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Formula One 06 Hands-On: Coming to America

Good news: F1 06 is coming to America. More good news: It looks amazing.

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American racing fans have been without a Formula One game for some time now. After EA lost the license only to see it snapped up by Sony, F1 games have been exclusively released seemingly everywhere else but here in the good-old USA. That problem is about to change in a big way, thanks to today's news that Sony's Formula One 06 for the PlayStation 3 will be released in the States in 2007. We got a chance to take another look at this open-wheel racer, and we're even more excited for this game than before.

F1 06 will signal the return of Formula One games to the States.
F1 06 will signal the return of Formula One games to the States.

Like the TGS demo we played a few weeks ago, this build of F1 06 has been aimed toward its audience. In Tokyo, the game featured the Imola, Monaco, and Japan's own Suzuka circuit. For today's demo, we got a chance to turn laps at that other Italian track, Monza, and America's own Indianapolis. There are some similarities between the tracks, especially the high-speed final turn at Indy, with its banked slope, and the front straight at Monza, which is one of the fastest sections of asphalt in the entire F1 world. And once again, the game's sterling visuals, especially when playing in the first-person view, really convey the startling velocity and violent jostling that occurs when the cars in F1 run at top speed. In fact, it's probably not that much of a stretch to say this is one of the best-looking PS3 games around at the moment--the level of detail in everything from the shape and design of the cars to the reflections in the driver's helmets, and the relentless sense of speed, are a joy to watch.

While we played in both dry and wet conditions (once again savoring those impressive rain effects), we also had the opportunity to mess with some of the settings in the game, particularly difficulty, damage, and some rudimentary car settings. First off, as with other PS3 racing games, the lack of rumble in the PS3's controller is dramatic--and not in a good way. You really miss the feeling of "thunking" into a wall or the sensation of rapid shaking as you roll over the rumble strips in the corners. In addition, the controls take some getting used to. The analog R2 and L2 buttons are the default gear shift buttons, which feel awkward at first, though we do like using the right stick to control gas and brakes. Unfortunately, the R2 and L2 buttons don't have as much range of motion as the triggers on the Xbox 360 controller, and as a result, using them as an alternative gas or brake doesn't seem like much of an option at this point. If we had our way, we would have dialed down the sensitivity of the steering in the game, as even on gentle high-speed corners, such as the Curva Grande at Monza, you find yourself flicking the stick where you probably should be just gently moving the controller in conjunction with the grade of the turn. A small point, granted, but one that driving fans will likely take notice of.

On the plus side, the game's difficulty seems to have taken a step up from our previous look at the game. On the medium difficulty setting, you're going to have to fight for positions on the track, and even tried-and-true racing methods such as overtaking by under braking aren't as easy as you might think. Another impressive aspect was the damage modeling in the game; just as you might expect from the extremely fragile F1 cars, the slightest miscalculation can result in an ugly spin and the loss of a wheel or two if you aren't careful.

So with the news that the game is coming stateside, we turn to the issues we don't know about the game, namely how the game mode lineup is shaping up. Presumably there will be your standard quick race and championship modes, but we're curious about some of the smaller particulars, such as online compatibility, pit-stop minigames, and tuning options for the cars. In addition, there's always the matter of the ever-shifting driver lineup in F1 (which will look very different next season), as well as the standard livery changes on the cars themselves. With any luck, we'll have answers to these questions in early 2007, when the game is due for release.

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