Jenson Button Grand Prix Racer

The will he/won't he story of Jenson Button has been going on for so long that he's in danger of being lumped with Tim Henman in the nation's sporting esteem. While we love the plucky underdog in Henman, though, it's harder to feel the same kind of empathy for a man who lives in Monaco, earns countless millions of pounds and is involved in what is the most glamorous sport on the planet.

Granted, Henman's not short of a few quid either, and playing tennis for a living is hardly a life of hard graft. Still, that baby-faced innocence and plucky determined air that he brings with him to Wimbledon every year means it's hard to not like the guy.

Button has to work harder to earn our affection, and this, his officially-licensed mobile phone racing game, had to impress.

And, by and large, it does.

It's not a spectacular outing for Button (something which we're used to) but it is solid and gets the job done.

Viewed from behind Button's car – you're not allowed to call it a Formula 1 car as there's no FIA license – you embark on a series of races to climb up from the Class 3 championship to Class 1, the pinnacle.

Each class pits you against five other racers, every one of whom is equally determined to seek promotion, and it's up to you to accrue more points than them through the series of races. It's an old crutch on which to lean a racing game but a sturdy one, and it adds longevity that otherwise would have been missing.

It's not the only old standby, either; the looks are more Jackie Stewart than Jenson Button and they fail to really push the envelope. Gamers on Orange with high-end handsets will be better catered for as there's a deluxe version exclusively available to them with improved graphics, but you'll need something along the lines of a Nokia N90 to run it.

But for all the antiquated looks (and sounds), Jenson Button Grand Prix Racer is, underneath, a determined racer. While there might only be five other cars on track at any time, they really are other drivers circulating around the track rather than the nameless clones that so often appear in racing games.

The action is close and the tracks varied in nature, so much so that you'll soon be stuck in and aiming for the podium. A decent sense of speed is conveyed by the simplistic visuals, and the controls also give the impression you're doing a decent lick down Hangar Straight rather merely than pootling along the high street.

The usual fiddly problem of acceleration and braking using mobile phone controls is also cunningly taken care of. Acceleration is automatic until you press '8' or down on your thumbpad, at which point the brakes are deployed. However, rather than cutting all acceleration, you hold down the brake button until your car's speed drops to a suitable speed and then lift off – you car will keep on doing that speed all the way around the corner.

In fact, it'll carry on at that reduced speed until you press the accelerator again, which makes a nice compromise between realism and simplicity.

Granted, this ability to maintain a steady speed through a series of tight corners before accelerating out at the end is the only touch of near-realism; there's no option to set up your car differently and the change in weather conditions makes little or no appreciable difference on the track.

But maybe, like the man the game's named after, we're expecting a bit too much of Jenson Button Grand Prix Racer this season. After all, anyone who's even got a passing interest in Formula 1 knows that unless you've got the right machinery, the championship is out of reach.

Until that day arrives, we'll continue to get behind Button and give him the home crowd support he deserves, both on the track and on our phones.

Jenson Button Grand Prix Racer

Tight racing and excellent car controls see Button challenging for the podium
Score