Meh – another Formula 1 game. That's long been the stock response for the series. But Codemasters have stepped up to the grid and armed with a hefty advertising campaign, this F1 game has taken a quite different course and shifted up a gear.

Just as F1 2010 is not a game for the weak hearted because of it's immense speeds, it's not for the easily frustrated because of it's unforgiving nature and incredibly strict difficulty level. Even with race assists chalked up to full with dynamic racing lines, and auto braking on, it can still be a nightmare to keep the cars on the road.

To help out with the steep learning curve that's required, the increasingly fashionable rewind feature has been added so that mistakes can be quickly and easily rectified at the touch of a button.

Players are spoiled with an abundance of gameplay modes that include race weekends and an in depth career. All 24 drivers and the 12 teams that started the 2010 season are present along with the full 19 courses that make up the seasons calendar.

The weathering system is where things get clever. Courses that are renown for having bad weather are more likely to see rain, so tracks like Spa Francochamps are constantly under threat of a downpour. When the rain comes, so does a greater challenge to keep the car under control, and because different parts of the track will be wetter than others due to trees providing shelter or troughs in the road - this is reflected in the handling. It's an extremely clever mechanic – the best weathering system I've ever seen in a racing game.

F1 geeks will be as happy as a dog with two tails as the customisation and tuning options to the vehicles is so immense it's often daunting. But fear not racing dabblers, as there's no need to begin to try and understand the difference that tire pressure or downforce makes – an engineer can sort that out automatically if you wish.

F1 2010 will no doubt be lapped up by F1 enthusiasts that have been longing for a decent and in depth Formula 1 game, but it's an all-round impressive racer that can and should be enjoyed by everybody.

SCORE: 8 / 10