In terms of cars, the staple points I can say that I know something about are Top Gear/The Grand Tour and Formula 1. I think, like most with the mind of a twelve-year-old or of Jeremy Clarkson’s mindset, there is something about the immense speed that makes one’s heart beat a little faster. Something about the speed and the excitement of riding side by side with a car, doing the same around a tight track, is nothing more than a rush. This is what an F1 game captures perfectly, and to keep this short F1 2019 gives this rush like no other.

For those uninitiated to the Formula 1 world, it is a series of open-wheel cars that are basically jet engines, an arrow body, and a couple of road wheels, going at 210 MPH. Sometimes these cars will fly around tracks such as Silverstone and Spa, sometimes these cars will fly over normal roads, and if you did those same speeds you’d be killed by a traffic cop’s pen and paper. Other than what a man with a small mustache would do to you, it is a thrilling race series. Well, it is when you play it, in my opinion.

To make it clear, I told a mechanic just the other day, “I know that RT and LT move the car, other than that? I couldn’t show you a set of brake disks in a police lineup.” As for F1, I, like most, don’t really watch for the race. Much like wrestling, I want to see the spectacle and hope those in the action walk away. However, like most sports, I find the video game adaptation to be what really gives me the excitement that others have. I can’t spectate F1 without being bored and deciding to go play the given video game at hand.

So what’s my opinion on Formula 1 2019? It is possibly the best introduction to an established sports franchise I’ve seen in a long while. For the first time in over ten years of watching the races, playing the games, and understanding none of it, I may finally get it. A much wider world to play in, detailed analysis’ that are easier to learn from, and what are almost tutorials for every track, make it easier for “casual” fans of the Codemasters series (such as myself) to come to grips with the car management.

Part of what makes F1 such an exciting motorsport is the technical prowess of the driver to work alongside the prancing horse that is a Fararri. An example of this is galloping down the back straight at a sphincter-loosening 210 miles per hour, to rear up on your back breaks hitting temperatures of 1,000 degrees Celsius, as you hit the apex of the hairpin turn on the second to last corner in Shanghai. When it comes to video games, there’s nothing like this that is done in a simulator style. This is something Codemasters are perfecting with every iteration of their F1 franchise.

So, what has changed in the interim between editions? I genuinely couldn’t tell you; between 2018 and 2019 the last edition I played was 2015. However, through some keen research, I can tell you the majority of the season mode has come through unscathed and may have even been improved. In comparison to earlier editions that I have had hands-on experience with, the improvement is ten-fold. With the addition of practice programs, you have a reason to do practice, even expanding on the 2016 edition’s use of this system.

Not only does this give you a reason to do practice, but it will also give you a better idea of how, when, and where to break during corners. When you aren’t learning about taking corners at high speed, you could be learning to manage tire wear or fuel usage in extreme situations. There have been a few times I have trundled across the finish line with only fumes left in the tank. The programs also aim to gather information from your driving to estimate how much fuel you will use in the race on Sunday.

However, this is not the only welcome addition I’ve found. At the beginning of your decision to join an F1 team in career mode as your custom driver, you are offered a run in the F2 series. While I didn’t do the “feeder season,” I did jump into the body of Lando Norris to play in the F2 career mode. This is possibly the best extension to the world of F1 games, since the returning Career mode, which features a light story mode. This addition opens up a world of possibilities, and I hope it affects the entire Formula series from 1 through 3 and possibly E.

However, the reason I had skipped the so-called “feeder season” was the assumption I’d run the full season. This is not the case. It is nothing more than the whistle-stop tour of the series, telling a story of you and two other racers. It would be nice if the feeder period would allow for a full season of races, though this was a nice idea to set up for whatever is to come in the future.

As always with a Codemasters racing simulation game, the physics are on point. The perfect rumble of the controller, as you tackle the car back into your command, feels perfected. The twitch of controls as you run up the back straight with the DRS (Drag Reduction System) enabled is terrifying in all the right ways. As someone who hasn’t sat in a car at 200 MPH, I think this is the closest I ever want to come to it, even this is the best simulation of that experience.

However, I feel the one thing lacking in balance is the difficulty; not only on the default difficulty but also when it is raised. At a full race weekend around Australia’s Albert Park, in the rain, at the default difficulty, and holding pole position, I won by two whole laps. The following races I turned down assists, turned up the difficulty, made the weekend shorter, and still won by a whole minute and a half. A lot of the difficulty will be trial and error for a lot of players I would assume, either that or I am a racing god!

Speaking of time, I did spend a lot of it in the very nice photo mode featured in F1 2019. All the images in the article here are taken from the mode featuring the Ferrari I am driving in the career mode (and Lando Norris’). While it is not entirely complex, you can capture some very nice shots of your winning Scuderia or “Silver Arrow,” wheel to wheel with the original drivers on the Monaco race track.

However, If you don’t want to take pictures of your modern standard F1 cars, you can take out some classics. If you buy the Legends edition you will also get Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna’s 1990 McLaren and Ferrari respectively. This not only means you will be able to capture stunning shots of these classic rivels wheel to wheel, but you can race your friends in local co-op or a parent in their favorite car from days gone by.

Nonetheless, the last praise I want to shower F1 2019 with is the camera, no simulator would be complete without allowing a cockpit view. However, these cockpit views always seem a little off, either their field of view or their lateral positioning. Somehow on the Xbox One S, the same console that runs Skyrim at a field of view of about 2 degrees, allows for lateral positioning, a field of view, offsets, and others, not only can you do this in the cockpit but any camera without major issues such as frame rates dropping.

In conclusion, I was expecting little more than what I’d already seen from Codemasters F1 series, especially with the release being the earliest it has ever been. However, I am pleasantly surprised at how much I am coming away from F1 2019 with nothing but joy. I honestly think if you are a fan of racing games and want a pitch-perfect simulator to add to your collection, F1 2019 is your place to go. Whether you’re a novice and want a fun arcade of fast cars or an F1 superfan with a personalized racing wheel with an emblem of your favorite team, this is where you’ll find your racing kicks.

An Xbox One review Copy of Formula 1 2019 Legends edition was provided by Codemasters for this review.

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Formula 1 2019 The Official Videogame

$59.99

8.5

Score

8.5/10

Pros

• Perfect Handling
• A Nice Story for the Career Mode
• Photo Mode
• Perfectly Simulated

Cons

• Balancing the Difficulty Takes a Long Time

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