NIDZUMI+

You’re speeding through the famous tunnel overlooking the Monaco Waterfront at two hundred miles per hour. Ahead of you, Jenson Button, so far he’s been top dog, receiving all the plaudits and praise, little does he know that you’ve been gaining precious second upon second and at the next chicane you’ll strike.

He makes a mess of the left hander and goes wide, so being the opportunist you go tighter than usual, you’ve got him on the penultimate lap. Unfortunately for you though you need to blink otherwise your eyes are going to dry out. Darkness descends and before you know it you’ve embedded your nose cone into a tire wall and he’s driven off. Luckily F1 2009 is ridiculously forgiving so your race isn’t over yet.

It’s neither too relistic or too arcadey, nope, this one’s just right

However, that’s the best thing about F1 2009 because of indecisiveness with it’s orientation, it’s neither too realistic or too arcadey, nope this one’s just right. Consider the fact that you have both a racing line and an incredibly overpowered boost button as enough of a blurry line between the two camps. Granted the latter is a result of the oft-criticised KERS implementation, as seen in the real sport, but instead of it feeling like a subtle push it feels like you’ve just unleashed a beast.

Which is fitting considering what we are dealing with here. Formula One cars are no joke and Codemasters have surprisingly portrayed them well, from the roar of the engine to the sense of speed along a straight. Granted the Wii’s limited power only dwarfs the effect but it’s still pretty impressive nevertheless.

The bulk of the game could be spent in either of two modes. The first, Career Mode, where you’ll be starting from scratch as the new kid on the block.  Initial testing offers from BMW and Toro Rosso could turn into full race seats for the season and from there only your results will influence your direction. Once you’ve signed your first contract you are ready for the big time, no GP2 or Karting for you, it’s straight into the world’s greatest car chase. You’ll race in three back to back seasons and have a chance to work your way up through the ranks, or down if you don’t live up to expectations.

Three seasons that could take a while, as the full race weekend is available. Only the hardcore need to experience all of it, with three separate hour long practise sessions to accompany the main events of qualifying and the race its self. Both of which are true to their real life counterparts with the full three stages of qualifying and a pre-set percent of the full race.

No GP2 or Karting for you, it’s straight into the world’s greatest car chase

You’ll have to tweak the settings to find the fun though. A three lap race, the default option, just isn’t enough while 10% of the race leaves everyone on one stop strategies. 25% will suffice and you’ll probably get the most enjoyment out of the game this way, it’s more rewarding when you have different pit stop strategies to the rest of the field. While this may sound like a minor issue, you’ll have to tweak each individual setting before the game feels right.

The lack of a tutorial or bespoke test day means that you’ll be “quick racing” on multiple settings before you find a concrete setup. Naturally with this being a Wii release, the game has been dumbed down for a casual audience but option tweaking isn’t the most welcoming of starts.

The second mode you’ll haphazardly stumble upon is Challenge Mode. You’ll be forgiven for not noticing it straight away, I’m sure most will want to dive straight into the Career but the Challenge Mode is probably the most appealing for casual F1 fans. Instead of race weekend after race weekend you’ll be given goals and times to beat on various different tracks. Overtaking challenges at Spa to time trial challenges at Monza, you’ll be offered plentiful variation and then some.

The only problem is that in the back of your mind you’ll relegate this title to a dry run for next year’s Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 release. Granted each track is reproduced to a recognisable level but the occasional frame rate hiccups and controller issues don’t promote this to the level it should be at. Which for a racer on the Wii, is easily the best that doesn’t feature karts or Italian plumbers.

So while it might feel like GP2 to what should be next year’s F1 main event, F1 2009 is enjoyable on it’s own merits despite technical issues and having to seek out the fun. If you have the patience to fine tune the options you’ll find a driving experience more than worthy of a spot on the front row of the grid.