Download Grand Prix Circuit

I first came across this game on C64 and I must say I was more then impressed with it! The PC version seems to be missing a little something, but it’s still a good racing game, not to mention it was top of the heap at the time it came out!

As you can guess by the name itself, the game is all about Grand Prix racing. There are three teams you can choose from: Williams, McLaren and Ferrari; and different difficulties. If you select the easiest mode, then the car will not respond realistically. You will not spin around, there will be no wheels spinning in vain and so forth. But if you select the hardest level, you’ll get a very realistic simulation of a F1 racing car.

The game is in 2D, but it is graphically well done and it puts you in the driver’s perspective. The main screen will therefore be the forward view out of the car, but you’ll have some small screens where you’ll be able to see the entire circuit, the gearbox, rotations and so on. The position of the steering wheel will be marked by a dot, so you’ll se how much it is moved from the idle position. You’ll also see the rear mirrors and hopefully opponents in them (instead of in front of you).

Pitstops are possible, but it is up to you weather you’ll need them or not (it depends how many laps you’ll choose to drive). I have to warn you though, that you won’t be able to race a real race of over one and a half hour, as the lap numbers are limited.

Collision will pose a possible threat, but again it is up to the reality level, just like with other car problems (overheated engine and such). So if you want a simple arcade style racing game, you better select the easiest possible mode.

There are several circuits to choose from (my favorite is the Silverstone circuit) and you can either run a single game all the entire season.

Off course for every race you need to qualify and that will determine you starting position.

The game is very good and at the time it came out it was among the best (if not the very best) car racing game. It combines both realism and arcade fun and it is up to you to choose which do you want).