As a racing series, F1 is in a bit of an odd position at the moment. PR-wise, things are arguably better than ever, with lots of new fans being drawn to a track-based product that has mostly been doing pretty well over the last few years. So where does its latest official video game adaptation fit in? Well, somewhere in the middle of the pack.
First of all, let me say that if you’re expecting a huge paradigm shift from this year’s annual sports franchise – like its big brothers EA FC and NBA 2K – then you might be a little disappointed. There are a lot of familiar elements in the game, from the Podium Pass and Pitcoins (F1 series version of a similar mechanic that every AAA sports game has to have for a while) to the on-track action, which is desperately trying to please both casual and hardcore gamers.
Manage Cookie Settings
That being said, it’s what’s new or improved that we’re here to focus on, so let’s get started; starting with the mode that’s undergone the most comprehensive transformation. The last few versions of Driver’s Career – which, as you’d expect, allows you to insert yourself into an F1 car – have revolved around Braking Point, a very Drive to Survive-style story mode that’s a bit like FIFA’s The Journey.
Instead of focusing on tons of cutscenes and using on-track action to tell a scripted story, this year the main appeal of F1 24’s career mode is to put you in control of a full-fledged racer mid-career, rather than starting with a created driver – although the latter is still an option. The result is an experience that places a greater emphasis on improving your driver’s skills through races to increase his or her overall rating, influencing how the car is developed throughout the season, and establishing yourself as a dominant player within your team.
Honestly, I prefer this approach to its more narrative-driven predecessor, even if it does feel more mechanical, for lack of a better word. You get some dynamic fun and storytelling through competitions with teammates and drivers of similar rating or championship position, but they do feel like they’re missing some of the human element that can be fostered through off-track interactions. Yes, there are options to tease or try to piss off a virtual character on social media, and those kinds of things are pretty old hat in most sports games, but it’s hard to feel like the competition is actually intense just because the game tells you it’s “intense” and your stats go down if you lose.
Starting this year, there will be some radio voiceovers in the game from real drivers, so perhaps this can be used to provide some help in this regard without straying too far into DTS territory.
Find Bernie Eccelstone Types
Meanwhile, the new contract system – which requires you to challenge yourself to improve your driver rating by a certain amount each year and bid for more say in car development by becoming number one on the team – and its secret meetings unfortunately suffer from similar problems to the others.
The game simulates the notoriously brutal and Machiavellian nature of the F1 paddock and all that, if not a bit of colour, which I feel you need to recreate properly, even if you do it more down to earth than the melodramatic drama of Braking Point. There are end-of-season development scenarios that allow you to change how things are run for that year, which is at least a good idea, even if you’re not allowed to do anything that would immediately upset the established hierarchy until the third season.
This all seems like a solid foundation for EA to build out a really good career mode in the next few years, although giving people more power to become political strongmen on and off the track will be a tough task in terms of pleasing everyone; if that’s the case, I’m grateful that they chose to avoid too offensive silly obstacles. As of now, it’s been a lot of fun to carry on the legacy of your favorite drivers by earning the equivalent of a large number of skill points, even if it makes you feel a bit like a cog in the machine, unable to directly influence whether people reveal their secret dealings, but I don’t think I’d want that to happen.
Dealing with the rest
To keep us on a similar track, Challenge Career is the other big new addition to the group, which also includes the established Team Career mode and a Duo Career mode that essentially lets you play through the Driver Career with a friend, with both of you being the drivers. While only the first two games of Season 1 were available during the review period, the gist of Challenge Career is that you’re given a set scenario and play through a stripped-down version of the “develop the car, then race it” cycle of the Driver Career.
The big goal is to earn more points through the results you get than other online players who have attempted the current version of the challenge, with the option to choose a difficulty at the start to ensure you’re being compared to people of a similar skill level. It’s an interesting concept for those who don’t mind the blurring of the singleplayer/multiplayer lines, and EA suggests the community have some input on how future scenarios are presented, so we’ll have to see how well received it really is once the game launches.
For those who wish to participate in more traditional single or multiplayer racing, the F1 World system is now included with all of this content in this year’s new Fan Zone, which basically means that every time you drive you’ll be rewarded with a group of fans of the same driver or team as you, and give them some points. On top of that, you can unlock a lot of other gadgets, some of which may do things you actually care about, like helping you add stickers to your sticker book. No, you don’t have to beg your mom to buy you a pack from the corner store.
Complain to Bonno about the tires
Finally, let’s do something F1 occasionally does these days – talk about actual racing on a track. A word of caution here – as someone who doesn’t put on actual racing gloves every time I strap on a steering wheel, I don’t care as much as other games that offer a painfully accurate simulation, especially if that comes at the expense of a driving experience that’s less intuitive or fun.
My main criticism of the car’s handling this time around sums it up perfectly. It feels like you can hit about 90 percent of the kerbs and corners in the game with more force than you would in real life, but being able to ram the car right into the first turn at Imola was a real thrill. Likewise, the steering can be a little oversteer or understeer in places to mimic the real thing, but I didn’t experience the mid-corner drift mentioned in the game’s preview, so I’m happy with that. I also found the new tire wear model to be a good one.
On the other hand, the ERS battery does feel much more powerful than DRS, even a little unnatural, so adjustments may be needed to prevent cheeky people like me from dumping large amounts of battery and braking thirty meters late to offset what should be an overwhelming DRS zone, such as one of the longest straights in Las Vegas. Finally, a big issue I had was the game crashing quite often, especially during driver career practice, usually after I started my second practice session. Since you need to earn R&D points from these sessions, I hope this problem is fixed soon.
So there you have it. Like real-world F1 at the moment, F1 24 is a bit of a mixed bag, but it feels like if it continues to develop, it could become a starting point you don’t feel you can skip without missing out on too much.
F1 24 will be released on PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One on May 31st. Players who purchase the Champion Edition will be able to experience the game in advance starting on May 28th.
