Formula One 2009

Overview

F1 2009 was originally announced as PC/ PS3/ Xbox 360 title, due for release in 2009. In April, Codemasters changed their plans, and delayed that title until mid-2010, opting to base it instead on the 2010 season. In its place, they announced a Wii and PSP F1 2009 release, still due out in the Autumn (Fall). The decision was made to allow more time to develop the next-gen version which Codemasters felt required more time than previously planned in order to get it right.
 
On the 11th of December 2009, an iPhone version of the game was announced by Codemasters, and it is currently listed as coming soon.

Despite moving the game to less powerful hardware, Codemasters maintained the release is a "full-featured comprehensive racer". To that end, the EGO physics engine, which was touted as a premier feature of the originally intended Next-Gen version, is retained as the physics core of F1 2009. The game has been called an "authentic recreation" of the sport, but the developers stress that they wish to make an accessible F1 racing game. To this end, there are 15 Driver Aids that players can enable or disable depending on their skill level and confidence.

All 20 Cars (See below) are rendered in the game using input from the Teams who construct them. Additionally, new features of Formula One since its last game ( F1 06/ Championship Edition), based on the 2006 season, such as the Singapore night race and KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery System) powered Boost are included, along with expected and existing features such as full weather systems, damage modelling and Race Strategy are implemented fully in the game.
 
Oddly, the KERS powered Boost is available on every car, despite the fact that only four teams ever had working systems (Ferrari, McLaren, Renault and BMW).

Commentary does not come via the TV Commentary teams as in the past, but instead via drivers' race engineers. Whilst the use of Pit-to-Car Radio is not unheard of, TV Commentary has been in all major F1 Releases over the past decade or so, making its sole use a change in style - reflective of the developers' desire to mimic the experience of the race driver over the weekend.

Modes include a standard season play-through as well as smaller, more manageable modes including challenges (Such as standard checkpoint or eliminator races) and scenarios -

which allow players to take the wheel in certain situations and try and mimic or alter reality - for example, recreating Lewis Hamilton's final lap in Brazil 2008 or taking the wheel of Timo Glock and denying him the chance to win his title. Additionally, the game features a Career Mode which has proved popular amongst F1 fans in recent releases (As well as being a staple of Codemasters racing games in recent times, albeit in slightly more extensive forms than here), this one allowing players to guide their own driver from the back of the grid to the front over the course of three seasons.
 
The iPhone version features two modes, Time Trial and Endurance. The former is an attempt to set the fastest possible single lap and the latter is a 6, 9 or 12 lap Run in which players attempt to set the fastest average lap time.

The game has local multiplayer on both PSP and Wii, with 2-Player split-screen on the Wii and 4-Player Ad-hoc on the PSP. The iPhone version features Leaderboards over the Agon Social Network.
 

The Wii Version ships with a Steering Wheel Shell for the Wii Remote (Which is common for racing games on Wii). This wheel is designed to resemble a Formula One Steering Wheel, and hence is shaped and detailed accordingly. 
 
 
 
 

The Teams and Drivers

McLaren Mercedes

• Lewis Hamilton (Car Number 1)
• Heikki Kovalainen (Car Number 2)

Ferrari

• Felipe Massa (Car Number 3)
• Kimi Räikkönen (Car Number 4)

BMW Sauber

• Robert Kubica (Car Number 5)
• Nick Heidfeld (Car Number 6)

Renault

• Fernando Alonso (Car Number 7)
• Neson Piquet Jr. (Car Number 8)

Toyota

• Jarno Trulli (Car Number 9)
• Timo Glock (Car Number 10)

Toro Rosso

• Sebastien Bourdais (Car Number 11)
• Sebastien Buemi (Car Number 12)

Red Bull Racing

• Mark Webber (Car Number 14)
• Sebastian Vettel (Car Number 15)

Williams

• Nico Rosberg (Car Number 16)
• Kazuki Nakajima (Car Number 17)

Force India

• Adrian Sutil (Car Number 20)
• Giancarlo Fisichella (Car Number 21)

Brawn GP

• Jenson Button (Car Number 22)
• Rubens Barrichello (Car Number 23)

The 2009 Racing Circuits

1. Australian Grand Prix - Melbourne
2. Malaysian Grand Prix - Kuala Lumpur
3. Chinese Grand Prix - Shanghai
4. Bahrain Grand Prix - Sakhir
   
5. Spanish Grand Prix - Catalunya
6. Monaco Grand Prix - Monte Carlo
7. Turkish Grand Prix - Istanbul
8. British Grand Prix - Silverstone
9. German Grand Prix - Nürburgring
10. Hungarian Grand Prix - Budapest
11. European Grand Prix - Valencia
12. Belgian Grand Prix - Spa-Francorchamps
13. Italian Grand Prix - Monza
14. Singapore Grand Prix - Singapore
15. Japanese Grand Prix - Suzuka
    
16. Brazilian Grand Prix - São Paulo
17. Abu Dhabi Grand Prix - Yas Marina