Formula 1 racing involves, so we mere mortals are told, the establishing of a definite rhythm and the concentration to maintain it. Though vastly simplified, Official Formula 1 Racing somehow offers a 'lite' version of this. You do genuinely adopt techniques for each course. Although this, for most, won't encompass anal adherence to racing lines and track etiquette, the general feel of each race is very right.

It's a shame, then, that OF1R's presentational style is, to surmise with appropriate vitriol, piss-poor to an almost amateur degree. The kind of televisual aesthetic that EA go mad on in their sports games is conspicuous in its absence. Where its developers have tried to mimic F1 broadcasts, it looks oddly clumsy.

Its front-end is dismal, and each tournament race appears oddly divorced from its worldwide counterpart. Rather than evoking a "Shit! I AM AN F1 DRIVER!" reaction, it's more old-school videogame: functional, tedious and horribly divorced from the subject matter of the sport proper. This isn't, in the grand scheme of things, a big issue. It's a great game, it really is. It just hasn't got much style.

It's a shame, because its races are pretty much spot-on - far better than those of Psygnosis' flawed F1 series. Monaco is a hard, technical race; Imola is exhilarating; Brazil's GP has that one bastard of a corner. It's visually accomplished, too. Monaco in particular looks lovely, although OF1R's use of bright, almost primary colours gives it a brittle, artificial look on occasion.

Prior to Geoff Crammond's no-doubt genre-defining GP3 at the climax of this year, Official Formula 1 Racing complements - and doesn't compete with - GP Legends as an essential F1 game. Peruse and, perchance, purchase.