New Star Grand Prix - reviving the days of 2D racing games!
Written: Jul 07 '09
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Great 2D racing action, surprising amount of depth...
Cons: ... really, not many.
The Bottom Line: To those who don't feel that 2D racing games should be a thing of the past, New Star Grand Prix is a very good game indeed.
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| captaind's Full Review: New Star Grand Prix for Windows |
If you have fond memories of Super Sprint - or in fact any 2D racing game - then New Star Grand Prix is definitely a game to interest you. At its heart is a simple but supremely playable racing game with extra bits thrown on to make it a more interesting gaming experience.
The heart of the game is the Formula One World Championship, comprised of 17 authentic race tracks from across the globe. At the start of the game you choose your team and which driver you're going to replace - naturally the team you select will have a bearing on how well your car will perform. It also affects the expectations of your performance - so if you get a top ten finish for a lowly team your boss and the fans will be happy, but anything other than a win may disappoint if you're in a top team. The team and driver names are one their real-life equivalents with one or two letters changed. At the end of a season you will be offered a car from various teams for the next, with different performance stats - after the first season the game will not necessarily reflect what's happening in the real racing world.
There are four difficulty levels; Easy doesn't offer much challenge, Normal keeps you on your toes, Hard is just what it says and Very Hard... well, I may be able to master it... someday!
The graphics are relatively simple but are stylishly done - in fact the whole game from race interface and game menus to aesthetics have a simple elegance about them. There is also a nice level of attention to detail which isn't necessarily obvious immediately, such as the visible slipstream behind your car. The engine noises sound okay, they can get a bit monotonous but then they can in any racing game. The effect of several cars revving up at the same time is pretty realistic, and the music is very good.
The races do require a certain amount of strategy despite the simple control system. Pit-stop strategy, overtaking techniques and weather conditions all play a role in the game and however good a driver you are otherwise, if you ignore these aspects your success will be very limited - even in Easy mode to a certain extent. You may also find that skipping every practice session may be a bad idea (although once you've done a season and are thoroughly used to the way the car handles, you probably won't need to practice, at least not every track). The car physics are pretty good, though again they veer towards ease of playability rather than realism.
It's not all about the driving however - you also have to keep your boss, friends, pit crew and fans happy. There are various ways of doing this, and obviously your performances on the track have a lot to do with it. Race wins or good positions will make your boss and fans happy. Going to the casino with pit crew or friends cheers them up. Conversely, damaging your car tends to upset the pit crew, while lousy performances will upset your fans - and probably your boss, too. Apart from the little star ratings for your boss, fans, pit crew and friends, there might be other benefits that come up later in the game because of having good ratings - for example you can get advertising contracts worth a lot of money if the fans like you. Money can be used to buy fancy cars or properties.
All in all there's a surprising amount of depth to New Star Grand Prix, which ably backs up the instantly accessible game play. There's a certain amount of retro feeling to this game - which to me is a good thing - it harks back to the days where a game could keep you playing for months without you having had to read a detailed manual or play a lengthy tutorial first. There's a track editor with the game too. Oh, and as if that's not enough, there are online leaderboards as well - just in case you feel that your times can challenge the best in the world. Sadly I don't think mine would get close... Mods and tracks are already being (and have been) developed for NSGP, so the game's possibilities will continue to expand. With that in mind and considering how good the game is already, I'm rating it 9/10. At just $9.99 / £7.49 / 7.99 euros, this game represents superb value for money.
To get your trial version or buy the game, visit http://www.newstargames.com/nsgp.html
To see what's going on in the official NSGP forum, visit http://www.newstarsoccer.com/newstarforum/forumdisplay.php?f=97
System specs aren't high for this game though I'm not quite sure exactly what specs you need to run it - try the demo, if it works okay then the full game will be fine.
Also by New Star Games: New Star Soccer 4 - live the life of a professional footballer! This one veers more towards realism and is thus a pretty tough game.
Other Racing Games (PC):
Colin McRae Rally 2 - sim mode wasn't for me, arcade mode was a blast
Williams Team Driver - good effort, kart racing was fun, the more powerful cars were just frustrating to drive
LEGO Racers 2 - good fun and actually pretty challenging
Sega Touring Car - very dated but has an undeniable retro appeal
Cars - PIXAR's cartoon is turned into a rather good game, actually
Motor Racer 3: Gold Edition - very varied and enjoyable motorbike racing game
NASCAR Racing 3 - if you need help sleeping, this game could help...
For Other Systems:
Gran Tourismo (Playstation 1) - amazing at the time but hasn't aged well
Mario-Kart Super Circuit (Game Boy Advance) - still loads of fun
Recommended:
Yes
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