F1 2009 PSP
Every now and then a game comes along that you can’t wait to play. For me that game is F1 2009 for PSP. It is the first official Formula 1 game since 2007, when Studio Liverpool released its interpretation of the sport.
November 19 was the day I was finally able to get back to playing with my favorite F1 drivers on some of the best tracks in the world. But was it worth the wait?
Presentation
The menus are very basic. You will first need to enter your name, country, and other relevant information that will represent you in online games and (more importantly) in career mode. The main menu shows a car in the background and the options you have. You can play a quick race, grand prix weekend, world championship, race, ad-hoc or challenges. Once you have selected a car in any of the modes, the background car will change to your selected team. This is a nice touch that can help a lot in the overall presentation. Before each race you will see parts of the track, similar to the official television coverage. The graphics of the game are very decent. The cars look good and the tracks are built to the finest detail. Although I have to admit that some tracks look a bit flat. The first real problem arises when you start a race. Frames take a considerable hit at the start of races and when many cars are close together. You won’t notice this in practice or qualifying, but it will compromise your racing experience. The sound is also decent. I like that the engine sounds better than previous PSP F1 titles. But the KERS activation sound is really fake and annoying. As is the music of the main menu.
how to play
The most important thing in a racing title is that it drives well. F1 2009 fails in this department. All the cars spin like crazy; a short touch of the directional buttons will be enough to take even the slowest corners. This is problematic because it makes small fixes really difficult. We also don’t like the inclusion of KERS (button boost for 7 seconds per lap) on every car in the game. In real life only Ferrari and Mclaren have used it and it’s not realistic to see it on all 2009 F1 competitors. After a few hours of driving we got used to the steering which was excellent. But then came the AI. Computer cars tend to hit you from behind. They are too aggressive. But other than that, we have few complaints about computer cars. They can hit the wall and make mistakes, just like a real person. I was also surprised to see a Brawn car behind me crashing at the first corner of the German GP.
Now I must mention your career, as this will be where you will spend most of your time. An agent contacts you by email and keeps you informed of F1 events and tests you have with other teams. At first you can try out for BMW and Toro Rosso, if you don’t get a seat you will get a place in the Force India team. So you will drive the Grand Prix no matter what; you cannot be a test driver. We appreciate this as most people only care about racing, but it’s just another layer of depth lost in F1 2009. Two other complaints we have about career mode is that emails feel very static. They try to make it more realistic by saying things like: ‘Ferrari feels there is no competition for the 2009 championship’, but overall it doesn’t feel human. The other and final problem we have with the race is the fact that it only lasts 3 seasons. When you’re done with your run, two more exciting modes await. First is the challenge mode where you try to overcome small challenges like overtaking Hamilton or overtaking as many cars as you can. It works fine on a portable system but doesn’t excite an F1 fan like me. However, Ad-hoc excites me. You can drive an entire season with a friend or anyone around the world. This is a lot of fun, but unfortunately I haven’t been able to test it yet.
Compared to the past
It’s hard not to compare this game to the last F1 game on the PSP system, which was F1 06. First, the graphics and sounds are slightly better in F1 2009, but that’s not considered an achievement since the game came out three years ago. after. F1 2009 looks more dynamic when it comes to AI pace and penalties. Causing a collision can cause you to go through or stop and go. This is very beautiful and very realistic. Also the pace of the AI is praiseworthy. We found that the teams were faster in the curtain GP than in others. Ferrari was driving in midfield in China but was very competitive in Monaco. This is something we have never seen in an F1 game before, ever! Timing is also improved in this game. Now your lap times will be compared to the fastest time as in real life. In F1 06 the times were compared to your personal best. However, F1 2006 beats this game when it comes to feedback (F1 2009 doesn’t have any) and gameplay.
conclusion
F1 2009 for PSP has huge potential. We love the little details like the penalty system and the way the game handles time differences. The graphics are really nice and it’s great to finally be able to play with the latest cars and drivers. But the severe frame drops dull the gaming experience, and the handling isn’t even close to what an F1 car should drive.
7/10