➤ F1 Manager, the review 🎮

If it is true that the design, the technology, the strategic choices and the strict adherence to careful planning seem to have somewhat killed the emotion and the romance of Formula One, it must be said at least that all these characteristics make it suitable for brush with managerial video games. In fact, on this front the maximum automotive discipline has been able to give great satisfaction and therefore it is not surprising the exploitation of the rich official license of the FIA for another title of this type on mobile platforms, that is F1 Manager, which we analyze in this review. It is a rather streamlined and simplified version of the more complex games that are usually found on PC, a game solution that we have already been able to appreciate in Motorsport Manager Mobile 2 but which in this case is further modified by the exclusively multiplayer one setting. against one (pending the arrival of next updates) and mechanics free-to-play which introduces the inevitable micro-transactions.

This last detail is not really a nice business card for traditional gamers, who perhaps more than other users could be interested in this mobile title, however there are various considerations to be made in this regard. As always in these cases, the game pushes towards in-app purchases in order to be immediately competitive and above all to compress the expectations that otherwise are an integral part of the experience, but if you face everything with patience you can get rewards in the game and simply wait for the times set for the unlocking of the tills so as not to fall into the trap of compulsive buying. In short, the classic recommendation to take the game in small doses always works, even in this case, even if it must be said that the setting exclusively multiplayer seems to want to push further towards the trap of pay to win. There are two in-game currencies, the coins that are used to participate in races and to level up the drivers and the various components of the cars, and the banknotes that have a wider use, allowing you to buy consumable power-ups to temporarily upgrade the drivers, buy new elements for the car or speed up the opening of the cash desks, thus representing the most important currency and consequently more difficult to accumulate and more expensive to buy.

Managerial Ubiquity

La stable management encompasses numerous aspects, ranging from car composition to driver management. From a mobile game of this type we cannot expect the infinity of options and variables present on more complex simulations, however F1 Manager defends itself quite well as regards the depth of the management elements. The options regarding the car are limited to the possibility of applying or improving the various components (brakes, suspension, engine, ailerons and more), without going to more complex options such as tuning and managing aerodynamics. As for the pilots, it is above all a question of conquering them by winning the races, assigning them to the first or second car of the team and making them evolve by collecting the corresponding cards, always starting from the boxes that are conquered after the races. For the rest there is to compete, with the only possibility offered to challenge another player in a direct head to head, with the participation of other cars managed by artificial intelligence.

Before the race we can choose which type of rubber to fit between soft, hard and wet, while during the grand prix the only interactions concern the possibility of calling the riders to the box to change tires. Obviously, this is where the ability to strategically evaluate the right time to change and which type of tire to fit is triggered, with petrol which must also be managed carefully during the race, given the impossibility of refueling during the race. For each of the drivers it is possible to set the attitude between fast, medium and slow, other elements to be dosed properly to better manage the consumption of tires and fuel. During the races, which take place on the real Formula One circuits and between the real drivers and cars on official FIA license, it is possible to follow the progress of the cars by zooming in on the track, with the possibility of appreciating in this way the excellent work carried out by Hutch Games in the reproduction of cars and tracks, or adopt a far more minimalist view from above but which allows greater concentration on positions, distances and the overall situation of the race.

Comment

Tested version Android, iPad 0.07.7847 Digital Delivery App Store, Google Play Price Free Resources4Gaming.com

6.8

Readers (6)

6.2

Your vote

F1 Manager is crafted with considerable care, from the three-dimensional representation of the races to the interface, and a convincing management mechanics with regard to the progression of drivers and cars and the situations in the race, even if numerous variables and options present in the most serious simulations are missing. The thrill of the race and the decisions to be made are always a good spring to get us back on track, too bad for the absence of a classic career mode and for all the free-to-play scaffolding that, combined with forced multiplayer and all 'use of consumable power-ups inevitably pushes towards pay to win. In this genre, for those looking for an experience closer to tradition, Motorsport Manager 2 remains the best choice.