Codemasters have just released F1 2009 on the PSP and Wii – the first fully licenced F1 game since F1 Championship

Edition/F1 2006, and I have managed to get a copy of the Wii version, and have reviewed it for anf1blog.com.

To start with you can drive all of the 10 teams and 20 drivers that started the season only, for example there is no Kobayashi or Alguersuari – Glock and Bourdais are there instead.

The Nintendo Wii in theory should be an ideal platform for driving simulations, with it’s motion sensor control, especially with the F1 style steering wheel that comes in the Wii bundle, yet the only other proper driving game on this console is Ferrari Challenge.

Enough introduction, lets get racing!

There are your regular modes in F1 games that also feature in F1 2009 – in the single player department there is; Championship, Career, Challenge, Time Trial and Grand Prix Weekend. There is also a multiplayer section in the menu which allows you to play; Challenge, Race and even a multiplayer Championship mode – one which I am very fond of. I love how I – a veteran of driving games can drive with very little driving aids, against my brother who hardly knows the difference between F1 and rallying, yet he can put on the driving aids and beat me, and that is a great feature.

One issue however is that there is no online mode – a slight disappointment for avid online gamers such as myself.

So, lets hit the track!

When you first enter the game, you can create a profile which also asks you to set your driving aids. Having played a couple of driving ‘simulators’ before, I thought this game was going to be more of an arcade style than it actually is, and would let me win everything with the settings on the highest modes possible. I was wrong. I was shocked at how much handling detail they had put into this game – I found it really hard to put any power down without spinning, and never seemed to get any traction.

I left the game and went into the menu, and turned on the anti-skid and anti-wheelspin driving aids. Much better! I could put the power down without losing my nose cone.

Out of the various camera modes you get while driving the car, I prefered the T-bar camera you see on the onboard footage on the TV – I have always prefered this camera, but it was even better on F1 2009 as you could match what was happening onscreen with the F1-style wheel you get in the bundle I mentioned earlier on.

The F1 wheel is another great thing about this game. For those who have played ‘Mario Kart’ on the Wii and therefore already have the Nintendo Wii wheel then you won’t miss out too much if you don’t get the bundle with the wheel in – it adds slightly to the driving experience but nothing too much. However if you only have the Wii Remote and Nunchuk, I would seriously think about forking out that extra bit of cash to get the wheel, as the game would not be half as good without it.

One slight issue, and I mean very, very slight is a bit of ‘lag’ or drop in frame rate slightly when you turn a corner and the Wii has to render a lot of cars at once. You wouldn’t really notice it was it not for the sudden snap back into high FPS when you accelerate on to a straight and there is no one around.

Despite the fact I said that there was quite challenging handling earlier on in this review, it does not detract from the fact that this game is pretty much an arcade game, particularly with the driving aids on. But this does not matter. With the Wii wheel and a mate, this game is a winner. I wouldn’t advise rFactor or any people looking for a proper F1 sim to switch to this game, but it is a lot of fun, and gives you just a tiny bit of an experience of what an F1 driver goes through, but for any casual gamer this is a lot of fun.

To check out some screenshots visit our gallery. For a trailer of this game read on.

anf1blog.com Rating: 4/5

Do you have this game on Wii or PSP? Let us know what you think and drop us a comment: