F1 2012
As well as the new young driver test mode, F1 2012 features a new "Champions Mode", in which the six World Champions competing in the 2012 season — Kimi Räikkönen, Lewis Hamilton, Jenson Button, Sebastian Vettel, Fernando Alonso and Michael Schumacher — will be styled after traditional end-of-level video gaming bosses, with the player challenged to beat them while racing in conditions that suit each driver. Another new mode introduced, is the "Season Challenge" mode. Feedback given to Codemasters was that players only played the game when they had a few hours to play. In response, Codemasters brought in this mode so that players could simply play for a short amount of time. In this mode the player will start as a team lower down the field, and over a ten race season the player will move teams mid-season, depending on their ability to beat rival drivers and objectives. Codemasters also introduced "One-Shot Qualifying", whereby a player has a single lap to qualify for the race. The three stage knock out session is still an option, however the single 20 minute session is no longer available in career mode. There is no longer an option to include all three practice sessions in a race weekend, but instead only a single hour session is available.
What it feels like
The simulation takes its sport seriously, presenting authentic championship racing without irony or parody.
What it's about
F1 2012 is fundamentally a simulation of Formula One motor racing competition, the sport's official 2012 championship season. Set in the actual 2012 Formula One season with real drivers, teams, and circuits of that era.
How it plays
Driving and piloting vehicles—specifically F1 race cars—is the core interactive system throughout all modes. Qualifying performance and head-to-head rival challenges gate team advancement, functioning as skill-based progression gates. Progressing through teams and seasons by accumulating race wins and beating rivals provides a grind-like progression loop.
How it's structured
Single-player modes dominate the experience through Career, Champions Mode, and Season Challenge, with multiplayer as an optional component. Career mode and Season Challenge provide a bounded, authored progression through a ten-race season with defined endpoints and progression. Season Challenge mode was explicitly designed to accommodate short play sessions rather than requiring hours of commitment per sitting.
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