F1 2015 is two things and two things only: a driving game and a sports sim.
It offers little else, but as a realistic portrayal of the world's most popular racing car championship it delivers a compelling experience.
Just as EA Sports spits out its annual FIFA football extravaganza, Codemasters does the same with Formula One, and perhaps rather surprisingly, does almost as good a job as the reigning juggernauts of sports game simulations.
The driving itself, the thing you will spend the great majority of your time doing, is certainly thrilling, and depending on your level selection not too difficult to master. I began racing a championship series as world champion Lewis Hamilton on Easy, but had soon moved on to Medium, and was racing on the Hard level within five Grand Prix's.
You can choose the number of laps you'd like to race, and how long you want to practice and qualify for each event. My usual choice was 'short weekend', where 14 laps are raced, and believe me that's long enough. But if you're a serious racer and have plenty of time on your hands, you can race a full GP, which would take you a couple of hours at least.
Each track offers its own particular challenges. For example the one in Kuala Lumpur is a fast, open circuit where a high top speed is essential, while the one in Bahrain is raced under lights at night, and is a far tighter and twisty affair.
You'll race the same tracks over and over again, so an in-built memory of each corner and straight will eventually come to you, and when you have the 'track inside your head', then the fine art of driving it on the edge of your ability becomes the true joy of the game.
Your team manager will constantly talk to you while driving, giving tips on weather conditions, when to pit, how far in front or behind another driver you are, and perhaps most importantly, how fast you are going in relation to the wear on your tyres and available petrol in the tank.
Apart from the driving itself, pit-stops and setting up your car are the keys to success. Choosing the right type of tyre to match the weather conditions you encounter is incredibly important, as is deciding when to take that crucial pit-stop to change your tyres; but make sure you learn exactly where the pit-stop is. During the Chinese Grand Prix I forgot where the entrance was and went down a road to nowhere instead, eventually slamming into a concrete wall.
The act of actually passing another car can be a scientific business as well, where patience is usually required. Unlike driving games like Driveclub or Grand Turismo, you can't simply tear past another vehicle willy-nilly whilst cutting a corner. Overtaking in F1 must follow the strict rules of the sport, and any corner cutting results in disastrous time penalties.
Hitting another car is also a big no-no, but you can turn on and off vehicle damage if slamming into the back of a competitor is a common occurrence for you.
When you do everything right, have a bit of luck and eventually win a GP on a reasonable difficulty level, the satisfaction can be immense. Any spot you win on the podium feels earned, and the realistic champagne spray and celebration finishes off any GP in style.
All in all, F1 has fast become my favourite driving game on a new-gen console. It's a far more satisfying experience than the disappointing Need for Speed Rivals or the woefully over-hyped Driveclub.
The graphics of F1 are well up to the mark, but it's the game-play and simulated experience of being a top level F1 driver that really sells it.
Four stars.
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F1 2015 :: Publisher: Namco Bandai:: Developer: Codemasters:: Format: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC:: Rating: G