Now Michael Schumacher can tear around hairpin bends, scream along straights and slip his shoes into the grooves he's worn into the winner's podium - even when he's sitting in the pits. For the first time, those sleek F1 speedmobiles race officially to the Game Boy Advance, and in a game fast enough to turn your hair white. For such a tiny representation of its sport, F1 2002 isn't short on features. Take your pick from 11 teams and 22 drivers, and 17 official tracks ranging from Indianapolis to Silverstone - then dive into a big pot of options that include downforce strength, brake efficiency and how much weighty fuel to lug around the circuit with you. Pre-race maps - crisp, clear, official - fill you in on the gears and km/h required on each bend, and authentic muddy patches of burnt rubber give away the racing line. But this is no absent-minded Sunday drive. As in any F1 game worth its salt, if you attempt to race with your finger glued to the A Button, you'll watch helpless as your dream machine spins off every corner as though caught in a hurricane. Instead, copious use of the brake is required - and there aren't many more satisfying pocket racing moments than finally nailing every corner in one lap, dipping your speed perfectly to tear around each corner without kissing tyre wall. On long straights like the delicious start/finish run at Barcelona, sliding up to seventh gear and watching as F1 2002 cranks up the screen speed to a slick 316kph is truly thrilling. In fact, it all looks superb. The cleverly-constructed pseudo-3D cars are barely noticeable as lacking the third dimension, especially when you're nudging through a pack of ten vehicles on a track just wide enough for two. Accurate scenery - the hilltop splendour of Monaco, the picturesque parkland of Melbourne - is complemented by remarkably accurate sounds, the echoing whines and drones of those state-of-the-art engines as perfectly replicated as the spine-shuddering scratch of spinning rubber on gravel when you twist off the track. The first official F1 game for Game Boy Advance is also one of the finest handheld racers yet - official.
This description was provided by the publisher.
