Grand Prix Simulator
Grand Prix Simulator | |
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Grand Prix Simulator box art
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Developer(s) | Codemasters |
Publisher(s) | Codemasters |
Designer(s) | The Oliver Twins |
Artist(s) | Mervin James |
Composer(s) | David Whittaker |
Platforms | Amstrad CPC Atari 8-bit Commodore 64 ZX Spectrum |
Release date(s) | Amstrad CPC[1]
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Genre(s) | Racing |
Mode(s) | Single player 2 players |
Grand Prix Simulator is a racing game developed by The Oliver Twins and published by Codemasters for the ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64 and Atari 8-bit computer systems. The ZX Spectrum conversion was done by Serge Dosang.[3][4][5] A sequel, Grand Prix Simulator II, was released in 1988 for the same platforms.[6]
Gameplay
The game is designed so that the player is looking down on the track from an overhead view, similar to arcade games such as Badlands or Super Off Road. The player controls a car on the track, while the computer controls the other. Each race is three laps around the track. If the player wins a race, they progress to the next track. The game is over when the player loses a race or disqualifies himself/herself by crashing.
Points are earned for winning a race and extra points are given for picking up bonus items that appear on the track. Oil spots can also appear on the track that, if driven over, cause the player's car to spin, losing time.
The game can also be played competitively by two players.
Voice output
The game was notable at the time for its use of sound samples on limited 8-bit hardware. The game counts "Three...two...one...go!" to start the race, announces the player's status after winning, losing, or crashing, and says "Game over!" to end the game[citation needed]. Other games of the era that produce sampled voice output include Super Robin Hood, Ghost Hunters and RoboCop.
Critical reception
Reception | ||||||||||
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Grand Prix Simulator was rated an average of 19/20 in Amstrad User magazine,[8] 7 out of 10 by Your Sinclair[9] and, across all platforms, sold over a quarter of a million copies.[10]
Trivia
In 1988 Codemasters sued Alternative Software because its title Formula Grand Prix showed a very similar gameplay and even cover (featuring a red car number 27). Ironically, not long ago Codemasters itself had been sued by Activision for intellectual property violation relating to Super Sprint.[11]
References
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Grand Prix Simulator on World of Spectrum
- ↑ Grand Prix Simulator on www.lemon64.com
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Grand Prix Simulator II on OliverTwins.com
- ↑ http://www.ysrnry.co.uk/articles/grandprixsimulator.htm
- ↑ Amstrad User review
- ↑ Your Sinclair review
- ↑ Grand Prix Simulator on OliverTwins.com
- ↑ Retro Gamer issue 82, pages 20-21
External links
- Pages using vgrelease with named parameters
- Articles with unsourced statements from December 2009
- Articles using Video game reviews template in single platform mode
- 1987 video games
- Amstrad CPC games
- Atari 8-bit family games
- Codemasters games
- Commodore 64 games
- Formula One video games
- Video games developed in the United Kingdom
- ZX Spectrum games