F1 2012 - "the quest for perfection continues"

No-one does national pride like the Americans. We think we're committed by turning up in torrential rain to watch an elderly lady float by in a barge. The Americans on the other hand proclaim their national pride in every available medium, from pitching the stars and stripes up on their front lawn to covering their pick-up truck with jingoistic slogans. No state is more proud than Texas, and now it has something else to be proud of.

The Austin circuit, a new stop on the F1 calendar this year, is brilliant. Having turned a few laps on it, it's gloriously flowing, allowing you to quickly slot into its rhythm. Then it's about finding the optimum angle and speed to use while scything from apex to apex. Those oft-referenced sequences, inspired by some of the greatest corners in the world, are immediately identifiable.

On every lap you'll sweep around a mirror image of Istanbul's neck-knobbling Turn 8 and swing Tarzan-style through the circuit's homage to Silverstone's Maggots-Becketts-Chapel complex. It has dramatic moments to call its own as well, of course - not least the towering incline on the way to a near-90 first corner.

With all these fantastic curves on the menu, it's pleasing to discover that F1 2011's inherent oversteer in high-speed corners has essentially disappeared. Simulations tend to be sprawling machines made of interconnecting systems, and often fixing one fundamental element sorts out a whole raft of others.

In this case, the suspension has been overhauled, allowing you to attack corners far more confidently - particularly the high-speed sweepers that would have chewed you up and spat you out in last year's game. In practice and qualifying it's also possible to get your DRS open earlier or keep it open during shallower-angled corners, which allows you to juice even quicker times out of your chosen circuit and car.

And if you're still struggling, this is probably the most helpful and accessible F1 game yet. For a start, you can rely on the Young Driver Test mode to ease you into the various techniques required to hustle an F1 car.

The first day is mandatory and is a swift, five-minute introduction to the basic techniques. The second, optional day deals with more advanced techniques, including optimum KERS and DRS use, and completing it will increase the chances of offers from top teams later in your career. In addition, Sky F1 expert Anthony Davidson, who has advised on the series since Codies took the helm, provides corner by corner guides to every single circuit.

While not as immediately spectacular as last year, the headline features this season aim to make F1 2012 a more inviting experience. For beginners that means learning what that pebbledash of buttons on the steering wheel does. For veterans, it's the ability to push the car even further. Either way, Codemasters Birmingham's quest for F1 perfection continues apace.