Joining soccer, nutella, and David Hasselhoff as things Europeans love but are misunderstood in the United States, Formula One racing represents the pinnacle of the sport even if it isn’t tops in American popular culture. While it won’t necessarily convert a NASCAR-loving nation, Formula One: Championship Edition certainly does its best by translating the intensity of high speed racing into playable form. Formula One: Championship Edition revs up PlayStation 3 with gorgeous visuals and surprisingly energetic gameplay that will make a fan out of any skeptic.

Defined by the FIA as the highest class of racing, Formula One includes the fastest vehicles and most talented drivers in the world. Only 22 individuals hold the special license needed to race in Formula One events which can easily top 200 miles per hour. What’s great is how Formula One really nails this sense of speed. You’ll truly feel as though you’re hurtling down the raceway at unimaginable speeds. At such high velocities, the consequences of colliding with another vehicle are devastating; as a result, the threat of damage is incredibly high as you’re weaving through the competition. This is the drama of Formula One racing: agonizing over perfect navigation of the course while avoiding collisions with your competitors and keeping your car in peak condition. Focused more on technique than muscle and speed, Formula One is a sophisticated simulation that does justice to the sport.

Formula One includes quite the assortment of single player modes: Quick Race, Time Trial, Grand Prix Weekend, World Championship, and Career. Quick Race allows you to jump into a race immediately, while Time Trial obviously lets you post best times on each of the game’s eighteen tracks. Grand Prix Weekend goes for a little more depth than Quick Race by letting you select a Formula One event to compete in from practice laps to qualifying to a full race. Where you’ll find most of the action in Formula One is World Championship and Career modes. You can play as one of the 22 official drivers in World Championship mode, which simulates the 2006 season. If you want more depth, create an original driver in Career mode and test your mettle in five consecutive seasons.

Focusing on simulation mechanics, Formula One features a wealth of options for tuning your vehicle and customizing events. Everything from difficulty to brake assisting to length of races can be tweaked. Tune ups to your machine are handled semi-automatically. During each event weekend, you have the option of participating in evolutions that are designed to improve your vehicle’s performance for that particular circuit. The computer will have you run a test lap to run diagnostics for the chosen system and at the end of which you’re given results; it’s up to you whether you keep your current settings or change them to a pre-selected alternative. While more in-depth tuning options would cater to diehard Formula One fans, the system employed here is more accessible.

After you’ve tuned your vehicle, you can strap into the driver’s seat and begin competition. Formula One supports three racing wheels, all from Logitech: Driving Force Pro, Driving Force EX, and G25. The precision demanded of Formula One racing makes using a wheel the most ideal option, but the Sixaxis works just fine on its own. Of several configurations, almost all utilize the left analog stick over steering and only one offers motion-sensitive control. Much like Ridge Racer 7 using motion-controlled steering takes some practice, but once you get the hang of it flying down the track flicking the Sixaxis to steer your vehicle is pretty entertaining.

Beyond the single player experience, you can also join up via LAN or online for multiplayer events. You can sync up to 11 players online, but there’s surprisingly no support for split-screen multiplayer. While one-on-one speed matches certainly would have been a drag, allowing two-player competition in Grand Prix events would definitely have rounded out the multiplayer options. At least the online component of Formula One doesn’t suffer from the annoying deficiencies of previous PlayStation 3 network titles. Communication with other players is possible via chat lobbies and there aren’t a minimum number of players needed to start a race. Any spots in a multiplayer game not filled by players are relegated to the computer, which means you’ll often compete against a bunch of computer-controlled drivers. Venturing online is generally enjoyable because of the potential for intense competition; however, it’s going to take a bit of time before a community grows around the game.