Kart racing is a genre that some claim to have been perfected back in the ‘90s with Super Mario Kart, so it’s strange to see that developers are still going at them, especially Codemasters, a developer known for highly detailed, realistic racing games. Codemasters throw everything they’ve done before out the window and instead come together to create F1 Race Stars (Powered Up Edition being the subtitle for the Wii U version). It’s a title which manages to ride on its own four wheels, but still comes crashing into the barriers from time to time.
It’s good fun, I feel I should mention that first. The strangely enchanting visuals feel like they have a purpose and weren’t made just to fit the kart genre. The combination of the F1 license, therefore using real cars and real F1 drivers, and then kart-racing is a mixture that doesn’t always feel cohesive, but has its shining moments.
The use of the F1 license is great and it was surely no easy task to try and convert that license into a cartoon-like aesthetic, but it’s all out of date. One of the strangest things about this game is that it initially came out in 2012 and was then released on Wii U exclusively in Japan in 2013, then finally found its way everywhere else this year. So while not a major problem, those who are enthusiasts of F1 might feel a little cheated about the out of date line-up.
Something that does age well however, is the track design, kudos to the developers because each one of these 15 tracks feels unique and special and you can tell they’ve spent time and effort into perfecting these tracks. A comparison to Mario Kart would normally be made, but there’s one crucial element that separates these two games, and perhaps F1 Race Stars from the rest of the race-kart game genre; there’s no drifting. Of course not, F1 cars don’t drift, so I imagine having to create tracks that can’t be drifted around while trying to keep up with the pace of a race-kart game is a hard task. At the end of the day, this is where I feel the game falls short.
1000cc, 2000cc and 3000cc are your options, but the first two feel like such a drag. After the initial playthrough of each course, I felt it was hard to keep my attention span running, suffering from what I call F1 syndrome, more commonly known as boredom. I knew where to go, I knew what my opponents were going to do and as soon as I secured 1st place, that was it for the rest of the race; driving around and admiring the, admittedly very creative environments. The career becomes repetitive and feels more like a chore than anything else, especially since everything in the game is available from the green light. Those who are looking to speed round at a high-octane pace and blow each other up are more than likely going to be disappointed. However, those who enjoy the challenge that a traditional F1 racer would bring will find comfort in this game. There’s plenty of content to be enjoyed, with 30 different championships coming at you with varying difficulties, but with such a small number of tracks, I reiterate that is might all become a bit mundane.
Codemasters have however added ideas that I’d like to see taken on in other kart-racing games more often. For one, the damage concept and having to take a pit stop is a great idea and works well in multiplayer matches with friends and family. Having to decide whether to risk it and continue on your last legs or make a tactical pit stop to recover is a concept that mixed up the game and kept my interest going. The KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery System) is also, while licensed, an interesting concept which I feel could be adopted by other developers. You drive over specific pats of the race track and tap the accelerator to gain energy which will allow you to boost later on in the race. Its execution in this game however feels choppy, players will have to find a right time to use it as it’s all about control when taking turns.
F1 Race Stars stutters from time to time and while the engine is running, it doesn’t feel like you’re going anywhere. A redeeming factor of this game may have been its online multiplayer, but the option is strangely omitted from the Powered Up Edition, leaving local multiplayer which seems to have problems recognising other input methods than the GamePad. These same frustrations apply to the online leaderboards, with other players on Miiverse pointing this out too. It seems Codemasters may have had some trouble with Nintendo’s online infrastructure. I did get to play with a few friends eventually and it was surprisingly fun, most likely due to the fact that, because the game is different from most kart-racers, they’re weren’t initially familiar with what to do and that sense of discovery was still there (plus, I had the advantage).
In summary, F1 Race Stars: Powered Up Edition swerves in and out of “good” and “satisfactory”. While by no means is it a broken game, it suffers from half-baked concepts and from a strange difficulty curve. At one point it’s relatively easy, the next you’re being bombarded with an array of weapons while going round a bend only to drive into the wall with a badly damaged car, and to top it all off, the Safety Car comes out, slowing everything down. The weapons are overpowered and the AI seems to be relentless at all times with them.
In addition, for something to be named Powered Up Edition, you can’t leave out online multiplayer, that’s a contradiction. Despite that omission, this Powered Up Edition includes all released DLC, and supports Off-TV Play alongside some gyroscopic controls, which are tough to get right, but Codemasters did a good job here. While some may be eager to bite into this fairly priced game in the wait for Mario Kart 8, unless you’re a hardcore F1 fan, I’d suggest Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed if you haven’t got it already.
You can read the review ofF1 Race Star’s initial 2012 release here and our review of F1 2013 here.
Thank you to Codemasters for providing a download copy of the game to produce this review.