Formula One Championship Edition (PlayStation 3)

Reviewed by

Aaron Thomas

on 02/27/2007

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Finally it's time to hit the track for a real race. The races are fast, incredibly intense, and always challenging. Even on the medium difficulty setting, the game demands precision driving if you're to challenge for a top position. Passing is difficult, so you'll need to know the track, be patient, and then be ready to execute a pass the moment an opening presents itself. It's extremely satisfying when you're able to pass another driver. The relative lack of passing opportunities presents a problem when you're racing just a fraction of the real race distance, which you'll probably be doing unless you've got a few hours to kill. When you're racing a five or even a 10-lap race, there simply aren't enough passing opportunities, especially if you qualified near the back of the field. This isn't Burnout, so weaving in and out of traffic like a madman isn't an option. Thanks to a penalty system that forces you to drive at low speeds if you're caught cutting corners, you'll need to stay on the pavement at all times. You'll also need to take care not to damage your ride, as the slightest impact with a wall or vehicle can send one of your tires rolling down the track without the rest of the car...which is bad. If you've taken a bit of damage, or you just need some fuel, you can head to the pits. Rather than just watching your crew work, you'll need to watch for button sequences that pop up onscreen and then press the proper button as quickly as possible to get out of pit row as fast as you can.

Formula One Championship Editionscreenshot

The dirt is a great place to watch the race slip away.

One thing Formula One CE has in spades is speed. The sense of speed is almost overwhelming at times. The screen will blur, the camera shakes, and you constantly feel as if you're on the verge of a horrific accident, particularly when you're racing in a pack. The frame rate is fast and rock solid, even when multiple cars are onscreen. As much as you'd like for the frame rate to slow down a bit when it's raining, even the amazing rain effects don't cause so much as a stutter. This means you're forced to rocket around the course blinded by the mist from the cars in front of you and the droplets of rain running across the screen. It's awful because it's so hard to see, but at the same time it's awesome because it looks so realistic.

The cars look nice and are detailed enough that you can tell who's in front of you, even at breakneck speeds. There aren't a whole lot of major crashes, but when there is an accident, cars display damage in a realistic, if not a bit understated, manner. In fact, the crashes are just one example of the game's somewhat dull presentation. For the most part, everything is very clinical. The menus are easy enough to navigate, but they present information in a very matter-of-fact way. Outside of some horribly lame podium celebrations, the actual presentation of the races is very sterile, too. Each of the game's 18 courses is accurately re-created, but after a while, many of them start to look the same. There are some standouts, though, such as Circuit de Monaco that winds through the beautiful streets of Monaco or the Melbourne track, which has the city's skyline as a backdrop.

The roster is almost a year old. That's kind of old.

Formula One CE nails the one audio component that it needed to--engine noise. The high-pitched whine of the cars sounds fantastic, especially when you're surrounded by speakers listening to the game in Dolby Digital. Unfortunately, the rest of the game's audio isn't as enthralling. A somewhat bored announcer calls the action, but he repeats himself quite often and only offers the most basic commentary. Having music to listen to while you race certainly wouldn't add to the game's realism, but with all of the practice laps you'll be doing, it would have been nice to at least listen to a custom soundtrack.

If you're an F1 fan and you own a PlayStation 3, picking up Formula One Championship Edition is a no-brainer. The racing action is intense, the controls are solid, and while the rosters are quite dated, it's an overall good representation of the sport. If you haven't enjoyed F1 games in the past, you probably won't find much here to change your mind, but if a steep learning curve is what has kept you from previously taking the plunge, the game is friendly enough to beginners to make it worth a look.