Get ready to experience Formula One cars, teams and circuits with F1 Race Stars from Codemasters Racing. F1 Race Stars is a fast-to-the-fun arcade racing game for all ages featuring the official Formula One cars, teams and circuits as they've never been seen before. Drivers including Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel have been transformed into personality-packed heroes bursting with charm and character and stunning Formula One locations have become exhilarating racing theme parks designed for speed and wheel-to-wheel competition...

Formula 1 Race Stars is a cute driving game that is easy to pick up and play. There are four main modes (Career; Play (quick races); Play Online; and Time Trial) and eight Race Modes (Race; Elimination; Pole Position; Sector Snatch; Refuel; Slalom; Exhibition; and Trophy Chase).

The races are fairly straightforward, it's simply a case of driving over power ups (which give you random abilities including things to throw on the track to inconvenience other drivers and boosts) and ensuring you finish the race in pole position. And should your car get too damaged make a quick pit stop to repair everything.

The race tracks, which take you all over the world, are based on a combination of real F1 tracks along with a little fairground artistic licence. For example, one track is very similar to that of a roller coaster, while others see you performing loop the loops and ridiculously long jumps.

And there are other additions like the fact that each Formula One team has its own special ability; by driving behind other cars you can benefit from slipstreaming to increase your speed; certain corners allow you to charge up your car and then release the energy for a quick speed boost; and there are locked shortcuts that you can unlock should you find a giant key.

Also, which I thought was a neat addition, you can import your Xbox Live avatar into the game so that at the start of the race your character is sitting behind the wheel. Obviously, as you wear a crash helmet during racing, once the race starts you can't see your driver's features, but it's still a nice added touch.

While it's never going to set the world on fire, F1 Race Stars is an enjoyable family party racing game that will bring you hours of fun.

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Nick Smithson