BMW Sauber F1 Team Racing 09
Formula One racing is not a hot commodity app in the App store. It may have some popularity in the sports world but I’ve never caught on and I’m about as oblivious to the sport as I bet all my other friends are. Nonetheless, Artificial Life, Inc. has brought us perhaps our first real Formula One racer in BMW Sauber F1 Team Racing 09. Does it convince a Formula-None non-car racing guy like me to get into this kind of game?
Gameplay:
Racing games are definitely not my forte. I just can’t get used to the tilting mechanism and I constantly am over compensating for turns and trying to adjust myself back on the road. To make matters worse, I’m not a big car guy nor am I huge fan of Formula 1 racing or even Nascar. So my review might be slightly biased but I’ll try my absolute best to be precise and impartial.
There are four modes of racing in BMW F1: Quick race, Time Trial, Championship, and Challenge. Quick Race where it’s a simple, jump right into it mode where you pick your course and your off. Then there is the meat of the product, Championship mode where you take in your car into 8 different courses and face the highest of competition with your choice of either Nick Heidfield or Robert Kubica. Before you enter in a race, apparently you have to do a qualification round in order to have a set starting position on the grid in the official race.
As other racing games go, the concept is pretty simple. You race each course to get a certain amount of points, the higher you finish the higher your points. At the end of the circuit whoever has the most points wins. Being absolute opposite of a car nut, I already knew going into it that I was going to finish the majority of the races in last place. So don’t let my review think that this must be a cakewalk if this guy had some success. I didn’t, so the joke is on you. Challenge mode is only for the expansion pack which you have to buy separately. It includes different mini games and an Engineer mode which I haven’t had the pleasure of testing yet.
I know nothing about F1 racing, so I had to look on Google what KERS was. Don’t laugh, I don’t know nothing about racing. If your like me and you don’t know, well it’s basically stores wasted kinetic energy when your braking and it uses it to propel your car. So it jet propels your car and not to mention, sounds incredibly awesome when you initiate ‘KERS’ during your race. It’s a excellent aspect of the game that’s probably pretty basic in Formula 1 but I found it to be a very helpful way to give yourself a little boost.
The depth of this game will go untapped for some, but for many hardcore Formula One fans, that’s where they will find their moneys worth. Before each race, you have the option of configuring your car to make it so it’s suited for the type of track and the weather conditions. For instance, you can adjust the height of the car, or the type of tires being used, or even the wing angle. And what’s even better is that in the Main Menu, they have a FAQ portion where it explains the usefulness of each individual adjustment. Take for example, the wing angles. Setting your wing at a lower angle will result in higher acceleration and top speed but will lower your cornering speeds. Did you know that? Yeah, me neither.
Controls:
In racing games, the controls aren’t about the tapping or the dragging. It’s all about the tilting and the sensitivity of the accelerometer. Here in BMW F1, I found the default sensitivity to be comfortable and just the right amount. However, for any of you who wants to crack it up or down you have that option either before the race or during the race in the “Options” menu.
What’s a great part of the game is that you can feel the speed. The sound adds a lot but also the controls add to the feel of being in an actual racing car with that kind of velocity. I’ve tried other racing games such as Crash Bandicoot Kart racing and some others and I’ve found that in BMW F1 I had the best control over turns and overall handling of my vehicle. It may be troublesome for a few, especially because it takes a while getting used to the tracks and the feel of the car, but a few rounds around the track and it becomes a lot easier.
What We Liked:
- Incredible depth
- KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems)
- Controls
- Sound effects
- Various weather
- Your choice of up to 4 soundtracks while you race
- Car configuration
What We Disliked:
- Car graphics could be better
- Challenging for non-racing fans
- Takes a while to get used to handling
- Some may like the sound of the engine, some may not
- Graphics gets choppy occasionally
Final Verdict:
I have a feeling that F1 racing fans will absolutely love this game and casual racing fans will have a good time taking these cars a couple rounds around the track. And why shouldn’t they? It has enormous depth and detail, the various weather conditions, the controls are tight and customizable, and the graphics are some of the best we’ve seen in a racer.
I don’t have to address the other gamers because I know the others will have no idea what BMW F1 Sauber even means (like me). I’m sure that if I found a decent amount of enjoyment playing it, and I’m not even a fan of racing games, then I know for a fact that fans of the genre will enjoy it that much more. Let it be said that it’s not for a casual gamer. Only fans of the genre, or of the sport, or even maybe of racing will find enough enjoyment and thrill to be satisfied with this game.
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Category: Games
How good of an Application will it be (or ever be) when BMW announced that they are leaving formula one racing at the end of the year? They are 100% sold to another company
The “Challenge” option is there, but once you tap it, it becomes an ad for their expansion pack.
Kinda know what I mean? Sorry I’m not sure how to explain it. It’s there, but it’s more just like a “More games” button that many other apps have.
I really enjoyed this review. I appreciate the acknowledgement of not knowing anything about F1, but also googling what wasn’t known in the name of research. So no worries, no laughing from me!
There’s just something missing for me, and I don’t know what it is. Maybe it’s the fact I too know nothing about F1, or have no attachment to the sport but it just doesn’t do it for me for whatever reason. I agree with hkiphone that a lite version would be really beneficial for me to possibly change my opinion…
I’m a fan of racing games, but this one just doesn’t do anything for me. Maybe it’s the F1, maybe it’s the graphics, I can’t say. Either way, I don’t think this is one that I’ll be getting anytime soon.
The “Challenge” option is there, but once you tap it, it becomes an ad for their expansion pack.
Kinda know what I mean? Sorry I’m not sure how to explain it. It’s there, but it’s more just like a “More games” button that many other apps have.
Yeah, I know what you mean. Thanks for clarifying on that point
Y’know, this is one of those games that I just have to try with a Lite version first before I’ll buy it. I’m not an F1 fan either, but I do appreciate the 700+ BHP monsters and the sounds they make. Have done so from Pole Position, through to the first F1 game on the PSX.
From the video, the one oberservation that makes me wince is the constant downshifting to 1st gear on every corner. I’m sure that some corners can be done at 2nd gear too, and even if Daniel was being too modest at saying he’s not a racing nut, at least he knew he had to brake to slow down around corners. Just seems really weird that its always in 1st gear. There doesn’t seem to be any downshifting sounds either… just straight into 1st.
I think there may be an issue with F1 games in that, to produce a true simulation requires far more horsepower than the iPhone can muster. WHile on the other hand, having a simplistic F1 may not be enough challenge.
Oh, and speaking of Challenges, what did you mean by the “Challenge” part being a separate paid thing??? Why would they include that option if its not in this game itself?
“Challenge mode is only for the expansion pack which you have to buy separately. It includes different mini games and an Engineer mode which I haven’t had the pleasure of testing yet.”