An average kart game.
The game is okay and that's its biggest problem. It's just okay.
Aside from the F1 license (and lets be serious here - who in North America really knows who any of these drivers are?), there's nothing here to distinguish it from any of the other kart racers out there.
There are 28 drivers with 3 of them being female. I have no idea who any of these people are and maybe if Codemasters had secured a NASCAR license, I (and a good chunk of the USA) might have been more interested in the drivers (and the game).
There is one funny bit with the drivers, in that the driver named Josh Merit sometimes says "Oh yeah" and he sort of sounds like the late great Randy "Macho Man" Savage of the WWF when he says it. It made me smile.
The game looks okay. The graphics are serviceable and that's about it. I did notice a few minor pixelation problems a couple times but there were minor and did not affect gameplay.
The game runs smooth, both offline and online.
In career mode there are 30 separate events and you have to do well enough to unlock them as you go.
There's three classes, 1000cc, 2000cc and 3000cc.
The regular edition of the game comes with 11 tracks. Some editions come with an extra track and you can download that for $4.99. Seems lame that all versions didn't come with 12 tracks by default.
There are 8 race types, including race, elimination, pole position, sector snatch, refuel, slalom, exhibition and trophy chase. You can play the modes offline or online.
To their credit, Codemasters gives you a manual with the game. It's a small thing but given how cheap has EA has got with it's manuals, its nice to see.
The things that sort of separate the game from other kart racing is that you can slipstream, your kart takes damage and you can hit a pit stop and some of the curves on some of the maps having your basically racing sideways on the screen. Pretty minor stuff.
Given the lack of interest in F1 in North America and the lack of anything special in game play, I can't really see this game doing well and I imagine it'll be in your local discount bin soon. I paid $20.00 for the game and that feels about right.
It's not as fun as a game like Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing or Blur which is the adult version of Mario Kart in my opinion.
If you're super hard up for a kart racing game, you can give it a try, its not horrible but that's not much of a recommendation.