What does it take to be victorious in auto racing? Can you study the act of racing by analyzing the techniques, styles and races of other drivers? According to Codemasters' new racing-simulation game F1 2012's demo, it takes a lot of tedious practice runs and educative tasks.
The demo for the new game allows gamer to test-drive the game's new Young Driver Test mode, which introduced players to handling Formula One cars through a tutorial.
The tasks are very detail orientated and missing just one marker can result in a failure for that trial run. While, this mode is very fun, it is a rewarding introduction to the driving mechanics of the game, plus this is not the full game.
The real fun to be had happens on the racetrack, where Codemasters' game has solid driving to fall back on. The feeling of speed is incredible and gamers will feel like they are really going a 180 mph. The graphics are beautiful, which is a staple of racing game this console generation, although the game isn't as polished as say Forza Motorsport 4.
The game controlled decently with a regular Xbox 360 controller. I never lost control or spun into a wall, but I did feel like the steering was slightly less stable and that resulted in few unwanted swerves and looping turns. When I connected the game to the Xbox wireless steering wheel, I felt more in control of the car and rarely missed my mark on hairpin turns.
I also found that those tedious tasks in the tutorial mode paid-off, my tire got a puncture and instead of panicking I used the available flashback feature, which rewinds the race to a point before the damage. This takes away from the realism of the game, but is a welcomed feature.
The career mode starts off with cool stories and clippings about the player joining a race team and the game gives players a rival to start hating. I found that humorous and appealing because it gave me a goal in the early stages of my race career.
F1 2012's demo offers some fun driving thrills, hopefully the Young Driver Test will be optional for gamers familiar with the series, when the game releases next week on Sept. 18, for Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows and PlayStation 3.
Watch the trailer below...