Game Preview: F1 Race Stars

Platform: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC
Developer: Codemasters
Publisher: Codemasters

One of the UK's most famous developers, Codemasters, has announced a re-imagining of Formula One racing that may appeal to a broader demographic of racing fan.

Presenting as a cross between Mario Kart and a Formula One racing game, F1 Race Stars could be one of the smash hits of the Christmas gaming season when it launches in November 2012. Simply put, all the drivers, cars and tracks of the real F1 season will be crammed into this game, but as the video shows there will be big twists in the track layouts, such as vertical hairpins, massive jumps, the list goes on.

In the accompanying video, drivers Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel have been transformed into personality-packed heroes while the Formula One circuits are converted into over-the-top tracks that will allow gamers to reach ridiculous speeds.

Targeting a November 2012 release for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC, F1 Race Stars is now in production at Codemasters Racing Studios in Birmingham, UK, which should make for a compelling game because it is the home of the BAFTA award-winning series of Official Formula One games.

The game is being created under exclusive worldwide agreement with Formula One World Championship Limited, so F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone has probably pocketed a few million bucks already!

But the end result is all the drivers and tracks will add authenticity to the, erm, gravity-defying driving. Like Mario Kart, this is an arcade racer full of power-ups and crazy action, so if you really hate Vettel and want to smash him off the track with no time or damage penalties, you can!

Comically animated imaging of F1 drivers should make for fun racing and it will interesting to see if Codemasters uses the real drivers' voices, or parodies of them. Either way rusted-on F1 fans can expect to have a laugh at some stereotypes.

Real F1 tracks such as Monaco, Silverstone and the new Circuit of Americas in Austin, Texas, have been recreated with a number of fantasy elements, which are designed to make the racing more appealing to a wider range of gamers.

Friends and family can race/destroy each other too, as F1 Race Stars has a 4-player split-screen racing setup, and there is also a 12-player online multiplayer mode for competition against complete strangers. Bring on the trash talking!

Single player modes haven't been forgotten either and will include an "extensive" career mode featuring a number of championships, which sounds like a lark.

Chris Gray, Senior Producer of F1 Race Stars said a fantasy F1 game is something Codemasters has been wanting to do for a long time, and now it's become a reality.

“It’s the game we’ve wanted to create for a long time and, building on our strong relationship with Formula One Management Limited, we’re now able to bring Codemasters’ long-standing expertise in track design and AI to create a Formula One racing experience quite unlike any other.

“We’re really excited to bring the whole cast of Formula One into a fun new world of racing. We’ve really let our Art and Design teams off the leash to bring F1 stars’ personalities alive in a new way and create a game where racing fans of all ages can jump into all-action solo, split-screen and online multiplayer races.”