Rebuttal on Game Zone Review for Wii Formula One 2009

Here's a review of the game. And here is my rebuttal.

I found your review interesting - although I don't have all of the controllers (I am anxious to get a Logitech wheel) yet I have found the game quite entertaining. I've logged about 12 hours so far. I think there is so much more that could be done with steering controls and am hopeful that the wheel will allow me to run at expert mode and be competitive. I currently use Wiimote/Nunchuck pairing.

A few rebuttals - by the way I am firmly in the camp of those seeking a "....a challenging racing game that was built for a very specific hardcore audience....".

As an avid F1 fan I can tell you the game is quite authentic.

On your comment about the arcade style of speed boost: " This is most apparent with the speed boost feature, which is an element you’d typically find in an arcade racing game. " This is in fact 100% Formula 1 authentic - this year in Formula 1 allowed KERS in certain cars - I suspect your testing was with either Ferrari or McLaren, I drive BMW which doesn't have it. This allows a driver to get a speed boost for up to 6 seconds per lap at the expense of 80 kilos (I think) of weight penalty. Turns out it was mostly a bust and will go away next year.

To your comment: "While it’s true that the finish line is your goal in F1 2009, you are prevented from driving consistently because every turn forces you to brake nearly hard enough to stop. " This too is a very accurate representation of F1 - I have spent numerous hours trying to nail the turns and establish the right line from turn-to-turn, this is the art and excitement of Formula 1. With the anti-skid turned off and the traction control turned on - I've managed to solidly nail some of the tracks after a few hours of practice. Many turns in F1 require 225mph to 50mph in 50 meters or so in order to be competitive.

On "Sound: 5.0" Not music to anyone's ears. You are sitting in a race car - with a 900bhp engine running @ 19,000 RPM engine screaming behind you - the engine is all you will hear - as it should be - I would put it on "11" if not for the rest of the family. It sounds exactly as it should.

The championship weekends are quite good - with all of the appropriate sessions. I haven't tried full weekend at Monaco so don't know if they correctly have "Friday" testing on Thursday - but knowing what F1 licensing is like - I suspect it is "spot on".

In general I struggled a bit in the beginning and it took me quite a while to get get any sort of decent position in qualifying when I put in on "Medium" opponents. I've played a lot of racing games - and I would go at least 7 rather than your 5.7.

Wii F1 2009

Well I picked this up last week. Definitely better than Ferrari Challenge but still a few quirks. Controls are still a little dicey. They still don't take full advantage of the disconnected nature of Wii. The steering wheel mode doesn't work all that well. I may need to invest in a Logitech Wii Wheel to see if it is better. Tried setting up a new player and it told me my name was "invalid", unfortunately I can't quite remember what name I put in - but it was Italian-like - Dinataldo or some such and it didn't allow it. I eventually managed to set up a player and start a career. There were three settings: Beginner, Advanced, Expert. Beginner was far too easy - secured a ride on the first or second lap, took pole in my first attempt, and easily took the win in Australia and Malaysia. Decided to wipe that career out and try Advanced. This proved much more difficult, in fact I couldn't get a ride with either BMW or Torro-Rosso and had to settle for racing for Force-India. The good part is the braking is very crisp, but as mentioned, the steering is a bit hard to manage. I hope to have some fun with this.