F1 Grand Prix

"The Pinnacle of Motorsport represented ina lower formula"

What can I say, F1. A technical brand of racing where the best of the best compete for the title of Number One Racer on the planet. This game delivers nothing more than a bargain bin title.

Launched with the PSP, this game on the demo looked promising. Nice graphics, up to date cars, everything you want in a Formula One game, right? I play every Formula One game that comes out and year-by-year the quality of these games seems to drop.

The very best two games out there are SCEE's ‘F1 2003' on the PS2 and EA's ‘F1 2000 Championship Season' on the PC. The PSP game should have been called ‘F1 Arcade 2005'.

GamePlay

Its F1, so racing you expect, technical racing that is. Except you don't get that at all. The designers of the game decided that the best way to make a really great F1 game was to take all technicalities out. You cannot select Manual gears in this game, which I am sorry, is an absolute necessity of an F1 Game. Leave the auto transmission to games like PGR, Burnout and Need for Speed NOT to a precise racing formula where the correct gear and speed into each corner is of critical importance.

In F1 “in real life” if you see a racer clip any grass verge or really slippy area at speed, the car usually ends up in a wall. With this game it seems you can drive on grass just as fast as if you were on tarmac, cut chicanes with no speed loss, generally hold the button down and that's all is required with slight touches on the dpad.

The car will turn pretty much 90 degrees at any speed. So imagine, you are at Silverstone coming onto home straight before the series of chicanes that follow. In F1 on TV there is a degree of braking, gear shifting and throttle control, all to get the fastest ins and outs of that particular technical part of track. With the F1 PSP Version, tell you what, lets just straight line it. It is the best way to play the game as the turning is so over sensitive you end up crashing as your perception of what a car should handle like at 170mph is thrown out the window. You simply turn the same at 20mph as you do at 200mph.

There is nothing more to be said here really. I hope you get the point. This just isn't racing; hell it's not even a fun arcade game.

The starts of every race are a total joke. If you want you can try to race the cars but it always ends up with one of them taking you off, Or, with the super sensitivity of the steering you may end up in a wall, on the grass or into another car. The best method here is to press your only ‘Go' button, go on the outside of the track and cut the first corner totally. You'll be in first every single time. I've tried and tried and tried to race this game but if you do, your PSP will be out of the window and you will face a replacement window bill. You cannot race this game consistently.

Sound

Well while you are trying to like your purchase, you couldn't care less what it sounds like. General F1 car sounds, annoying whining when someone is close, but with the game play you can get to first by the first corner.

Controls

As I said no manual, over responsive steering which you cannot change. Press X or Trigger. That's it. Oh you can brake if you like but it's not needed.

Extras

All the general F1 game types are in there like time trails, quick races and championships but you'll never attempt them. The two new 2005 tracks are there, couldn't experience them to the full, but they are there. All the teams are up to date.

Good points?

The graphics are ok, the tracks are just like in real life. It's a shame the effort went into them when really you can't ever feel that you are racing them. Games have got to the point now where you feel like you are driving that damn F1 car. This game however, I don't know what to feel.

Overall

Absolute garbage. I don't think I've played a worse racing game yet. If you read my reviews at all you will understand my passion for racing games. This game is by far the worst attempt ever. Some games are made specifically for a purpose, Burnout, crashing and smashing with small emphasis on racing, does a good job. PGR3 simple arcade type racing, does a good job, SCEE's 2003 F1, technical F1 racing does a good job. PSP 2005 F1, hmmm doesn't even give you any experience other than a pang of regret you probably paid RRP for the game.

This is going to be the very first game you see going into Games stores bargain bucket or the game they try to tack onto a PSP bundle for an extra £10/$10.

Such a shame.

Reviewer's Score: 3/10, Originally Posted: 03/08/06