Grand Prix Simulator

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 family. The ZX Spectrum conversion was done by Serge Dosang.[4][5][6] The game was endorsed by Ayrton Senna's 1986 Formula One teammate Johnny Dumfries.[7]

Grand Prix Simulator
Box art
Developer(s)Codemasters
Publisher(s)Codemasters
Designer(s)The Oliver Twins
Artist(s)Mervin James
Composer(s)David Whittaker, Allister Brimble (Amiga)[1]
Platform(s)Amstrad CPC, Atari 8-bit, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum
ReleaseAmstrad CPC[2]
Commodore 64[3]
Genre(s)Racing
Mode(s)Single-player, 2 players

A sequel, Grand Prix Simulator II, was released in 1988 for the same platforms.[8]

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 one 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 crashes.

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.

Reception

Grand Prix Simulator was rated an average of 19/20 in Amstrad User magazine,[10] 7 out of 10 by Your Sinclair[11] and, across all platforms, sold over a quarter of a million copies.[12]

Legacy

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.[13]

References
  1. Allister Brimble - Portfolio
  2. "Release Information for Amstrad CPC".
  3. "Release Information for Commodore 64".
  4. "Grand Prix Simulator - World of Spectrum". www.worldofspectrum.org. Retrieved 11 December 2017.
  5. Grand Prix Simulator on www.lemon64.com
  6. Dillon, Tong (October 1987). "GrandPrix Simulator review". Sinclair User (67): 86–87.
  7. "Spectrum version cover art". meulie.net. Retrieved 11 December 2017.
  8. Grand Prix Simulator II Archived 2010-01-13 at the Wayback Machine on OliverTwins.com
  9. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-06-16. Retrieved 2015-04-24.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  10. "Amstrad User review". olivertwins.com. Retrieved 11 December 2017.
  11. "Your Sinclair review". worldofspectrum.org. Retrieved 11 December 2017.
  12. Grand Prix Simulator Archived 2010-01-13 at the Wayback Machine on OliverTwins.com
  13. Retro Gamer issue 82, pages 20-21
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