Gaming
Games
7 reasons why F1 2018 is the ultimate sim
Codemasters have knocked it out of the park with 2018’s F1 game. We run through the improvements that make it the ultimate racing sim.
August is an exciting month for gamers everywhere. As usual, EA have released the latest Madden NFL game, which is the klaxon signalling the onrush of huge (and small, to be fair) games to start coming out. Upcoming months will see Marvel’s Spider-Man and, of course, October is Red Dead Redemption 2 month. But for the crossover fans who love games and sport, August is the start of something special. August sees the football season kick off again, with PES 2019 hitting shelves, but with the midpoint of the F1 season coming around, what better time than the racing game reigning champs, Codemasters, to release F1 2018.
This year’s game is released right before the Belgian Grand Prix, and while fans will be glued to the Spa-Francorchamps Circuit on the TV, they’ll no doubt be jumping onto their PS4, Xbox One, or PC to get their racing on right after. While this year’s game promises new features and an even better Career Mode, it’s the sim aspects we’re interested in, because F1 2018 is the ultimate racing sim, and here’s why.
1. Turn the racing line off and read the road
Switch off the line and pay attention
© Codemasters
Over the years, racing games have become a bit safe; some might even say a bit easy. Back in the era of the first PlayStation console, F1 games were hardcore. If you so much as touched a blade of grass your car would spin out. It was brutal and required concentration and respect of the road. F1 2018 is best played without the racing line, because it then commands that same respect while offering an exceptional driving model. The thing is, these days people are used to assists on, automatic handling, and they don’t attempt to master the courses and cars. As you approach a turn, with the racing-line off, you’ll have to check the signs that tell you the distance from the corner helping you decide how to adjust your approach speed. This kind of attention to detail is more noticeable when you turn the line off and understand the road, and in cockpit view it turns it into one hell of an intense sim.
2. Real weather having real effects
Lots of games have weather, but few things have such an effect on a vehicle as the thing we can’t control: rain. Gone are the days of weather effects being something that just makes driving games look good, in F1 2018 you’ll have to not only change your set-up to react to the weather (that might mean a tyre change mid-race if the heavens open up), but also how you actually drive. If you’re an aggressive racer, braking at the last minute before a corner, you’ll have a rough time. Reacting to the weather in real life is something you have to do when driving, as it is in F1 2018. Rainstorms are intense, reducing visibility and slowing races down, and again, that’s replicated in this game.
3. Ridiculously deep customisation
Make the car feel how you want it to
© Codemasters
In F1 2018 you can even, while racing, control where your MFD (Multi-Functional Display) appears on screen and then respond with a voice command (holding L1 on PS4) rather than flicking around menus. There’s a button to activate your DRS (Drag Reduction System), you can adjust deadzones for steering, but even then it goes into minute detail: linearity, saturation – and these settings are also available for the throttle and the brakes. You could spend hours customising the game to not only feel ultra-realistic (turn that HUD off!), but also to match the way you like your cars to be set up.
4. Better visuals than ever before
Courses are rendered beautifully
© Codemasters
Face-scanned drivers? Check! Rain on windscreens that will make you forget you’re playing a game? Check. F1 2018 looks immaculate on-screen. Running on a 4KTV on a PS4 Pro it’s crystal clear, with courses replicated to the Nth Degree. Codemasters have spared no expense and taken time and effort to make this year’s game the best-looking yet, which adds to the sim-feel. Short of adding VR, there’s not much room left for improvement, visually speaking.
5. Real-world events replicated in-game
What happens here in real life can happen in-game
© Codemasters
The Events section of the series returns, and again offers up the chance to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat (that’s not the only scenario, obviously) and replay things that happened in the world of F1. Can you fight your way from 14th up into a top-eight finish? These challenges offer approaches to the game you might not otherwise take, with leaderboards to see who the best of the best is. The scoreboards even show off which assists drivers had on during their challenge, so for bragging rights switch them off and take the top spot.
6. Higher difficulty, more aggression
Expect the difficult AI to put up a fight
© Codemasters
If you’re one of those players who sticks sports games on easy and wins every time without even trying, look away now, because popping F1 2018 onto the higher difficulties really shows the improvements to the opposition AI. While on easy, the other cars will almost feel like the parting of the red sea to let you pass, the higher-end difficulty is far more like the real sport. Drivers will aggressively manoeuvre to block you (within the rules of the sport, of course) making it tougher to take a position. It may seem small, and a thing only aimed at the real hardcore fans, but playing on that higher difficulty offers an incredible sim-racing experience.
7. Ultimately, it’s for everyone
Be prepared to work for your wins
© Codemasters
When all’s said and done, F1 is a sport that can be enjoyed by everyone, and for all the sim-like aspects we’ve mentioned, you can turn assists on and just enjoy it at your pace. There are still some concessions made, like the ability to rewind if you make a mistake, and while you can ignore this (and, in fact you can turn it off) if you think it’s anti-realism, it’s a good thing it’s there for the more casual player. The customisation plays into the fact it’s for everyone, too. Like real life, some things aren’t for everyone, which also makes F1 2018 the ultimate sim racing game.
F1 2018 is out on PS4, Xbox One and PC on August 24.
