Previews// F1 2010

Overall, my initial impressions as a total F1 newbie was positive. I was only allowed to play a single race and in that regard things are pretty straightforward as far as racing games go.

The kicker is in the nuances that Codemasters have implemented underneath the front end. The more you understand how it works, the more invested you are in trying harder to win. It's accessible enough, but let's hope there's enough material to keep those beyond the F1 fan crowd interested.

What of the near future for the license, though? Jeal revealed that the team looked into offering downloadable content and season updates for players, but decided against it for a couple of reasons.

“Because we've had to wait almost as long as the public have had to wait for the F1 2010 cars and information on the season, we ended up gunning for a September release,” he says, adding that it gives the studio a chance to perfect the AI and get team performances right.

“Never say never though,” he says with a smile, offering what could be on the table for next year. “We certainly don't want 2011 to be just a token update with new drivers and names. We want to focus the entire team on moving the Be The Driver experience.

"I think we've only hit the tip of the iceberg with what we can do with the Live The Dream mode too. And of course, we'll think of other elements that we could add to improve things besides the usual handling advancements.”

But what about the far future? I had great fun sitting in a large car seat peripheral with a physical wheel in hand, but Natal and the PlayStation Move are just around the corner, and are being pitched for core gamer use. Could we soon be 'air-driving' more frequently? “I'm a little apprehensive about Natal if I'm being honest,” Jeal reveals soon after I hop off the console.

"You can create a great racing game on a wheel already, and the difference in feel and accuracy is night and day.” Jeal makes a reference to Gran Turismo and muses that using a pad puts a gamer at a disadvantage without the range of a wheel.

“How would you then take those problems and apply it to a motion platform? I think it would be interesting to see what the challenges are. Precision may be a little less, and racing has always lent itself to extreme precision. So I don't know. It's one to test out, but you really have to make sure you get it right.”

The senior producer seemed more excited about the prospect of 3D technology. “I saw Avatar and was really impressed by it. Usually with new tech they like to crank it up to 11 and really over-emphasise what it can do. I was pleasantly surprised that the 3D wasn't in your face.”

Could we see it in some form in a future F1 game, then? “If you were to take some technology from that and use it in the right ways – maybe have some damage in front of you or bits of carbon fibre whizzing towards you – you can imagine that'd be super cool in 3D. Those are definite ideas that are kicking around in the back of my head.”

For now though, we'll stick with the wheel, cheers Paul. F1 2010 is heading for a September release on the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC.