F1 2012 Xbox 360 Preview

Even though we are half way through the Formula One season, it is nearly time for the official game to be released. On the 10th of September, Codemasters released a demo of their upcoming game to Xbox Live and the day after on PlayStation Store. The demo will give F1 fans a chance to see the differences and upgrades from previous years.

When loading the demo you will see a familiar screen where you will need to give your name and country of origin. When you have given your details you will see the first new feature of the game, the young drivers test from the Yas Marina circuit. On the full game you will be able to choose from a handful of cars to drive but in the demo you will be driving the McLaren. The test will let you get to grips with driving the cars and features including DRS (Drag Reduction System) where the rear wing is adjusted to reduce downforce and increase the top speed. Aswell as KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery System) where a motor stores energy when braking for you to use with a touch of a button to get an extra power boost . When you have finished the drivers test you can jump straight into a race in the Williams on a five lap race around Monza, where you will need to choose a rival from the grid and obviously your aim is to beat them.

Given the time that the team at Codemasters have had to make the game, it would be quite hard to add new features due to no new updates to the cars this year apart from the dipped noses. As with every racing game there are options to turn on racing lines, traction control and auto or manual gears. With the demo there doesn't seem to be that much difference between traction control on or off, given the bigger difference in last years game. The graphics seem to have made a slight improvement from the last installment with the cars and tracks looking less grainy and more vibrant. The gameplay and handling of the cars has been improved with DRS and KERS making more of a difference to your car and the cars around you giving more competitive racing, even against the AI.

Hopefully when F1 2012 is released on the 21st of September fans will be able to lose themselves in the game. With the options of race challenge, the game mode that you get from the demo, also a career mode spanning 10 seasons for you to work your way to the top of the most competitive F1 grid in modern history. I, for one will be buying and hopefully will be bring you a full review in the coming weeks.