EA Sports F1 25 first impressions: Braking Point 3 shaping up to be a cracker

Braking Point is back in F1 25; it's the third instalment of EA Sports F1's popular story mode and ahead of the game releasing, Indy100 got to play through the first two chapters.

It follows fictional team Konnersport and this time, the team is competing at the sharp end of the grid, picking up from where the last one left off.

The popular game mode this time around has four different difficulty options instead of three, each fitting in the range of difficulty on offer in F1 25.

Braking Point 3 revs off in Bahrain testing ahead of the 2024 season, giving players the opportunity to get to grips with the Konnersport car if they immediately want to jump in without any practice in any other mode.

This is a very clever opening because of this reason - players can complete as many, or as few, laps as they want while tinkering with settings.

Devon Butler is back as one of the main characters in Braking Point 3 / EA Sports

The returning cast all feature prominently in the opening cutscenes - Davidoff Butler has now taken ownership of the team, Devon Butler is the driver liaison with Callie Mayer (Davidoff's daughter and Devon's sister) and Aiden Jackson (who has featured from the very start) returning as the two drivers.

It becomes clear quickly Konnersport is now competing at the sharp end of the grid and for race wins and the Callie versus her dad Davidoff element is still there. The motion-capture cutscenes look great and are detailed.

The opening two chapters of Braking Point 3 are similar in structure to Braking Point 2 - players play as team principal Casper Akkerman at points, dealing with dilemmas that affect performance, reputation, bonus objectives and - of course - Davidoff himself.

As before, performance is about how well the player performs in races and reputation is how the team and its drivers are perceived in the Formula One world.

Looking at news, social feeds and emails from a hub is similar in concept and changes depending on which driver has been controlled too, along with specific phone calls dependent on each character.

Chasing down race leader Lando Norris in Austria, which features in Chapter 2 of Braking Point 3 / EA Sports

A huge change that's already known about in MyTeam 2.0 is the ability for players to choose which driver they control ahead of a race and this can be changed ahead of each event.

In the opening chapter of Braking Point 3, players immediately have the chance to do this, picking either Mayer or Jackson.

The first act picks up mid-race at Imola and opens with Red Bull's Max Verstappen seemingly pushing the player's chosen driver off the road.

This brought a wry smile from Indy100 as it seems the developers are very aware of driver traits and talking points and are not afraid to exhibit what could be considered controversial takes.

An incident involving Max Verstappen? We see what you did there, EA / EA Sports

A big new feature in EA Sports F1 25 is the change in perception in TV interviews. It's from the perspective of the broadcast now with players seeing drivers respond to questions, instead of the previous over the shoulder shot looking at Natalie Pinkham.

This works a lot better and feels a lot more authentic however the facial animations are not the best in these interviews. Mouth movements look quite exaggerated and the facial details and animations aren't as strong as they could be.

However the motion captured cutscenes look good and this is a racing game which is more about how it feels and looks when out on track so this is not a huge concern for Indy100.

Broadcast interviews feel a lot more authentic even if facial details and animations aren't the best / EA Sports

Davidoff continues to push the team and the second chapter takes place in Austria. This time, instead of picking a driver, the player races as each to secure Konnersport's first ever 1-2 finish.

But then, just as things are looking incredibly rosy, it seems things are about to change.

Davidoff pulls Devon, Callie and Aiden all into a meeting and says he's not going to be at the next race or two because he's got some business to deal with.

He gives clear instructions to each while he's away, delegating each character different jobs.

Chasing down Max Verstappen for revenge in Chapter 1 of Braking Point 3 / EA Sports

While this raises questions in itself, in the hub menus when it comes back to Callie, her mum Evelyn calls and says Davidoff has wished her well before saying he had another meeting. Evelyn and Davidoff have not been together for a while.

What's happening with Davidoff? Indy100 has a theory but it will be interesting to see if it plays out that way.

First impressions of Braking Point 3 are strong and Indy100 can't wait to dive back into it. It will be interesting to see how the story plays out, especially as EA has already confirmed a dramatic event throws the team into complete chaos. Guess we'll just have to find out...

Devon Butler, Davidoff Butler, Aiden Jackson and Callie Mayer are all back in Braking Point 3 / EA Sports

EA Sports F1 25 releases on PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC on May 30, with those who pre-order the Iconic Edition getting Early Access on May 27.

Elsewhere from Indy100, the actor who plays Callie is "honoured" to show women at the pinnacle of motorsport and the driver ratings in EA Sports F1 25 have been revealed.

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