REVIEW - Grand Prix 2 (PC - 1996)

Описание: #f1 #retro #game

VOTE: 9.5/10 A must have racing game!

Links:

GP2 Mods: http://grandprix2.de/

WIKI: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_P...

Original GAMESPOT review: https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/gran...

DOSBOX: https://www.dosbox.com/

DOSBox+GP2: http://www.oldgames.sk/en/game/grand-...

The game is based on the 1994 F1 season, even though the game was released two years later in 1996 no one really complained about this delay. It was a different era...
1994 season was sadly remembered because of the death of the f1 Legend Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger during the San Marino GP. It was a dramatic season with the heartbreaking battle between Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill up until the last race in Australia, with Michael taking the championship through a controversial accident with Damon.

After a short intro with some midi rock music and a slideshow of 1994 season images, we are in the first menu with two options: "Quickrace", to start a race without thinkin' about picking a driver, change setup, difficulties, etc. and "Main Menu".

One of the fanciest things of this game were the background images in the menu, I remember being so curious about them that I started to open all the possible menu section just to see them.

In the Main Manu we can choose a driver, change control method (between Keyboard or Joystick) and options. Simple and effective.

In the driver menu we can also change the driver and team names, as I did.

The graphic quality is set to maximum and there is also an option to switch between VGA and SVGA which was a revolution back then.

Let's talk about the core of every racing game. Realism. Grand Prix II performs like an arcade racer when all the driving aids are switched on, and a deadly serious simulation when switched off.
Grand Prix II contains a driving model which was, at the time of release, incredibly complex. Not only are the cars quick and nimble, but Grand Prix II was the first racing game to accurately simulate motion in all three axes. In other words, if you hit a bump at 200mph, you literally become airborne! This not only makes the cars handle more realistically, but crashes take on a whole new dimension as you twist and gyrate through the air. Moreover, sometimes your car literally splits in two if you hit a wall too strongly. Another innovative feature is car failures; during one of my races I witnessed an electronical failure which completely ruined my race, but also gave additional realism to the game.
To complement the excellent physical model, MicroProse has included a fully functioning garage and 16 painstakingly reproduced tracks. These features all add up to make Grand Prix II one of the most realistic racing simulations on the market in the 90s.

The audio engine is pretty good, even if there is no difference between v10 and v12 engine everything is quite accurate... and we are talking about an era where F1 sounded like this... GOOD OLD DAYS.

The game also featured a replay function and a save game feature. The first showed the last ~30 seconds of racing and included the ability to save replays. Sadly, it did not include an edit function. The game had multiple camera angles, with even a simulated TV coverage angle. A player can control his or her car from any of them, but the primary angle used was the first-person cockpit camera.

The game has, of course, some faults as well. First of all there is no wet weather conditions, this feature will be introduced in Grand Prix 3, and the black flag system is a bit wierd 'cause it is used just to slow down your car after a corner cuttin', nothing more. Lastly, there is no functional steering wheel, which makes the cockpit cam feel pretty static.

The game received very positive reviews after its release: in 1997 PC Gamer UK named GP2 as the seventh best PC game of all times and Next Generation named it the most sophisticated and realistic driving game ever created.

Grand Prix 2 remains one of the milestones of racing games. It was revolutionary in every aspects and it still has a huge community which helps to keep the game alive thanks to mods and tools. I remember creating my personal F1 team some years ago thanks to GP2 Edit but this is another story.

Thanks to "Giob" for the English assistance :)