Ferrari World Championship 2009

I tend to buy a car based on boring things, like its fuel consumption, insurance band, colour and the awesomeness of its music system, so a fancy badge and a roaring engine don’t really get me in the fast lane.

It was reassuring to see that Gameloft’s new branded racing game doesn’t attempt to showcase a horde of gaudy, expensive sports cars and pit them against each other in some kind of street racing nonsense, or put a mock career criminal behind the wheel and have you carry out a bunch of pseudo-hard man tasks.

It’s a back to basics Formula One racer, which might sound a tad antiseptic alongside the imaginative driving games we’re used to seeing these days, like Fast & Furious and Asphalt 4, but it’s a nice return to form that contrasts itself against the current spate of crime games quite pleasantly.

This is a racing game about racing, rather than ramming, escaping, running down, or raging. The point is to avoid the other cars, and not destroy them. You’re given an appealing number of different race tracks to navigate and, for the most part, things are kept nice and simple by only demanding that you cross the line in at least third place to climb Ferrari World Championship 2009's ranks.

The cars accelerate automatically, with the ‘5’ button acting as a brake (it’s been so long since this button did anything other than ‘nitro boost’, it took a bit of figuring out), making the controls ultra simple and giving you ample opportunity to concentrate on the actual driving.

Fair enough, this is a Ferrari themed game, but the starting queue for the race shows 18 different versions of the exact same red racing car (including your own) with no variety in style, colour or, seemingly, ability. Not only is it confusing being stuck in the middle of a sea of Ferraris, but it gives the game a distinctly cheap veneer.

Seeing as this is a racing game in which you’re expected to win races, it does leave the gameplay a little thin, but for one unique feature. Since all these Ferraris are pretty much identical, one of the only ways to overtake is to slipstream the car in front, then use the small speed boost to punch around them. It’s a surprisingly effective aspect of racing that adds a great deal of depth to the gameplay.

Slipstream too long and the speed boost shunts you straight into the car in front's tail end - damaging both you and him. And once you’re out in front, your opponent's going to try exactly the same thing, so a bit of tactical steering is required to maintain your lead.

A small quick-time event takes place when you pull into the pit stop, which is a nice method of adding some tension to the wheel changes, and there are a few achievements to unlock besides new tracks and new cars. The classic versions of racing Ferraris you can unlock are particularly interesting, and come equipped with a host of historical stats and information to keep the Ferrari fans happy.

Despite the few tweaks the developer has made to liven Ferrari World Championship 2009 up, these are too often outweighed by the game’s poorer qualities (the lacklustre tracks and road side graphics, the terrible animation during crashes and the ironically slow loading times) and the overall lack of gameplay choices.

Petrolheads who have a particular affinity for the game’s sponsor, and relish the idea of taking a red Formula One car out for a high speed spin should definitely take a look. But if you don’t fit into that very specific niche, Ferrari World Championship 2009 doesn’t have a great deal on offer.