F1 2011

There's something quite comical about riding the 43 bus at a snail's pace through a busy Manchester town centre while simultaneously pelting around the Silverstone Circuit at 150mph on your PlayStation Vita.

And it's very probable that I'll miss my stop once or twice over the weeks that it will take me to complete F1 2011, due to the concentration levels necessary to consistently take pole position.

What F1 2011 lacks in soul it makes up for in its sheer number of options, modes, cars, races, and unlockables. If you enjoy your realistic sim racers, this is well worth looking into.

F1 2011 puts you in the fast-moving driver's seat of a Formula 1 car at the start of the F1 2011 season, with real-name racers and teams to compete against and real-world tracks to bomb around.

It quickly becomes apparent just how many adjustments you can make and how many elements you can modify, from the tuning of your car to the number of driving assists you can have turned on.

These driving assists are what really set the game apart, as they enable complete beginners to get into the game while also letting the pros flick everything into the 'off' position and get on with business.

There's an F1 team trailer's worth of content packed into this game, with whole seasons to tackle, separate championships, special challenges that require you to complete objectives around various tracks, and fun trophies to unlock.

You'd be hard-pushed to find a game for the PS Vita right now that contains this much content. If you want to see everything, you'll have to play for dozens of hours.

It's also great to play, with a real sense of velocity whenever you approach corners at breakneck speeds, and responsive controls.

Press F1 for help

We've really enjoyed our time with F1 2011, but there are numerous niggles that you should be aware of before handing over your hard-earned cash.

The game has a horrible lack of soul, thanks to lacklustre visuals and mediocre sound effects.

Whenever the voice-over guy announces, "Well done, you've won the race," you can almost imagine the voice actor yawning.

It's also rather difficult to actually find an online game, and when you do the connection drops frequently, essentially cancelling out the entire mode.

Finally, F1 2011 barely uses the Vita's functionality. In fact, we don't remember it using anything at all - not even the touchscreen.

Still, F1 2011 will entertain F1 and racing fans. We just hope it has a little more oomph when it inevitably comes back around the track next year.