Artist(s) Mervin James Initial release date 1987 Developer Codemasters Genre Racing video game | Composer(s) David Whittaker Designer Oliver Twins Publisher Codemasters | |
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Mode(s) Single player
2 players Platforms Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, Atari 8-bit family Similar Codemasters games, Racing video games | ||
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. A sequel, Grand Prix Simulator II, was released in 1988 for the same platforms. The Spectrum version was endorsed by Ayrton Senna's teammate Johnny Dumfries.
Contents
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. Other games of the era that produce sampled voice output include Super Robin Hood, Ghost Hunters and RoboCop.
Critical reception
Grand Prix Simulator was rated an average of 19/20 in Amstrad User magazine, 7 out of 10 by Your Sinclair and, across all platforms, sold over a quarter of a million copies.
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.