Why would I forsake the drifting arcade bounty of Ridge Racer 7, the high octane police chases of Need for Speed: Carbon and the off-road thrills of MotorStorm for a game like Formula One: Racing Championship? This is probably the question that many of you are asking yourselves - but don't write off F1 just yet, because it has some mightily impressive gameplay, with stunning visuals to match.

Right from the outset, F1 oozes quality, thanks to its sleek and easy to navigate menu system. Before jumping into the racing action it's worth taking the time to head to the Extras section and read through the Learning & Tips. Sure, interactive tutorials or even videos would have been nice, but you can read all about every aspect of the gameplay in here, from the effects of the many driving aids to the performance alterations you can make by tinkering with the mechanics of your racing machine.

Once you feel like you're ready to begin, you can hop into a Quick Race on any of the eighteen circuits available, choosing from twenty-two drivers and eleven of the best racing constructors in the world. If you find racing with competition a bit too crowded, or just want to work on learning the circuits and setting new time records then Time Trial is very useful - and when selecting your course in any mode where there's a choice, you can watch a video of the computer driving around it, while a voice tells you how you should handle each turn, sounding as though it's coming through on your helmet earpiece.

The remaining options are for when you have an hour or more to dedicate to your racing - Grand Prix Weekend gives you access to the full events of one weekend of racing on a single circuit, World Championship gives you a full season and Career gives you five whole seasons, where you get recruited and work your way up from a newcomer to the best F1 driver in the world. Once into a racing season, you can view the calendar of upcoming events, check your email inbox for congratulations or commiserations from your employer and view the standings for drivers and constructors, as well as your personal racing stats and progress. There's even a trophy room where you can browse the trophies you've gained! The emails are a bit samey and don't feel very personal, but still the extra effort put into the presentation of the Career is appreciated.

It's not just about the racing though; each Grand Prix event consists of one or two practice sessions that last for an hour, where you can drive around the circuit go you through the 'evolution process', tailoring the various aspects of your car's performance - fuel & tyres, downforce, suspension, camber, balance and toe in/out - to best suit your capabilities for the current circuit. Each aspect is altered for a single lap, then you get to see a breakdown of your performance for the current and previous lap, where you can choose the current settings, revert to the previous ones or try a new setting for another lap, before moving onto the next part of the process. It can be tedious to do this every time, so it's good that you can skip this process - but beyond the Easy difficulty setting, if you're going to place high then this is something that you will need to do. The difference in your car's performance that these changes make can be subtle, and sometimes it's hard to tell if they improved your race time or you were just more focused and drove a better lap, but they definitely to impact the gameplay and it's great that you're guided through making these changes, rather than having to fiddle around without really knowing what you're doing.

After the evolution is complete, you can enter the three-stage qualification races, where your lap times determine your final grid position. What's great about this is that you can leave the garage, race one lap and then return you're your time places high enough then you can advance time or end the session, safe in the knowledge that you'll make the next qualification stage without having to race for the full fifteen to thirty minutes. If you didn't do so well then you can continue, or hop back in if your position changes after the time advance, to secure your position. Again, you can skip this stage and just go to the race, but starting in the bottom position of 22nd gives you a serious disadvantage that is hard to overcome, even on the Easy setting.

When it comes to the racing itself, there are plenty of options at your disposal. You can have fuel use and tyre wear scaled, realistic or off, you can select whether you have things like a rolling start for the qualification and a parade lap and podium sequence post-race, and most importantly you can choose how many laps to race, from 3 laps right through to the full 60+ from the real-life events, if you want a real test of your racing prowess and endurance. For single Grand Prix Weekend events and Quick Race you can also switch off crash damage and penalties, and set the weather to sunny, cloudy, light rain or heavy rain. The impressive range of options across all aspects of the game makes for great flexibility, allowing you to tailor the experience to your skill level and the kind of challenge you're looking for.

