Formula One Championship Edition is definitely not a racing game for everyone. If you have absolutely no interest in the sport, it'll be difficult, although not impossible, to really get in to. The game offers a weird mix of simulation elements which at first, don't seem to fully cater to the audience they are targeting. The game leans heavily on the simulation side of things, but by default, many of the simulation elements are optionally not enabled. F1 racing is extremely technical and Championship Edition does a great job in conveying that fact once you spend some time with it and learn the ins and outs of the sport.

Out of the box and regardless of the mode you play in, Formula One Championship Edition definitely holds your hand; almost to a fault. Without adjusting any game options, Championship Edition practically plays itself. Meaning, when actually racing, the CPU plays a hand in helping you control your car (much like a real F1 car actually). By default, the game has all sorts of driving aids or "assists" setup, such as steering, breaking, spin, crash, acceleration, racing line etc. Basically, all you need to do is point you racer in the right direction, hold down the accelerator the entire time, and let the CPU navigator do the rest. Thankfully, the game offers an plethora of options for adjusting or turning off these assists, but that's not apparent until you actually play the game and begin a race. Only then can you more fully appreciate the technical aspect of the sport.

While you can jump right into Formula One Championship Edition and choose a driver, vehicle and course, the deep Race Weekend and Career modes are what the game has been created around. After creating a driver and joining a team, you're off to practicing, qualifying, tuning, adjusting race strategies, and communicating with your team, among other things. Without a doubt, you can be expected to spend nearly as much time in these menus and qualifying rounds as in an actual race. Besides the racing itself, Formula One is not what you'd call fast-paced. For those who have no interest in this type of racing, or at least don't have the patience or willingness to learn about it, it's a hard one to get in to. It does click eventually, but it takes a little while for any sort of payoff. And even then, besides winning races, seasons and trophies, there's not much to really do - it's no Ridge Racer.

Now when it comes to actually racing with a full grid of 22 cars, Formula One Championship Edition definitely shows off the goods. Once you know the tracks to an extent, the races can be intense, white-knuckled experiences. Studio Liverpool (also known for the futuristic Wipeout hover-racer series) did an awesome job in graphically conveying the sport. While it's only running at 30fps, the perfect motion blur and realistic lighting really highlight the game's intense sense of speed. When you're cranking around the course at 200+ MPH, it's often a beautiful, if sterile, sight to behold in HD. The vehicles themselves looks near photorealstic with tons of detail both inside and out, and the real-life locations and environments look spot on. The game also throws around some eye-popping rain and sunlight effects, although outside that, don't expect too many bells and whistles beyond what you would find in your typical real-world F1 location. The wide variety of playable camera positions also really show off how nice Championship Edition can look.

Sounds? Well, as you may expect, there's next to no music to be found within the game. Forget about listening to thumping techno beats or acid rock while you race, 'cause there isn't any. On the other hand, as many fans of the genre would be happy to point out, the intense screaming sound of the powerful engines flying by and tires ripping at the asphalt, are more than music enough.

Probably the most exciting aspect of Forumla One is the ability to race online with up to 10 other human racers and 11 A.I. opponents, for a full grid of 22. The online racing action is very smooth and Sony worked in a number of nice features, such as XMB Friends List integration, stat tracking, leaderboards and chat. Unfortunately, there is no voice chat included for whatever particular reason.

Formula One Championship Edition is tricky to recommend to either the casual racing fan or those who may have no interest in Formula One at all. There's a bit of a high learning curve to get over in order to find much enjoyment or excitement in the game, although fans of the genre or sport in particular will likely not mind at all. One small detail that will probably not please F1 fans is the fact that the game is based on the 2006 season, so teams, standings and drivers are not accurate. Overall, Formula One Championship Edition is certainly a nice first attempt at a next-gen F1 game (especially visually), and if it goes over well in its home territory, I expect it won't be the last.