F1 2013 (Xbox 360)

Sports such as soccer and rugby experience a lot of changes in the space of 12 months, particularly in the formation of teams and allegiance of players. However, the world of motorsport moves at slower pace, even though the cars themselves are some of the fastest vehicles to be found on the planet.

In the F1 world in particular, new teams, drivers and cars appear only on rare occasions, posing a dilemma for Codemasters, the developer of the annual F1 series of games. Fortunately, in addition to replicating of the recent race season, F1 2013 comes with a new addition.

Back to the 80's

The core of the F1 2013 racing experience is the 2013 season. As with past instalments, that means all of the official cars and drivers are playable in the game on all of the circuits of the FIA F1 world championship. This aspect of the game is more or less identical to last year’s instalment, though graphics have received a minor upgrade in this year’s edition.

Beyond the graphics, the other main addition is the ability to save race progress mid-lap, which is particularly useful for longer tracks that may strain your stamina or concentration.

To expand beyond the annual racing season, F1 2013 marks the debut of classic content from the 1980’s. Often regarded as the golden age of F1, the game allows you to drive as 10 famous drivers from the period in five cars. Racing legends such as Alan Jones and Alain Prost are included, as well as Nigel Mansell and Emerson Fittipaldi.

Two classic racing tracks, Conquer Brands Hatch in the UK and Iame Circuito de Jerez in Spain, round off the new classic content. The classic cars not only look different from modern F1 vehicles, but the game also simulates how differently they handle with their simpler mechanics and fatter tyres.

Short on nostalgia

The addition of 80’s content to the F1 game series is a significant one, and it enabled this year’s edition to avoid being labelled as “just another yearly update.” While today’s F1 cars are polished works of engineering that glide effortlessly around the race track, the vehicles of the 80’s are rougher and threaten to fly off the course if concentration is broken. The only downside to this new and welcome addition is how limited it is. Playable teams are limited to Ferrari, Lotus and Williams, with McLaren notably absent, so there is not that much variety in races.

Despite the small amount of classic content, there is no denying F1 2013 is the most completed instalment in the series thus far.