For the first time in over half a decade there’s a new official Formula 1 game arriving on the shelves of your local shops and it’s (rather unoriginally) titled F1 2009.  This highly anticipated release is due to be out on November 20th and will be available for the Nintendo Wii and Sony PSP.

Thanks to much badgering, we were invited to the launch of F1 2009 here in London and had the chance to put the game through it’s paces after being shown the ropes by none other than BBC 5 live David “crofty” Croft and Brawn GP test driver Anthony “give him a drive someone” Davidson.

The game certainly is a great piece of work, tremendous fun and if you’re after royally good laugh with friends and a ‘pick up and play’ Formula 1 gaming experience then you can’t get any better than this.  The Nintendo Wii version with it’s custom F1-style wheel is superb and features a fab two player split screen mode, while the PSP version has some stunning graphics and looks excellent on it’s little HD-quality screen.

The Wii version in particular will provide fun for all the family and if it isn’t already it should be on your Christmas list.  Other features in the game include KERS (all the cars have a KERS boost), multiple game modes, all the grid of cars and drivers featured in the 2009 F1 season (as they were at the start of the season, so no Badoer – shame) and pretty clever pit stop feature where you can alter your strategy, race fuel and tyre type.  There are various driver aids to make the game more playable, but these can be turned off if you’re a realist or just fancy a challenge.

More facts about F1 2009:

• Wii and PSP version available November 20th 2009
• PS3, Xbox and PC verions to follow late next year (and known as F1 2010)
• PSP has 4-way multiplayer over a wireless network
• Multiple Game modes:
  • Quick Race
  • Challenge (fastest laps, overtake 5 cars etc…)
  • Career Mode (try and progress from Toro Rosso to Ferrari in 3 seasons)
  • Split-screen 2 player (Wii)
• Custom F1 style wheel – fab! (for Wii)
• Definitely the most detailed Wii racing game ever
• Online multiplayer (PS3, Xbox and PC versions only)

Screenshots (Wii and PSP):

Badger’s resident games expert, Rich Shamilton had his first experience of the Wii version of the game

I was very chuffed to get my hands dirty with the game and it wasn’t some demo or pre-release – it was the full game with all features available, as will be included in the released product. Picking up the controllers (Nunchuck and Remote in this example) I immediately dived in to a quick race scenario. Choosing Lewis Hamilton in his McLaren, the game put my car onto the grid at the famous Monaco circuit with the familiar lights counting you into the start of the race. I struggled to drive round the circuit without hitting every barrier that got in my way, and I was soon disqualified for dangerous driving! A second attempt saw me go one extra lap before the now familiar “DNF” appeared on the screen.

As well as the expected Championship modes (needless to say, I didn’t have time to complete that) there is a unique Challenge mode which sees you completing certain..well, challenges. Overtaking as many cars as you can in one lap; get the fastest lap; get through the checkpoints before the times runs out (remember old-school Outrun style games?) – the list goes on.

As far as actual gameplay goes, there is the usual array of options to make driving easier including auto-braking, ideal line and traction control. For the people that like to setup their cars right down to the last detail, there are options to control tyre pressures, suspension/ride heights and more.

Now, I was only asked for a paragraph so my final words will be this: for any Formula 1 fan this game should mark a welcome return to the genre which hasn’t seen a new title for over five years. It’s a very solid looking game that will definitely be making its way to my Christmas list if I don’t rush to my local store and pre-order it tomorrow!