
Formula 1 Simulator, Amstrad CPC, Mastertronic - IA0058
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6/10
Summary
For a budget racer, Formula 1 Simulator is not bad, but it could have been better – it wouldn’t have hurt Mastertronic to put in a loading screen! For fans of racing games, it’s worth playing once if only to see if there’s anything better than Outrun (this IS better than CPC Outrun) but not something to play regularly. It does play well, but the sounds will be driving you crazy (pun intended).
User Review
( votes)Formula 1 Simulator? Wait, a simulator that ISN’T by Codemasters? In all honesty, when this game came out in 1985, Codemasters founders Richard and David Darling were working as freelancers for Mastertronic and they wouldn’t be slapping Simulator on every other game for at least another year.
I remember receiving this in a bundle of budget titles from a family friend back in 1986 (or 87) and it was one I played a lot (when I was allowed to use the computer), although I had to play it with the volume down as it would annoy my mother. It amazed me in later years to learn that over the various formats it was released on, it sold just over half a million copies.
The game was coded by Ed Hickman who also ported the very popular motorcycle racing game Speed King to the Amstrad besides Chiller (originally by the aforementioned Darling brothers) and David Jones’ Magic Knight games (although not the final game Stormbringer).
Let’s Cut To The Chase
When loading, Formula 1 Simulator doesn’t have a loading screen and once loaded, it doesn’t even have a title screen, it takes you straight to the track selection screen. You can select to race on one of ten real tracks, no doubt not licensed, 1985 being the days before you’d get sued enough money to pay for a races prize money.
You can select to race on Silverstone, Brands Hatch (both in the UK), Monaco, Hockenheim, Osterreichring, Kyalami, Zolder, Paul Ricard, Monza, and Zandvoort.
Pole Position Rip-Off Simulator
This game borrows ideas from Namco’s Pole Position – before each race, you have to qualify in a single lap, which is useful in a way as it helps to familiarise you with the track. Then after you qualify, you then begin the race proper, which never seems to end.
Never The Same Race Twice
After you select your track, you are told what the weather is going to be like – if it’s dry or wet, besides from the graphics, I’ve never noticed any changes in the quality of driving.
The graphics in Formula 1 Simulator are done in the MODE 1 – medium resolution mode – the different weather is highlighted by how bright the graphics are – very bright for dry weather, dark-ish for wet weather.
You race around a bare track with simple cars for the opposition – none of the tracks have any backgrounds or showcase any landmarks – I feel this lets the CPC version down as even the Commodore 16 version had backdrops! Your car is represented by the front of a typical F1 racing car of the time, with a steering wheel moving left and right as required and you do get cars appearing in your rear view mirrors, which is a nice touch. However, when your car goes on the grass, it shows how the front of the car (although not the wheels) are block sprites as the grass doesn’t fill in to the edge of the car.
Not Very Accurate To Formula 1
It is very easy for a game to end – if you so much as touch the grass, you are told you’ve crashed your car and it’s game over. Not like F1 at all where you are allowed to touch the grass.
After you select your track and the weather conditions are given to you at random, you can choose between manual or automatic gears. However, besides having to change the gears manually, it practically plays the same with forward to accelerate and down to slow down, with fire to change gears.
The game controls well once you get the hang of it, but you’ll still need to watch out for the grass. You also get a decent sense of speed (unlike a certain huge name full price racer that came out two years later).
Sound
The sounds are designed to replicate an F1 car’s engine plus tyres on the road and for the most part, it does it rather well, but when a race lasts a long time, it’ll be driving you batty. There is also a nice crash/explosion sound, which you will also be hearing regularly.
Music plays during the track selection screen and it’s terrible.
Final Words
For a budget title, Formula 1 Simulator isn’t bad, it got me into racing games. The track selection and random weather is a nice touch. Back then I didn’t have much in the way of racing games, so I would play it a lot. If you’re a fan of racing games, it’s worth a try, but these days with access to the entire CPC library, there are better racers.
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