Firstly, i enjoyed this game! Formula One Championship Edition follows the 2006 FIA formula one world championship season in which has all the official cars, circuits, drivers and teams. The graphics are i think up to the PS3 standard although at the moment they aren't going to get any better until someone starts to improve them, which they will im sure. Firstly the career mode follows you as a formula one driver starting as a rookie from the bottom of the pile and you must work your way to the top over a five year period. The career follows the real 2006 calendar with all the 17 circuits in order. The circuits follow the real life tracks exactly and have all the correct architecture in the real grand prix's. As a formula one driver you must even tweak your car and get all your desired specifications if you want to make your car go in the quickest time possible. So a couple of days before the race you get an hour to race your car around the track and work out what works best for your car. The one thing that could have been improved here is the lack of depth for the hardcore fans of the formula one series for when it comes to tweaking the cars. You can alter suspension , fuel/ tyres and camber just for a couple of examples but the computer automatically alters these settings for you so all you do is race. After the hour is up you must the go through the qualifying rounds. These rounds were designed to be used for determining your postition on the starting grid in the actual grand prix. They consist of three races in which you must qualify into the next round to try for pole position. If you make it into the last round then you have a top ten starting spot in the grid. Then where you finish in that last race determines your final place before the race. The races can be altered by the options menu. One of the options is for you to change how long the grand prixs can be. This can vary from you having to do a range from 6 to 60 laps depending on how many you wish your grand prixs to have. The game also features all the top drivers to date including Fernando Alonso, Fillepe Massa, Kiimi Raikkonnen and Michael Schumacher. Overall this game can be as simple or as difficult as you make it. The game has great visuals with gameplay that will keep even the most hardcore fans satisfied for its lifespan. Every option is taken into account whether it be changing weather conditions, authentic vehicle damage and all your in race features such as an interactive pit stop with realistic petrol gague and type wear. Overall this game will keep all f1 fans happy dispite its lack of depth in certain areas of the tweaking process the game is still entertaining and interesting. This may not be the game for none f1 fans however as the rules may be hard to follow and some of the terminology can be difficult to understand to the average person. So this was an impressive first attempt from the liverpool stuidos and i expect the next edition on the PS3 to be even better!.
Lastly im going to write comments on the attributes to tell you why i gave them these marks.
Gameplay: Has a 5 year career mode which i think is maybe too short and just a simple one of race option whtether it is just a time trial or a grand prix weekend. Put that with an online mode and i give this 8 out of 10 because for the people that want this game will enjoy it.
Graphics: I expected better from the Playstation 3 although i do think that this is a much better step up so i generously give it 8 out of 10 for graphics. Great but maybe expectations were too high
Sound: The best attribute of the game. The sound is incredibly realistic with all the great sounds and exciting atmosphere out of a grand prix. 10 out of 10!
Value: A shortish career but enough to keep hardcore fans interested for about 20 - 30 hours of gameplay. 7 out of 10 because i expected a lot more depth and a longer career.
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