''Formula One Championship Edition'' is a 2006

racing video game Racing games are a video game genre in which the player participates in a racing competition. They may be based on anything from real-world racing leagues to fantastical settings. They are distributed along a spectrum between more realistic raci ...

developed by Studio Liverpool and published by

Sony Computer Entertainment Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC (SIE) is an American video game and digital entertainment company that is a major subsidiary of Japanese conglomerate Sony, Sony Group Corporation. It primarily operates the PlayStation brand of video game co ...

for the

PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE). It is the successor to the PlayStation 2, and both are part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. The PS3 was first released on ...

. It is the final installment in the ''

Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

'' series, as Codemasters would pick up the license for their own '' F1'' series.

Background

The game follows the basic structure of '' Formula One 06'' for the

PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October, in Europe on 24 Novembe ...

and PlayStation Portable. The main differences include the updated visuals for the PS3 including a lot more detail, Sixaxis compatibility, real time reflections, car reflections on wet circuits and new wet weather effects. Early in development the safety car was to be included in the game for the first time in an F1 game since '' Formula One 99'' for the

PlayStation is a video gaming brand owned and produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), a division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. Its flagship products consists of a series of home video game consoles produced under the brand; it also consists ...

but was removed before the final release along with the PSP wing mirror integration shown at E3. The game also boasts dynamic weather, and improved AI. The AI system is called "Live Action Racing" where one can pressure the opposition, causing them to make little mistakes such as running wide on corners, causing them to crash into other cars or spin off the road of their own accord. The AI will then try to seek opportunities to pass the player in a realistic manner. The game is based on the early 2006 Formula One World Championship. Hence,

Yuji Ide (born 21 January 1975) is a Japanese racing driver. He is the 2005 Formula Nippon runner-up and the 2010 Suzuka 1000km winner. He competed in Formula One with the Super Aguri team in 2006, but was demoted to third driver after four races and ...

drives for Super Aguri when in reality he lost his super licence just 4 races into the '06 Formula One World Championship, and Franck Montagny, then later Sakon Yamamoto took his seat. Other minor changes throughout the real 2006 Formula One World Championship are also not represented, therefore Pedro de la Rosa, Robert Kubica, Robert Doornbos, Franck Montagny and Sakon Yamamoto are not featured. Also, the Midland team are not re-branded as Spyker in later Grands Prix in the game. In the career mode, players begin by running tests for one of three teams ( Toro Rosso, Super Aguri or Midland F1) at either the Silverstone, Magny Cours or Catalunya circuits. The tests given vary between the teams. When the player successfully completes the tests, they are given the role of test driver or race driver, depending on how well the player performed in the test. After performing well as a test driver, the player will become the second driver of the team. From there the player can compete in race weekends through many different roles. As a test driver the player will try out different car settings in practice, and as a driver the player will have track position targets to meet to keep the seat. The player's performances are subject to review at several points during the season. The initial release did not include force feedback support, which is considered by many to be an important feature for simulation racing games used with driving wheel controllers. A subsequent update in early 2008 added force feedback. The game also lacks support for 1080i or 1080p output resolutions. Per the calendar, the Belgian Grand Prix is not included.

Gameplay

''Formula One Championship Edition'' follows the 2006 Formula One World Championship, with 18 tracks, 11 teams and 22 drivers. Driver changes that happened during the real 2006 Formula One World Championship are also not included, such as

Juan Pablo Montoya Juan Pablo Montoya Roldán (; born 20 September 1975) is a Colombian racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to , IndyCar between 1999 and 2022, and the NASCAR Cup Series between 2006 and 2024. Montoya won seven Formula One Grand ...

leaving McLaren after the United States Grand Prix and replaced by Pedro de la Rosa and Jacques Villeneuve leaving BMW Sauber after the

German Grand Prix The German Grand Prix () was a motor race that took place most years since 1926, with 75 races having been held. The race has been held at only three venues throughout its history: the Nürburgring in Rhineland-Palatinate, Hockenheimring in B ...

and replaced by Robert Kubica.

Release

''Formula One Championship Edition'' was released in North America on February 27, 2007. It was the first Formula One game to be released there since 2003, when

Atari Atari () is a brand name that has been owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by French holding company Atari SA (formerly Infogrames) and its focus is on "video games, consumer hardware, licensing and bl ...

released '' Grand Prix Challenge'' exclusively for

and

EA Sports EA Sports is a division of Electronic Arts that develops and publishes sports video games. Formerly a marketing gimmick of Electronic Arts, in which they imitated real-life sports networks by calling themselves the "EA Sports Network" (EASN) ...

released '' F1 Challenge '99-'02'' for the PC, and '' F1 Career Challenge'' for the

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, and

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. It was a

launch title Since the origin of video games in the early 1970s, the video game industry, the players, and surrounding culture have spawned a wide range of technical and slang terms. 0–9 A ...

for the European and Australasian release of the PlayStation 3. ''Formula One Championship Edition'' was the final release in Sony's series of F1 games which had been running for over a decade, with the announcement that Codemasters had secured exclusive rights to the sport following shortly after the game's release. As this game was effectively an update of the

and PlayStation Portable game ''Formula One 06'', there was to be no 2007 version of the game - the first time the series had skipped a season since 1996. This was the most recent F1 game given the three-season gap before Sumo Digital's '' F1 2009'' (published by Codemasters) game came out on the PlayStation Portable and the Wii. In September 2010, Codemasters released '' F1 2010'' with all the official teams and tracks, available on PS3, Xbox 360 and PC.

Reception

The game received "average" reviews according to the review aggregation website

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

. In Japan, ''

Famitsu , formerly , is a line of Japanese Video game journalism, video game magazines published by Kadokawa Game Linkage (previously known as Gzbrain), a subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation, Kadokawa. ''Famitsu'' is published in both weekly and monthly f ...

'' gave it a score of 30 out of 40. 411Mania gave it an eight out of ten, praising the gameplay, graphics, customization and called it a "high-octane fun". ''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuous ...

'' gave it three stars out of five, and was positive to the graphics and car handling. The '' Detroit Free Press'' was more negative to the game and gave it two stars out of four, writing: "How well can you follow a big green line? The game shows you the shortest distance around the track -- a green line to follow. The line turns briefly red when you come to a turn, but don't ease up on the throttle, because the game slows your vehicle down for you. How boring is that?"

References

External links

* {{Psygnosis 2006 video games Formula One video games Multiplayer and single-player video games PlayStation 3 games PlayStation 3-only games Psygnosis games Sony Interactive Entertainment games Sports video games set in France Sports video games set in Germany Sports video games set in Italy Sports video games set in Japan Sports video games set in the United States Video games developed in the United Kingdom Video games set in Australia Video games set in Bahrain Video games set in Barcelona Video games set in England Video games set in Hungary Video games set in Indianapolis Video games set in Malaysia Video games set in Monaco Video games set in Montreal Video games set in São Paulo Video games set in Shanghai Video games set in Turkey