Hands On: F12002 'Work In Progress' Demo Worth the Download
- F12k2
- Published ()
As an avid open wheel racing fan I admit I can be very critical of open wheel racing simulators. My experiences with the genre go back to the World Circuit GP and Indycar Racing 1 days of the early 1990's. Occasionally I have been known to make a mistake or two in purchasing F1 simulators. Many F1 games have been produced which neither represented any reality of racing nor conveyed any true simulator characteristics.
Geoff Crammonds 'Grand Prix' series of titles has long been considered by most F1 enthusiasts as the de facto standard in F1 simulators because while it often lagged behind in graphics and tracks (Grand Prix 3 was released in 2000 with 1998 tracks and teams) it still remained the best f1 sim on the market. That is until Electronic Arts began making quality F1 simulators with the release of F12001 last year (Let's face it F12000 was a resource pig with lousy AI).
Over the past year I am guilty of playing F12001 for endless hours. I jumped at the opportunity to download and install the 'F12002 Work in Progress' demo that was released on May 8th. I am definitely not disappointed.
The installation for the demo was flawless, taking the 60 Meg exe and turning it into my F1 wet dream. Configuring the graphics was the same as F12001 (I picked 1600x resolution :)) and within a minute I was in the demo setting up my aging Logitech Wingman Formula Force wheel. I quickly found myself heading out for the track included in the demo, Albert Park in Melbourne, Australia.
I've been a Ferrari fan since I was a little kid for some reason. Needless to say I boot the greatest F1 driver ever (IMO), took over the wheel of the Ferrari, and headed out onto the track for some much needed laps at full Formula 1 speed. Mind you I have not raced with any driving aides since ICR 1 so I was expecting the worst.
The first thing that I noticed was that the driving model was even easier to drive than the patched version of F12001, that is it was much more forgiving than the previous game had been. The car could be driven deep into the corner, with the brakes right on the edge of locking up. I managed to get around the circuit a couple of times before going off in the first turn.
The graphics and sound were flawless, giving me the best sense of actually being in an F1 car that I have ever had. The textures appear to be more detailed than ever. The sound was superb, without the slightest pop or annoyance in the sound loop of the Ferrari's highly tuned engine. The most amazing thing is that in much the same way that F12001 ran better than F12000, F12002 might be better looking and yet even more processor efficient than F12001.
After running several laps and getting passed by the Montoya and the dreaded Coultard I decided to start the race. The EA team has taken the intro sequence from F12001 and made it even better, adding several track shots to the sequence to give an even better impression of being at the race. Additionally the camera that runs between the cars now zooms in on certain cars. Also included is some fabulous looking pit girls, giving the drivers something to get their minds off of the intensity of the first turn.
My race was short lived (hence the name 'Quick Race' I believe) as I forgot to set my clutch button to something on my steering wheel. The net result was that I left the grid about 200 meters behind the rest of the field as I bumbled to get the vehicle moving. As the 7 AI controlled cars flew into turn one I realized that I had come into the turn much too hot. I managed to get the car up on the curbing and did not wreck anyone in turn one. Amazingly I ended up in 5th position.
Then, as we raced down to turn two, I made a situation that was much too realistic... I rear ended Juan Montoya's Williams, tearing off my front wing and destroying the rear of his car.
Trying to remain positive, I brought my Ferrari, sans front down force, around the track and thought to myself "hey, now I can see the pit work!". Well, I guess the demo is "a work in progress" for a reason as there was no pit crew present as my front wing was replaced and I got new tires. I turned a few more laps and then decided to park the car and go write this review.
If the F12002 demo is a work in progress, the final product is going to give Grand Prix 4 a serious run for it's title as the de facto king of F1 simulators. Then again I will still be buying them both anyway.