Remember when f1 teams used to start
a new season with the previous year’s car? It happened. It happened in 2004
when McLaren started the year with a slightly scaled up version of their 2003
car. And then, at some point in 2004 they introduced a B-spec car. It was
sharper, sleeker, and much quicker. By all accounts it was an upgrade worth
waiting for.
This is not the case for the
official Formula 1 game of 2024. For several years the Formula 1 game has
offered its fair share of entertainment whilst incorporating truly innovative
and enjoyable gameplay. That was until the infamous EA Games decided to
purchase the Codemasters studio. Codemasters did its level best, and more than,
to produce an F1 game not only worth playing but even to be excited by. They
included a story mode, revolutionized the handling model, and introduced a
completely customized ‘My Team’ career mode that allowed players a genuinely
immersive experience. And then there is EA Games. Famed for their over-charging
of gamers and the implementation of micro transactions. They don’t exactly have
the greatest reputation in the gaming world. Still, they do have the dough to
pay for exclusive licensing rights of most major sporting codes, including F1. This
also affords them a particular level of complacency. So much so that the
recently released F1 24 has received a bevy of negative reviews.
For as much excitement as a new
gaming title can drum up it always comes with a bit of trepidation in this era
of gaming. There are many gaming studios who push titles to release before they
are ready, which is to the detriment of the gamer’s experience. And then there
is the laziness. The unquestionable complacency in assuming that fans will
continue to spend their hard-earned money on your game year in and year out,
without complaint. This has come to head in 2024 with the release of the latest
F1 game. Since its release at the end of June YouTube has been littered with
videos and reviews decrying the near unplayability of the game. The biggest
culprit being the handling model of F1 24. So undriveable were the cars in this
game that even the world’s best eSport gamers found it near impossible to play.
This is an especially damming judgement given that EA had touted an overhaul of
the handling model as one of the biggest selling points of F1 24.
EA has offered smallish updates to
the ‘My Team’ career mode which allows players to build and manage their own
teams. These updates though don’t offer the type of refresh that has compelled
gamers to declare this title as a ‘must buy’. In fact, there is not a single
standout feature in F1 24, even if you squint. Instead, you can run a rather
mundane career mode, as one of the twenty current F1 drivers, around the
official F1 calendar. There simply isn’t a genuine excitement for F1 24 as
there has been for previous titles in this series. Here’s hoping that EA will
take notice of the mixed reviews and that they’ll put some serious effort into
F1 25. But given EA’s history and general apathy I wouldn’t hold my breath on
this one. Should you buy F1 24? Even if you’re a diehard F1 fan who’s
religiously bought every title I’d recommend waiting until this goes on
sale.
