Grand Prix Simulator 2

Copyright : Codemasters | Reviewed by : Ritchardo

BRILLIANTLY REALISTIC! 3 can play simultaneously! POWERSLIDE round hairpins -CAREFUL! Don?t spin it! SMASH your mate into a TREE but don?t damage your own car! C?mon - hurry up! PUT THE PEDAL TO THE METAL!!!

So screamed the blurb on the back of the cover anyway. Is it that good? Of course not, no Codies game ever lived up to their own hype! Is it a good game though? Read on and find out!

Graphics

After the visuals of the first Grand Prix Simulator, you?d be forgiven for writing off any prospect of the follow-up having decent graphics. Forgiven, but wrong. Switching to the more detailed Mode 1 graphics, this sequel looks like a proper driving game as opposed to the cheap Super Sprint knock-off of its predecessor.

The cars themselves have moved from being coloured blocks with the odd white pixel on them here and there to being fully shaped formula one style cars and although they are still minute, thanks to the overhead view, the game is all the more better for it.

Some nice graphical touches are included such as the garage door closing on your car when you?re knocked out of the competition and as ever with the Oliver Twins, the loading screen is deserving of merit.

The whole game feels much more polished than the first instalment and lessons have clearly been learnt from similar Codemasters output like the BMX Simulator series and incorporated into this game.

Sound

A strong Neal Adamson composition accompanies the menu and the, by now, familiar digitised speech of the Codemasters games is present and of a high standard compared with earlier games. The sound effects are consistent and thanks to differing acceleration sounds and realistic screeches, are amongst the best on the CPC for overhead driving games.

Gameplay

Unusually for a game of this type, your focus is on beating the clock and making enough time on each track to take over on to the next course rather than your opponents, something which improves the longevity of the one player game.

The nine racetracks in Grand Prix Simulator 2 are well designed and are tough without the player ever feeling they?re impossible. Don?t get me wrong, finishing all nine is going to be a real challenge and will require you to have the race of your life but at no point do you feel as if you?re fighting a losing battle. The difficulty of the tracks (or rather the time limit) raises subtlety on each race and the impact of having a bad run on the second race might not sink in until you reach track five (for example).

The control system still takes a little getting used to but the traction is also an improvement on the first game - you no longer feel as if you?re gliding on ice but make no mistake, you?re not going to be able to master this game without practice. With no brakes, the game is all about careful timing and knowing when to squeeze the accelerator and when to let go.

A neat touch to the game is that the more your car gets banged up, the slower it moves around the course, of vital importance in any racing game but particularly one that needs the player to beat the clock.

Up to three players can take part simultaneously with two on keys and one on the joystick.

A definite improvement on Grand Prix Simulator, the game is still perfectly playable today and has stood the test of time well.