Overall a decent return of Formula One to the console.
Gameplay:
The game itself is relatively well designed, albeit with a menu which takes awhile to get used to. The races do give the feel of an F1 race and are generally pretty fun. The races do lack significant things, such as the Safety Car. The AI however is not the best seen, and as others have found out the lap times and AI on track do not always sync up, meaning cars that are going relatively slow get much faster lap times than you would expect.
The rules system is pretty nice too as you can get penalized for running into other cars, or speeding in the pits. The punishment can vary, sometimes being a time penalty at the end of the race (which can end up not being much punishment at all, if that is, you can built the gap between you and the car behind to beyond the penalty time), or in the case of beforehand, a grid penalty at the start of the race.
The Career mode is pretty decent as well, and features a decent presentation. Interviews could have been slightly more dynamic, as the same people will ask you very similar questions over the course of a season. However, even though it is repetitive it will be nice to see what Codemasters does with it in future versions.
Graphics:
This is the best part of F1 2010. The tracks look very good, and give you the feel that you are actually there. From the tight streets of Monaco to the long straights of Monza you feel as if you really are there with the spirits of Jim Clark and Graham Hill.
The car models look pretty good, but aren't as pretty. The weather effects are the best part of the graphics in general. Puddles of water will sit on the track while your car runs over a surface that looks like any moment you will hydroplane off into the barriers. The flame effects while the cars shift is a nice touch as well.
Sounds:
This part is alright. The cars do sound like they are F1 but for the most part they feel sorta bland. The engineer who talks to you can get annoying, and can make himself sound stupid, such as telling me to overtake a guy in the Hotel hairpin at Monaco. Track sounds are to be expected and you can hear the crowds, but it is nothing special. The interview voices are stale and only just give the feeling of being there, but not the immersion.
Overall it is a good game, but it does have issues that could be addressed for the next version. It is a great starting block, for a series of games that hopefully will continue.