Crash


Grand Prix

Author: Mark Caswell
Publisher: D&H Games
Machine: Spectrum 48K

 
Published in Crash #87

Grand Prix

Well, you've become the manager of a football team, tried your hand at cricket, so why not get into Formula One racing and become the manager of a Grand Prix Team? Why not indeed!

If you've played any of D&H's managerial games you'll know the basic format this game uses. Once loaded, there are many option screens where you set up your game. You can alter things like driver's name, sponsors and tyres. Each decision you make affects your racing in a different way.

After the option screens you finally get the chance to race (using the term in its loosest sense). The 'full graphical simulation' the inlay boasts is just one screen crammed with simple graphics. This screen includes a grandstand, the pits and the main track. You just sit and watch while the race takes place, a car shooting by every few seconds. All the action takes place off-screen; the only way you know what's going on is from the messages that appear at the bottom of the screen.

Grand Prix

Fans of managerial games will probably find Grand Prix a refreshing change from the usual boring football. But the game's written in BASIC, and shows it, and the £9.99 price tag is a bit steep.

NICK ... 35%

Mark ... 30%

'This reams-of-text style of presentation is okay when applied to a football manger game but in a racing game it just doesn't capture the excitement of the fastest sport on four wheels. If the management aspect was backed up with a playable action sequence it would have been much better. In Grand Prix all you can do is choose from a list of options and watch the 'action'. The graphics are poor: a few crudely drawn car sprites whizzing on one side of the screen and off the other isn't at all rewarding. On a budget label, Grand Prix may be value for money, but at a tenner it certainly isn't.'

Mark CaswellNick Roberts

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