Burton's Bytes

ONLY last month I was criticising Electronic Arts for not using the latest teams/drivers data in its latest F1 title. At the time, I didn't realise that EA couldn't have used Alonso et al even if it wanted to.

Sony, it seems, has snatched the F1 licence away from EA, giving its studios exclusive rights to the latest stats until 2008. As coups go, this is a pretty big one. After all, F1 is probably the biggest sporting franchise outside the World Cup and it happens every year, not every four.

Sony reckoned, quite correctly, that any console with exclusive access to the latest cars, drivers and team changes had to be in pole position when petrol heads decided which games machine to take home this Christmas.

But there's more to making a great game than a great licence. Just ask the guys who tried to re-create the infamous Carmageddon series on PlayStation and N64. Thankfully, Sony's guys have a good track record with Formula One.

Arguably, the original Psygnosis F1 title helped establish the PlayStation's advantage against the Sega Saturn.

While the Sega machine offered a F1 title of sorts, the Sony game was the only one with real machines, real drivers, authentic commentary (provided by the peerless Murray Walker) and terrific graphics (hey, this was seven years ago remember).

The sequel (F1 97) was even better - being lauded as the best console-based recreation of the sport ever created. It was so good, in fact, that newcomer Jacques Villeneuve used the game to hone his skills around tracks like Spa, in Belgium, before that year's season began.

Now Sony is back and its take on Formula One is better than ever. It's so good that I can't believe that I actually drooled so much over the original F1 on PlayStation all those years ago. But that was 1996 and this is 2003.

Gamers these days expect more from their machinery than blocky graphics and a stuttery frame rate that moves with all the pace of a Minardi on a full tank of fuel.

Thankfully F1 2003 delivers in style.

Straight away, you can opt for a choice of single or two-player mode, going for just the one race or tackling a full season. That's OK for newbies but veterans of the track will page past the arcade mode and head straight for the full-on race weekend experience. This way, you can experience the build up to the main events; Friday practice and Saturday qualifying, plus the warm-up to hone your strategy, before the full-on race itself. Drivers who don't have a whole two hours (and endless patience to practice) can shorten their race by up to two-thirds.

You can also customise the difficulty level. At the game's most intense, you have to keep an eye out for yellow or blue waved flags, keep tabs on fuel and brake balance and hope that the engine screaming behind your ears holds together long enough to get you to the finishing line. Easy it ain't.

Sony's boys have done their homework throughout the grid. Cars now perform according to the formbook, something previous F1 games ignored (meaning it was just as possible to win races in a Minardi as a Ferrari). If you join a lower order team you can expect to struggle to score points in your maiden season.

The circuits are all accurately modelled and Monaco is as dizzying as ever. Niki Lauda once said racing at Monaco was like "riding a bicycle around your living room". After playing F1 2003 I know what he meant.

The buildings, the Armco barriers and the ridiculously thin ribbon of tarmac make it almost impossible for a novice to avoid an accident. No wonder F1 drivers get paid as much as they do.

There's a choice of viewpoints, including the ubiquitous cockpit view complete with rear view mirrors (earlier incarnations ditched them as the PlayStation didn't have the horsepower to animate cars approaching from behind) and the frame-rate moves smoothly.

Martin Brundle provides much of the commentary and the artificial intelligence of your fellow competitors is of a high standard. Don't go ramming Montoya off at the first corner or next time he'll want to repay the favour.

F1 games are ten-a-penny these days but the really good ones are rare indeed. If you're a fan and a PS2 owner, this year's edition fully justifies a place in your collection.

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