Formula 1 2009 (PSP)

So you wait years for an F1 game, Codemasters promised the world to us back in 2008 and after Sony had appeared to be dragging their heals on a new relase we were all so excited about the official game franchise changing hands. We were all so confident too, after all Codemasters were the kings of the motorsport game with a back catalogue of successful franchises - nothing could go wrong.

It hasn't quite worked out that way but it is a really good first attempt at motorsports most prized formula with just a few drawbacks. I shouldn't be surprised, to recreate a full season of F1 from scratch and on the psp platform (where many top titles remain in 2d!) is a massive task, and it has been done with overall success as this game is still as good as we've got - so great.

As I'm an F1 nut it does feel a little out of date already with no Grosjean, no Alguersuari, how can EA manage to keep all transfers up to date and release its FIFA titles only a month after football's transfer window ends, but when a driver leaves an F1 team in the first few races of the season it was sadly a step to far to think that Codemasters could update that info given 8 months. This is not helped further as by the time we had seen the release date go back month by month we knew by then that BMW, Toyota and Brawn are no more in F1.....never mind, I can't really blame them for that....as long as that time was well spent on other features, after all, my copy of F1 2006 on psp is very out of date but still gets a run out because it has good gameplay and has some good graphics too, how did Codemasters fair here?

Fairly well, the graphics are very grainy but the cars and tracks are still authentically detailed but nothing exceptional and do not look as different from each other as perhaps they should, the frame rate slows a little when many cars are in frame which is a pity. The main spoiler is what I imagine is meant to represent sun glare, it looks like a sudden bizarre dulling of the colour. The buildings and other landmarks they have spent all this time lovingly recreating also look flat but I don't doubt they are all exactly where they should be and credit to the developers for attempting to capture all of this on every circuit of an entire season. The fact that all of the official tracks are here is an amazing achievement not to be overlooked.

The handling which is already tough to get used to (you must turn on traction control) as the cars slide about alot and overtaking becomes a russian roulette style affair where you either do or you don't and end up eating the wall thanks to the poor AI. On the positives to add to the great size of the game with all of the tracks etc. the game feels fast, very fast and this is absolutely a good thing and really does make this such a different game to the slow Sony efforts on psp. But you feel all the other areas of gameplay and graphics have suffered just a little too much at the expense of creating this sense of speed and on balance I don't think this was the best trade off. It is worth a buy if you don't have F1 2005/6 and are an enthuisiast of F1 but there are better racers on psp, TOCA 3 still leads the way.

In brief I'm delighted it is on psp, it's very different in the ways detailed above, but neither is it an improvement on F1 2006. It lands somewhere between an arcade racer and a realistic simulation, it has some great features which you could argue for both camps, but enough drawbacks to say it fulfills neither. My wishlist to codemasters wouldn't be a long one, in a way I would be taking out much of the complexity out leaving just a good solid racing game behind, overall though it represents a job well done and other reviews here are very harsh indeed.

I bought the game yesterday from GAME. Had a play on it and started my first season of three. The graphics aren't the best in the world but who needs good graphics if the gameplay is excellent?

The controls are very hit and miss. You can either use the D-Pad or Analog stick, which ever you prefer. I have found though that one minute you are under steering the next you are over steering. It can be very sensitive, although you can change the sensitivity to what you feel most comfortable with. Also using only the X to accelerate and square to brake makes things a bit difficult as it is hard to get the balance of throttle coming out of corners, whereas on a different platform such as the PS3 if you were to use the R2 and L2 buttons to accelerate and brake you have more control over how much throttle you use. Using the O button to activate K.E.R.S can be a bit tricky too unless you have big fingers as you have to sort of align your thumb to press X and O at the same time or use your first finger to activate it, which can be even more awkward.

The game incorporates use of the K.E.R.S system which can be great although I don't know if it is optional in some cars, having only raced in the BMW. The K.E.R.S in F1 2009, unlike in real-life, reloads itself every lap.

For the die-hard F1 fan you can change a multitude of settings, ranging from weather, tyre wear, fule usage, damage and penalties to give you a more authentic feel.

I would rate it 8/10, the controls can be awkward and controlling your car is a bit tricky. If you really can't wait for the latest F1 game for the PS3 I suggest buying it to wet your appetite.

F1 fans have been waiting 3 long years for a new game, with up to date drivers, features, rules and circuits. So here it is, at last. I for one marched into town at some pace on my lunch break to by this game yesterday on its day of release, and was massively releaved to find that there were two left at the store.

However, having waited eagerly for the remainder of the working day to get home and play it, I was left sorely, sorely disappointed. Quick run-down:

Features - great. Up to date circuits, accurately (if not slightly shoddily) rendered, new drivers (though don't be expecting the likes of Kobayashi, Alguersuari, Grosjean and Liuzzi - the game is effectively one season out of date and has the drivers as they were at the beginning of the season). KERS is there too, though slightly disappointingly all cars have it, and the makers haven't bothered to look into balancing off the risks and rewards of having the technology (i.e. the weight disadvantages for McLaren and Ferrari, and what happens if the system malfunctions as it did during the season). Being able to use it on all cars, and the way it's been implemented, just feels a little too arcadey, like nitros on some of the early racing games.

Sound - poor. No more Brundle or others. Instead you have to listen to your mechanic spout repetitive words of warning. Fine, I can see that they're trying to do things from a different angle, but it just feels a little bit unofficial after a while, and you don't feel at all involved in the race. Also, there seems to be a glitch sometimes after the mechanic has finished speaking to you, and there is a period of complete silence. The cars sound like hairdriers. Really bad.

Graphics - bitty. Fine, we're dealing with a handheld console here, but the least they could do was make it look like the cars were on the track. If you watch replays of the other cars (incidentally this feature seems to be unavailable in any mode other than 'watch session' during qualifying or practice), they look like they're gliding over the circuit, and don't appear attached to it at all. Some of the cars look nice, but the graphics certainly haven't improved in the 3 years since Sony made F1 2006, which is unforgiveable. Some of the grandstands look nice at Yas Marina though.

Game play - awful. This is Codemasters' worst crime. The car seems to bounce along the circuit, squirming from side to side, and you feel like you have little control if any over the direction of the car. Fine you may tell me something like 'this is waht F1 is really like and you have to be able to master the car blah blah blah'. In reality, it just doesn't feel....cool. It's not an enjoyable experience, you don't feel a rush when you nail the apexes, and this is because you just can't seem to get any pace through the fast corners, because your car is snapping around from left to right all the time. Again, F1 2006 felt so much better than this, and I can't understand how they've not managed to copy or at least improve on this system. Remember FIFA vs. Pro Evo and how it used to be? That's the sort of comparison we're looking at here.

Ultimately a disappointment, so try and rent the game first to see if it's your cup of tea. It reminds me of F1 2003, which I hated. Maybe that's your sort of thing though.