed something here but when you finish a race and are waiting for others to finish you can enter spectator mode, but I can't for the life of me figure out how to change the car I'm spectating. This is very frustrating during a co-op season as I could care less about the car behind me and would rather see how my team-mate is getting on. Also during qualifying I would dearly love to ride onboard as he tries to chase down my qualifying time.
All in all this is an enjoyable and entertaining game, although non-F1 fans would probably bore of it quite quickly. The cars and tracks are faultlessly replicated, and the ability to work through a five season career working your way into the best car provides longevity. I've given it 5 stars, but really I feel it's 4.5/5. The few things highlighted above detract slightly from the experience. I guess though it leaves them somewhere to take F1 2012 rather than just a team/driver/livery update.