Classic Racing

Copyright : Amsoft | Reviewed by : Ritchardo

Take to the saddle and ride your stable to the top of the heap. You make all the decisions by watching the strengths and weaknesses of your horses to prepare for the biggest races of the season.

The object is to amass the greatest winnings not only by winning the races but also by backing the winners. Good luck!

Graphics

Divided into two distinct sections graphically, Classic Racing consists of information screens and the racetrack.

The info screens are well designed and itâ??s easy to comprehend what you are looking at without any fuss.

The racetrack section consists of six brown, horse shaped sprites running across a field of green with little markers indicating distance along the course. Sounds terrible right? Wrong! Youâ??ve absolutely no idea how addictive watching those little sprites charge up and down can be and youâ??ll find yourself screaming at your monitor trying to will it onâ?¦ For these purposes the Classic Racing graphics are absolutely perfect. Not too complex with some neat graphical touches such as the galloping motion of the horsesâ?¦

Sound

The main sound that dominates the game is the sound of the horses galloping. Although effective itâ??s hardly earth-shattering and other than that all you get is a little tune to signify the beginning of each race. Not bad but not great either.

Gameplay

Easy to grasp, Classic Racing is an initially simple mix of strategy and gambling that doesnâ??t require any prior knowledge of the sport. Given time, however, and the game unfurls into a complex web of planning that rivals any other simulation on the platform.

The race season is divided into sixteen meetings each with six races. You must enter one of your stable of 16 horses in each race and, obviously, itâ??s in your best interests to try and win as many as you can to make as much money as possible. At the start you will have no idea as to which horse performs best at which distance so itâ??ll be a case of sticking any horse in any race and seeing how they do.

After a few meetings worth of trial and error, you should have a rough idea of which horse performs best over which distanceâ?¦ and you can then start planning so you can scoop the principal races and the big prize money they bring! Be warned though, the computer AI is very good and if you spot a strength in a particular area thereâ??s a fair chance that one or two of your rivals will have as well.

Fear not, even if youâ??re rubbish at the strategy, you can still recoup your losses from the gambling element of the game that, although really simple, is one of the most addictive Iâ??ve ever played.

Classic Racing is a very overlooked title but is an absolute gem of a game. If youâ??re a horse-racing fan: youâ??ll love it. If youâ??re not then give it a go, youâ??ll be pleasantly surprised.