F1 2011

While casual players might question whether much is different a year down the road after 2010, those in the know will agree that F1 2011 is the most complete representation of the sport to date.

We heaped high praise on F1 2011 when we first reviewed it for the Xbox 360 back in September.  Since then the 2011 F1 season has long subsequently finished and we are just weeks away from the beginning of the 2012 schedule.  This hasn’t stopped Codemasters from bringing F1 2011 to the Sony’s handheld arena alongside the launch of the Vita though.  And you know what?  It stands up pretty well to its console brethren.

Nearly everyone has had the itch for speed at one point in their life. Whether it’s while driving a car on the highway or redlining a motorbike, many of us have experienced the thrill of speed and enjoyed it. The ultimate form of adrenaline in racing is Formula 1 (F1), where the world’s best drivers race extremely quick cars on various circuits. Since most of us will never get that experience, we have games like F1 2011 to give us a taste of the fast life.

F1 experts have probably already been racing their way through the home console versions of this title since September. With the 3DS version's odd A.I., it's hard to recommend that Formula fans give this edition a go. Codemasters knows racing -- but when they pass off portable development to other teams, you've got to be wary.

F1 2011 is very much a Codemasters racer, technically brilliant but tonally just a bit off. Their games tend to be either po-faced and bland or in-your-face and kitsch. F1 2011 errs perhaps too far on the side of the former, though ironically the game really shines when the raindrops fall. I’m not saying I want it to be all shouty and American like the incredibly annoying DiRT 2, heaven forbid. But it needs more bustle in the career mode, more life to the tracks. I want to almost smell the ...

Formula One is a tough sport. That's one thing you can take from playing F1 2011 straight away, and while you might watch Formula One on the weekends, thinking it doesn't look all that difficult continuously driving around a circuit for a few hours, a brief spell with the second F1 title to leave Codemasters' racing garage will dispel any preconceptions you might have of the sport. Hardcore fans will already know the score here, and F1 2010 did a bang up job in simulating the many intricacies...