Formula One 06

Review - License to thrill? Hardly...

All sports videogames that evolve into successful franchises eventually seem to suffer from the same sense of stagnancy as annual editions constantly bring forth little more than minor gameplay tweaks, statistical upgrades, and a burst of graphical polish. And, more importantly, official licenses, such as FIFA, PGA Tour, NBA Live, and NHL, etc. - which often tend to make or break a sports title - are often central to any game's restriction in terms of exploring slightly more original and/or far-reaching aspects that don't quite fit the authenticity mould (see Konami's Pro Evolution Soccer for proof of winning creativity).

So, what can handheld gamers expect to find when slapping Formula One 06 into their PlayStation Portables? They can, of course, expect an experience built on strong foundations of realistic speed and gameplay precision, and they can expect well-observed F1 details running throughout the car models and team personnel, right down to 2006's stringent rule and race changes. In short, eager speed-hungry gamers can expect Formula One 06 to be everything its official licensing allows for - and, sadly, not much else. Plus, those F1 fans hoping to exploit the horizon-widening promise of online racing would do well to quash their need and wrestle with the resulting disappointment, because Formula One 06 is a single-player game from start to finish.

Formula One 06 offers various game modes, which include Quick Race, Time Trial (where related locked goodies can be opened), a single Grand Prix Weekend, a full World Championship, and a Career mode consisting of five full F1 seasons. The collective single-player options are all fairly standard, but, as was already mentioned, the most notable game mode is somewhat conspicuous in its absence - namely the promised network multiplayer aspect, which is not part of Formula One 06 on either the PlayStation Portable or PlayStation 2 versions. In fact, the only multiplayer element open to players is a somewhat unrewarding split-screen mode, and even then it's only available on the home console PlayStation 2 edition of the game, and provides but a smidge of the promised network capability.

Yet, despite any multiplayer disappointment, Formula One 06 should be evaluated on the merits of its existing content, and not necessarily on what it lacks. In that sense, the central single-player racing modes (and particularly the Career mode) are where most F1 enthusiasts will be hoping to test their driving mettle. From that point of view Formula One 06 certainly deals up some immersion-friendly and accurate F1 racing for those players willing to abandon the easy guidance of its 'Driving Aids' such as the Virtual Racing Line, BTA Markers (Break-Turn-Accelerate), and Steering and Braking Assistance. The bypassing of the driving aids really is essential if players wish to garner any sense of tangible achievement from their time with Formula One 06; and while the resulting curve may be demanding, the driving aids render the on-screen action one beat away from a virtual A.I. autopilot. And, to further boost a player's willingness to remove the gameplay stabilisers and take full control of the game and their own championship destiny, all of this year's new teams and drivers have been added to the usual role call of authenticity, along with 2006's rule changes, tiered qualification, and instant time penalties.

When gauging the core strengths of Formula One 06, it's extremely easy to heap praise on its smoothly impressive graphics, solid and steady frame rate, well observed F1 cars, and the wealth of strongly detailed track environments. Sadly, the atmospheric motion blur effect found on the PlayStation 2 edition is not a part of the PSP's armament, which is a shame as it's an excellent visual detail for re-creating an overwhelming sense of speed - and this loss is further compounded by the lack of shock and vibration that's fed to the player via the PS2 controller's force feedback function. However, the game's sound is satisfyingly realistic and the howl and screech of monstrously powerful engines is not wasted despite the output limitation of the PSP's speakers. In-game commentary is solid and to the point, and thankfully it sidesteps the unwelcome rambling so prevalent on many sports commentaries. More importantly, it complements the racing rather than causes distraction from the on-track action, and in-helmet team instructions and technical guidance is also an excellent audio detail to convey race positioning, pit requirements, tyre wear, and the placement of opposition.

From an aesthetic angle, Formula One 06 on the PSP (and PS2) is a decent addition to the already crammed F1 videogame catalogue; but, as we all know, quality visuals and sounds do not necessarily guarantee a great experience. More often than not it's gameplay that ends up as the main deciding factor, which, unfortunately, is the point where Formula One 06 starts lapping at a pace that leaves it someway off the pole position of quality.

One of Formula One 06's main additions, the new Race Car Evolution mode, puts undue tyre wear on the gameplay and leads to some leaking fuel lines in player immersion. Race Car Evolution is designed to complement the 2006 performance-dependant driver qualification sessions, and by using it a player is able to put their car through a host of pre-race tests that tighten specific technical areas of its engineering, including tyres, camber, downforce, and fuel consumption. Plus, the player's team monitor the test performances and then adjust the car's elements based on the most beneficial set up. Ultimately, it's all extremely thorough and outrageously time consuming, and, to the game's overall detriment, it's completely unavoidable. In fact, the only way to dodge certain parts of Race Car Evolution is to select individual engineering components and then adjust them manually. Of course, this approach of trial and error still requires some testing and adjusting via practice sessions, and every racetrack merits a different set up.

Sadly, the game doesn't offer up any options for conducting the Race Car Evolution automatically, which would have left the player free to simply concentrate on the most important thing: the racing itself. Formula One fanatics will likely love the in-depth addition of Race Car Evolution, but more casual gamers may be somewhat frustrated by the (near hour of) required pre-race tweaking and honing, and the overly-long elimination qualification sessions. And this player frustration could well culminate in shock-damage risk to the PSP when their lovingly tuned car takes to the track only to fall victim to some seriously flawed A.I. competition, or is forced to retire from mechanical failure, or is spun from the track to rejoin at the back of the field.

While Race Car Evolution and the qualification eliminations are, of course, authentic and integral to the whole Formula One structure, and the basic racing mechanics are all we've come to expect from a licensed F1 franchise evolved over many years, the opposition A.I. can be abhorrently poor. Their decision-making and race behaviour is infuriating; for example, should the player's car drift marginally from the correct racing line when braking into a corner, chasing opposition (sometimes multiple cars) will dive insanely for any resulting opening. Naturally, these annoyingly regular snippets of madness generally end in heavy car-to-car contact that leads to the player (and usually ONLY the player) being spun from the track into a tyre wall or rolling at a snail's pace through a gravel trap. Furthermore, if the player has chosen to increase the game's level of authenticity by selecting 'Crash Damage' from the gameplay options, then they shouldn't be at all surprised to find themselves 'retired' before the completion of an opening lap amid bonkers opposition that repeatedly cut across the racing line and bring fatal damage with them.

Overall, it's somewhat difficult to balance out the plus and minus points of Formula One 06 in a manner that affords a fair review score. Although the PSP runs beautifully and makes the game look superb and sound great, the overly taxing pre-race Evolution, structured qualification, flawed A.I., and somewhat unforgiving gameplay might not appeal to anyone beyond the focused F1 obsessive. Opting to utilise the Driving Aids takes the edge off the gameplay demands, but then players will be left floundering at the other end of the difficulty spectrum where mollycoddling is preferred to ramped challenge. However, despite the driving addiction inherent in lapping against the clock in Practice, Evolution, and Time Trial sessions, the actual Grand Prix racing is always somehow unfulfilling. And, when added to the almost unforgivable lack of a network multiplayer feature, Formula One 06 is left as yet another respectable annual franchise edition that sadly only adds in increments while unnecessarily subtracting from an established whole.

60%