Play Brawn GP Racing, win a Mercedes SL Roadster
The competition that didn't make it past Apple’s censors
We just reviewed Brawn GP Racing, with Fraser pointing out that while the basic gameplay is fine there's a certain lack of game.
Partly this is due to publisher, mobile marketing company, Upstream's decision to launch with only one track and roll out up to four new ones as updates as the F1 season progresses to its close in Abu Dhabi on November 1st.
Other odd choices, such as the only mechanic being a one-car one-lap qualifier, in which you're only racing against your fastest lap time, are due to the game's genesis as a purely advertorial product, however.
Upstream's plan has always been to drive uptake of Brawn GP Racing via an online competition to win a Mercedes SL Roadster - a SL550 if you're in North America and a SL30 if in the UK (list price is given as $111,000 or £68,000).
Indeed, the game's original press release stated:
"But the thrills don't stop in the game. As soon as users qualify on each track, they are ranked globally, and are awarded entries in the draw according to their rank - the faster they are, the more chances they have of winning.
"The contest will end at the precise time at which the winning car crosses the finish line in the last race of the season in Abu Dhabi on November 1, 2009.
"A draw will be held on November 12th and the grand winner will receive a brand new Mercedes SL, specially customized by the Brawn GP Formula One Team. The contest is available to US, Canada and UK residents only."
However, this scheme didn't pass the Apple approval board, resulting in no in-app mention of the competition or even a link to the official Brawn GP Contest website.
Once you have registered your gamer tag and email in the app, however, it will automatically record and update your fastest lap times to the official website.
In terms of how the competition works, you're awarded bonus points depending on your global ranking. If you're in the top 10 you get awarded 10,000 bonus points; 1,000 points if ranked between 11 and 100: 100 points if ranked between 101 and 1,000; 10 points for 1,001 to 5,000; and 1 point for 5,001 to 10,000.
You can gain further points by posting times in all the released tracks and using the Twitter and Facebook options.
Of course, as legally required, you can also enter the draw without buying the game and answering a "skill testing question" on the website, although that option doesn't appear to be live yet.
The full terms and conditions - believe us, it gets pretty detailed - are available here.
Or hit the Buy It! button to purchase the game from the App Store ($3.99, €2.99 and £2.39) and try it out for yourself.
