F1 2015 preview
Available on Xbox One, PS4 and PC
F1 2015 release date: June 12 2015
Now I must admit, I do love watching the F1, hearing the sounds of the cars squeal past and settling in for that Sunday session. But I’ve never really gotten into F1 games, and suddenly I feel like I’ve been missing out.
Codemasters announced F1 2015, the first Formula One game available for PS4 and Xbox One (also for PC), in late March and surprisingly we only have to wait until June to get our hands on the full version of this F1 racer.
For this first new-gen F1 game, Codemasters is changing things up a bit. There’s a brand-new EGO engine that the dev believes will deliver the ultimate Formula One videogame experience.
Although in my brief preview session with publisher Namco Bandai, I only got to race around the Singapore F1 track in a heavy rainstorm, it already feels like there’s a marked difference between this year’s game and F1 2014. That game that received a very lukewarm reception when it was released last year, thanks to it being little more than a car pack update to the feature-packed F1 2013.
This different feel is partly down to the fact that F1 2015’s new engine delivers enhancements to vehicle areas such as the engine, transmission, aerodynamics, force feedback and, in particular, a brand-new tyre physics model.
On my first time around the track I accidentally tried racing with all the assists off – and as a relative noob to the F1 game series, this was a serious mistake, especially in very wet conditions.
My peers laughed as I hurtled around the tracks, spinning out at every corner and watching my foes lap me repeatedly.
See also: PS4 vs Xbox One
But the second time around I made some adjustments to the assists so that I could achieve what I would class as the perfect balance between amateur and pro handling.
Instantly, I felt far more connected with the car. I could feel the change in grip as the tyres aquaplaned a little on the wet track, feel the change in surfaces as I hit the rumble strips on a missed racing line, and even the crunch of the car as I crashed headfirst into the barriers on that first assist-free race. I also started to understand the car’s limits in these extreme conditions.
And I began to realise that I’d lost all concept of speed in F1 2015, as the cars hurtled along the straights at over 100mph. I started to realise that this is part of the F1 experience. With F1 cars capable of speeds up to 220mph, I often watch races and forget that they’re doing at least 70mph around tight corners. You can’t possibly forget that with F1 2015.
Suddenly playing F1 games made a whole lot of sense. And I could understand why Codemasters had chosen to show off the first playable session of F1 2015 with a few laps of Singapore in heavy rain conditions.
See also: Project Cars Preview
As I raced around the track the fat raindrops pelted my helmet visor, impairing my visibility. But that didn’t prevent me clocking some of the Singapore skyline highlights, like the Singapore Flyer or the highrise bank buildings of the Downtown Core that I recognised from my time there. Everything is rendered in almost photographic realism in F1 2015, even on the Xbox One.
Switching out to a behind-car view mid-race was the true test of this realism, though, and where I feel the game truly shines. You will get a sense of it in the driver’s seat, but when you get to play, just take a moment to get outside the car for a race or two.
You can see the tread on the tires as you slow into the corners, watch the spray fly up from your wheels, and marvel at the bodywork on these powerful vehicles.
It’s almost at a point where I can’t describe how impressive the visuals are in F1 2015, because it would be doing the game a disservice. Looking at the screenshots interspersed in this preview gives you an idea of how realistic the locations and cars are in this game. But it really has to be played to be believed.
First Impressions
This is shaping up to be the definitive Formula One racer. F1 2015’s ultra-realistic handling, vehicles and tracks will please even the tamest F1 enthusiasts, while the ability to experience a hardcore Season Pro mode will get fanatics right behind their racing wheels this June.
