And, as I’ve said repeatedly, the sports video game that helps fans understand or relate to the sport better is the one that is really doing its job well.
But racing full length has deepened my understanding of the sport, particularly in how the car’s systems and tires are managed. That’s a lot on a gamepad, especially if you’re taking Monaco’s inscrutable Hotel hairpin 78 times. It’s a lot to ask - you’re talking about 90 minutes, roughly, for one race (although the ability to pause certainly helps). Codemasters’ F1 series is the rare sports title that gets better when you play it in real time - and that includes baseball, which has no clock, and where most MLB The Show devotees play only portions of games in the career. And 90 minutes of FIFA 20 would produce a score more resembling American football.īut a full, Formula One race weekend - three practices, three rounds of qualifying, full race distance - has been my most engrossing and immersive sports video game experience of the year, hands down. NBA 2K20 with 12 minute quarters would make Paul Westhead’s Denver Nuggets look like a church league team.
If I played Madden NFL 20 with regulation, 15-minute quarters, I’d probably pass for 500 yards per game.