Once you're out and onto the starting grid, you will be blown away by the graphics. Seriously, if this is what launch games are looking like then I can't even imagine how PS3 games will look in a couple of years' time. I don't think I've ever seen such solid, detailed, smooth and realistic scenery in a racing game - from the photo-realistic and picturesque skies to the intricately detailed and authentically crafted trackside scenery, every circuit is a joy to behold. I also defy you to spot a single glitchy object or even one instance of pop-up - you never see any objects drawing themselves in, the scaling is unbelievably smooth as you approach and pass stadiums and trees, and it all scrolls so fluidly that you'll almost believe you're racing a real car. There's a wonderfully subtle speed blur effect too, which really cements the feeling of the incredible speeds you're reaching as you power around the circuits - and nowhere is this more apparent than in the city-based circuit of Monte Carlo, the myriad buildings handled with just as much ease by the graphics engine as the sparsest tracks like Bahrain. All the major circuits are in here, from Silverstone and Indianapolis to the likes of Melbourne, Nurburgring, Montreal and Sepang, each one recreated with incredible accuracy.

The sounds are just as realistic, although given the nature of the game they mainly consist of whining F1 engines and the occasional screech of tyres, or the sound of a collision as your front tyre goes flying off. The commentary is pitched just right - you get updates of any incidents during the race, as well as a position breakdown at the start of each lap and reminders when it's time to head in for a pit stop. Speaking of which, there's a button pressing mini-game during the pit stop and if you learn the pattern you can even get your times in the pit down to a minimum.

The most important thing you need to understand about F1 though is that it's a hardcore racing simulation - there are no arcade elements here. You can't go powersliding around corners, or ram opponents without consequences, which often include you retiring from the race due to damage. F1 is all about concentration and skill, as you brake around corners and find the best racing line to accelerate out of the other side and shave those vital tenths of a second off your lap times. The gameplay is immersing, challenging and engaging, but it also requires far more effort than your Burnouts and Need for Speeds, so consequently the appeal to the casual gamer is very limited and you need to consider if you're willing to put in the effort to get the rewards, or indeed if this is your kind of game.

Despite its simulation approach, F1 does make itself as accessible to the masses as possible, with a host of driving aids, including steering and braking assistance, stability control, spin recovery, anti-lock brakes and of course automatic gears. The most useful though are the visual aids, which come in the form of the virtual racing line and the BTA markers. The racing line is a green line that shows you the best possible racing line around the entire track, which changes to red when you should be braking and yellow when you should be maintaining your speed. Following this line is incredibly helpful for learning the tracks, and unless you're a veteran of the series, attempting to race without it will make things very difficult until you're intimately familiar with each circuit.

The BTA markers are less intrusive but equally as useful, with the red B, yellow T and green A markers appearing at strategic points around each turn to indicate where you should be and when you should brake, turn and accelerate. If you doubt the usefulness of these aids then try turning them all off and watch as you veer all over the track, overshoot corners and add thirty seconds or more to your lap times. Weaning yourself off the aids will be a gradual process that you should approach by turning them off one by one, only turning off the next one when your newfound skill compensates for the absence of the previous one.

The already huge lifespan of F1 is further increased by the multiplayer modes, which offer LAN and Online options. There's already a strong following online and while logging in is a lengthier process than you might be used to on Xbox 360, once you're in there's a host of races to choose from, or you can set up your own race, again with options to choose from like whether you can collide with opponents, the number of drivers and if it's a private or open lobby. You can have a full grid of 22 racers, with 11 human players and the rest made up by computer AI at a difficulty level of your choice, as well as scaling the laps between 3 and 60. One of the best features online is that you can jump into any game while it's in play, appearing at the back of the pack and going at full throttle - this saves waiting around in a lobby when you've found a game you like the look of and is a really excellent feature. The level of challenge as always is high, so you'll have your work cut out for you to go the distance and keep up with the best gamers from around the world.

Formula One: Championship Edition is the best pure racing simulation I've ever played - F1 is to Burnout what Microsoft Flight Simulator is to Ace Combat. With unprecedented realism in terms of car performance and the translation of racing to your controller, as well as some of the most stunning graphics you've ever seen and a thrilling sense of speed, F1 will delight anyone who's ever enjoyed the series in the past, or indeed who likes to watch the Grand Prix and wonders what it would be like to drive those wonderful little powerhouses. However, while this is great for serious gamers who want a taxing, challenging and rewarding experience, casual gamers will most likely want to stick with getting down and dirty in MotorStorm or avoiding the cops and pimping their rides in Need for Speed: Carbon.

Reviewed by Geoff Holland for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).