F1 Grand Prix

Even if you loved the Schumacher years, when Ferrari's prancing stallion ruled the racetrack, it has to be said that 2005 has seen F1 Grand Prix racing reborn. Out go the boring parades with Michael driving off into the distance, never to be challenged until Barrichello is forced to let him through again after a pitstop somehow goes wrong.

Instead, in comes the battling Finn Kimi Raikkonen, trying to fight his way back into contention after his Mercedes engine decides to let go again, while Mr cool & consistent Fernando Alonso pins down another podium placing. Add in Juan Pablo Montoya, crashing and spinning out at all the wrong moments, and Jenson Button, revving the flag for the UK, and - crazy FIA rule changes apart - you have something that's almost back to essential viewing for anyone interested in cars or sport.

But if real-life F1 is exciting again, the same can't be said for F1 games. The problem too often seems to be getting the right balance between pleasing the hardcore fans who want access to the technical aspects of the sport and those of us who just want to bounce our way around Monaco in a McLaren.

And in trying to squeeze F1 into the pick-up-and-play PSP, this has proved to be a real problem for Sony. Most crucial is the sheer lack of excitement. It's partly due to the game not being sure whether it's a precise simulation - accurate right down to the inch-perfect racing line you need to take through the corners - or a rough-and-tumble arcade blast.

For example, despite the sport priding itself on being technically superior to all others, there are only three categories of car set-up: 'aggressive', which favours speed over handling; 'balanced'; and 'defensive,' where a high top speed is sacrificed for better handling. So there's no option to alter your car's level of downforce, adjust gear ratios or pick tire compounds and, while this kind of detail isn't to everyone's taste, to not include it is a serious oversight. This over-simplification is also reflected in the cars' handling, which is far too twitchy, and means it's hard to get any feeling for your car, whatever team you choose to drive for.

These faults would be forgivable though if the game had an enormous sense of speed or the on-track action was gripping and intense. As it is, races end up as messy, collision-ridden affairs with some seriously flawed computer-controlled drivers in the other cars. They seem happy to bumble along, tripping over each other and generally paying you little attention, even when you're overtaking them for first place. Equally, in real-life, F1 cars are as fragile as your mum's fine china, but here they bounce off the scenery and each other with little effect.

To some degree, this forgiving nature makes the game easy to pick up if you're an F1 novice but really limits its long-term appeal as it doesn't stretch or challenge you to become a better driver. Matters do improve the more you play however. At the start of the World Championship season mode you're forced to start with the difficulty set to easy and when you move onto the medium and hard settings, the computer drivers start to behave more competitively. There are also sterner consequences to driving head-on into a large concrete wall.

On the positive side, the Scenario mode adds a dash of longevity with a series of quick-fire challenges that'll test your driving ability in a range of different situations. These provide an entertaining diversion to the regular races and range from finishing a lap in the fog at Monaco, to driving with broken brakes. It's the most fun part of the game and we wish there were more than the 10 examples included. You'll also get a lot more out of the game if you've got a bunch of buddies to race against. Up to eight players can go head-to-head (with or without additional computer players), to take the number of cars on track up to 20.

And keeping with the wi-fi theme, Sony also promises at the end of the season, you'll be able to download the official times from each race and see if you can beat the times of the real drivers. There'll be a bonus car to pick up as well.

But overall it's a lack of conviction that keeps F1 Grand Prix in the pits. It's not immediately captivating enough to succeed against the other arcade racers available on PSP such as Ridge Racer and neither is it sufficiently detailed or in-depth enough to satisfy motor racing fanatics who want the last word in realism, as found in TOCA Race Driver 2. All in all, it makes F1 Grand Prix a tough game to get excited about unless you're an avid Formula 1 fan, which means we'll be leaving it in the garage until next year's inevitable follow-up.