![]() ![]() In mid to high-speed corners, meanwhile, you can feel the ground effect sucking the car to the tarmac, meaning they reward a certain amount of confidence. There's a new stiffness to them as they clatter along kerbs (not enough to give you the back pains suffered by the likes of Sir Lewis after Baku's grand prix, but enough to give you an ache in your hands after a mid-length race) while you can feel that extra weight in low-speed cornering. That porpoising and bouncing that's blighted a majority of the field this season is absent in F1 22, perhaps wisely so - though even without the unpleasant effects of being violently buffeted you can tell straight away these are a stiffer, less supple breed of machine to do battle with. There's a lot to manage in a modern F1 car, which you're free to do yourself or instead call upon assistance with the likes of ERS and DRS deployment. They're bloated, occasionally graceless things, and that's before you get to the porpoising and bouncing issues that have at times made a mockery of what's supposed to be the pinnacle of engineering in motorsport. F1 22's cars are faithful to a new flavour of car that are at present - the gorgeous aesthetics of that Ferrari aside - not a particularly endearing bunch. There are changes to be found in the single-seaters, much of that necessitated by the new ruleset - and here's where things get a little trickier. As a foundation for wherever Codemasters wants to take them next it's promising stuff, but most importantly as a temporary distraction from the single-seaters they more than do the trick. There's weight and momentum, matched by the impressive scream of a Ferrari Roma or the throaty thunder of a Mercedes-AMG GT. The supercars work well enough, and while they're not going to be troubling the likes of Assetto Corsa and Gran Turismo when it comes to how they feel I've been impressed with how Codemasters - and, more specifically, handling guru David Greco - have adapted a game that's historically had a very different focus. The challenges within often ask as much, modelled lightly on the Pirelli Hot Laps that use the downtime on a circuit over the course of an F1 weekend to fling lucky passengers about. They're very different beasts, demanding a more lairy approach to driving and always inviting you to throw the rear end out in an act of bravado. It's a bit pointless, basically, and certainly nowhere near as engaging as F1 2021's 'Braking Point' story mode that's on hiatus this time out, but the introduction of F1 Life does bring a small selection of supercars into the mix - a welcome addition that lends some variety to a series that was previously solely focussed on single seater machines. The AI puts up a decent illusion of a fight, once you find the sweetspot with its difficulty slider, offering robust yet respectful fights on-track. ![]() I love the idea of embracing the more glamorous side of the sport, but rather than having the luxury of browsing the rails of a Monaco boutique it feels like you're rifling through the bargain bin at Sports Direct with a handful of Puma t-shirts and EA Sports-branded caps and not much else in between to choose from. The race in Miami always felt like the endgame for F1 owners Liberty Media's initial push for the sport - a push that, of course, has seen the face of F1 change immeasurably, and mostly for the better thanks to the swell of new fans introduced via Drive to Survive and a new breed of social media savvy drivers.į1 22 reflects that, for better but mostly for worse, with its new F1 Life feature that lets you kit out your avatar with fresh threads while decorating your pad with gaudy artwork on the walls and a supercar on display in the living room. It features the cast and cars of the new season - including Ferrari's achingly beautiful F1-75, perhaps the best looking race car to roll out of Maranello since Enzo himself was calling the shots - plus the season's new track that runs around the car park of downtown's Hard Rock Stadium (if you're wizened enough to remember the Caesars Palace race, first off condolences - but also isn't it funny how what's old is new again?) Availability: Out July 1 on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox S/X and PCį1 22 isn't exactly a bold new era for Codemasters' long-running series, and a familiar racer it most certainly is. ![]() Platform: Played on Xbox Series X and PC.The new generation of F1 gets a video game run-out that's at times overly familiar, but one that's nevertheless fully-featured.į1's bold new era is just hitting the halfway point of its inaugural season, and it turns out it's a lot like the F1 of old a different team dominating, perhaps, and a slight shuffle of the running order, but there's a feeling 2022's regulations have introduced as many problems as they've fixed, and that the positive impact of the new ruleset won't really be seen for some years to come.
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