3/23 – Formula One ‘06

Hello and welcome. My name is Katosepe and I’ll be your host for today’s Video Game of the Day.

Today’s game is Formula One ‘06, the 2006 edition of the long running Formula One racing series. Developed by SCE Studio Liverpool, Formula One ‘06 released in July 2006 for the Playstation 2 and PSP in Europe and Japan only.

Formula One ‘06 uses the same engine from the 2005 edition of Formula One and thus keeps most of the same features as its predecessor. A career mode allows players to live out their lives as a Formula One racer. A pre-season test will put players in the position of a test driver, second driver or first driver, based on their performance. They can then drive through five seasons to try and become the world champion.

Formula One ‘06 does include a new damage system which provides feedback about where your car is being damaged. This can then be addressed in pit stops and between race maintenance, which lets players adjust various aspects of their car such as gear ratios and brake responsiveness.

When Formula One ‘06 was announced, the game was initially planned to have online play as well as cross-platform play for both Playstation 2 and PSP versions. However, close to the launch date, both were removed for unspecified reasons. The Playstation 2 version still contains split-screen multiplayer but the PSP version is single-player only.

Formula One ‘06 received average reviews with many reviewers claiming that there just weren’t enough improvements from the 2005 version. The game also received criticism for removing the online modes at the last minute and speculated that the modes were removed only to sell the Formula One Championship Edition on the Playstation 3 which came out less than six months later and used the same engine, cars and modes as ‘06. The Championship Edition would be the last entry in the Formula One series before it would be purchased by Codemasters three years later and rebranded as F1, a series still going to this day.

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