![]() Through no real fault of Codemasters’ own, the authenticity that’s been a hallmark of its F1 series isn’t quite there this year. But you’d need to have a massive chip on your shoulder not to say that F1 2020 is magnificent. It could also use a little more flair and personality in its presentation. It’s very familiar, certainly, and still lacks the quality of car damage it had 10 years ago. This is a brilliant, great-looking F1 sim and just keeps getting deeper the more you look into it. Keep Fighting Foundation DLCīut as for the main game, definitely take it. Take it or leave it, just don’t expect anything like the loving retro treatment that F1 2013 received. None of these older cars feel like they did in the old games or even seem to move authentically when you compare them to onboard footage from the time, but they certainly look lovely and it’s nice to take them for a spin. I should point out, however, that the Michael Schumacher content of the special edition isn’t really worth the extra money, since there aren’t any recreated scenario races this time around (after the disappointing Senna & Prost events last year), but the liveries and podium celebrations are pretty cool if Michael’s your man, not to mention the gorgeous garage of classic cars that spans his incredible career. F1 2020 is undoubtedly a brilliant use of the license, and while it’s taken time to get to this point after the series’ rocky generational leap some five years ago, we’re looking at the real deal here. It’s there if it was your fault, too, but relying on it too much makes the game far less rewarding. That aside (and my apparent inability to pit without losing some 4 seconds to the field), the racing is challenging and fun, and the rewind option is there if you make a mistake that doesn’t feel like your fault. The AI is decent, exhibiting textbook defensive driving and impressive opportunism, though they are a little heavy-handed when defending against perfectly good overtakes, turning in on your back wheel as you pass. Even so, thanks to more stringent corner cutting rules on multiplayer this time round, it isn’t quite as full of cheaters, even if some people are still inexplicably 5 seconds a lap faster. Online multiplayer is fun when you can get into a game-joining is currently difficult-and while the matches are impressively lag-free, even when spectating, the servers seem a little flaky right now, with clunky host migrations and too many connection issues dropping you from the race. It’s worth noting too that there is a DirectX 11 option when loading if DirectX 12 (tested) isn’t an option for you. Similarly, that new split screen mode manages around 45fps in this configuration, without any noticeable resolution hit. ![]() My Dell G5 5500 gaming laptop with an RTX 2070 ran F1 at 1080p ultra at 70-80fps, even in the rain, and also managed around 50fps in replays, which are traditionally 30fps inthe console versions. But it certainly plays beautifully all the same, and looks gorgeous without needing a top-end machine. The driving engine isn’t the most realistic by any means, and the movement of the cars in replay scenes still doesn’t look exactly like TV footage, which it arguably should at this stage. Command And Conquer Red Alert 2 + Yuri’s Revenge I let an 8-year-old and 11-year-old try it in split screen and they had an absolute blast. And with a new ‘Casual’ driving option and the ability to turn down all of the deeper elements, you don’t need to be a fan to have fun. It’s all likely to be overwhelming for newcomers, but anyone who knows the sport will appreciate the depth and authenticity here. After a few years of tweaking, F1 2020 represents arguably the perfect mix in terms of driving vs management, and the 10-year career mode is the best yet, complete with shorter seasons with as few as 9 races if you couldn’t finish even one season in F1 2019 by now. Turning the wheel too hard creates understeer that wears your tyres, and running over kerbs can break delicate components. Lifting and coasting into corners saves fuel and charges your ERS battery that allows for greater speed boosts later on, or when you need them most in a defensive situation. Of course, it’s ‘action’ in the modern F1 sense of the word, and while there are moments of genuine edge-of-your-bucket-seat excitement as your rival exits the pits right beside you into Turn 1, there are also countless regulations to follow and necessary management of components’ lifespan that makes F1 a far more cerebral racing game than some of its peers. But most brilliantly, everything eventually comes back to how you drive the car, which is of course paramount in what is still very much an action-packed racing game. And every variable, from the Acclaim stat to sponsor choice to component wear and how you fill the new calendar with off-track events, fits together with other systems to create a cohesive whole.
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