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Grand Prix Legends

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Grand Prix Legends
North American boxart
Developer(s)Papyrus Design Group
Publisher(s)Sierra Sports
Director(s)Matt Sentell
Designer(s)Randy Cassidy
David Kaemmer
Brian C. Mahony
Matt Sentell
Richard Yasi
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows
Release
Genre(s)Racing simulation
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Grand Prix Legends is a computer racing simulator developed by Papyrus Design Group and published in 1998 by Sierra On-Line under the Sierra Sports banner. It is inspired by the 1967 Grand Prix season;[2] teams included are Brabham, BRM, Eagle, Ferrari and Lotus. Two fictional teams called "Murasama" and "Coventry" replaced the other big names. The Japanese team possibly because of copyright claims. Whilst it is rumoured the other fictional team was included due to a misunderstanding.

Gameplay

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Replay mode (cockpit view)

The game offers several modes in which the player can race alone or against AI opponents. The game also features multiplayer via LAN. Many parameters affecting the skill and aggressiveness of the AI drivers can be specified.

Development

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The game was in development for three years[3] with a team of 25 to 30 people.[4] Inspired by the 1966 film Grand Prix, the developers chose to base the game on the 1967 Formula 1 Grand Prix season because during that period tracks were narrow and lined with trees, houses, and other elements that in a video game can serve as backgrounds to enhance the sensation of speed.[2] In addition, the more primitive suspension of cars of the time meant that the car physics could be more visually dramatic.[2]

However, the amount of time that has passed since the 1967 Grand Prix season meant that some of the tracks the designers wanted to recreate no longer existed in their original form. The team visited town halls to get blueprints for defunct tracks.[2] Papyrus co-founder Dave Kaemmer commented that the licensing for the game was difficult, but they had people who helped them during the development.[2]

Reception

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Critical reception

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The game received "favorable" reviews according to the review aggregation website GameRankings.[5] GameSpot said that Grand Prix Legends has the most intense racing experience ever seen on a personal computer.[12] Next Generation highly praised the graphics, gameplay, the recreation of 1967 Grand Prix season (in addition to its cars and tracks of its era), artificial intelligence and realistic driving model physics.[14] The magazine ranked it at #47 in its list of the Fifty Best Games of All Time.[18]

Sales

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The game was a commercial failure;[19][20] Andy Mahood of PC Gamer US described its sales as "abysmally poor".[19] In 2003, writer Mark H. Walker reported that "the game sold only a few thousand copies" in the United States, which he attributed to the general unpopularity of Formula One racing in the country. He noted that its "steep learning curve kept many fans away" in European markets.[20] GameSpot's Gord Goble attributed its performance to the "combination of treacherous gameplay, sometimes glacial frame rates, and esoteric subject matter". It ultimately totaled 200,000 sales by 2004.[21]

Awards

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The game was the runner-up for Computer Gaming World's 1998 "Best Driving" award, and for GameSpot's 1998 "Driving Game of the Year" award, both of which ultimately went to Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit.[22][23] The staff of the former commented that Grand Prix Legends was the most ambitious and realistic driving simulation game of 1998, and the toughest to play.[22]

The game won Computer Games Strategy Plus' 1998 "Sports Game of the Year" award. The staff wrote that a few racing games could come close to Grand Prix Racing's level of sophistication and uncompromising detail.[24] It also won the Best Racing Game award at the 1998 CNET Gamecenter Awards.[25]

Errors

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Some errors in physics or graphics were found during the years in earlier versions:

  • The Imola track skyline is wrong and redundant (North and South show same background).

Legacy

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References

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  1. ^ Gentry, Perry (October 6, 1998). "What's in Stores This Week". Gamecenter. CNET. Archived from the original on August 17, 2000. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d e "NG Alphas: Grand Prix Legends". Next Generation. No. 29. Imagine Media. May 1997. pp. 66–69.
  3. ^ "Grand Prix Legends Interview". The Sports Gaming Network. October 25, 1998. Archived from the original on May 23, 2022. Retrieved September 3, 2023.
  4. ^ "Circuit Breaker". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. September 26, 1998. p. 206. Retrieved September 3, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ a b "Grand Prix Legends for PC". GameRankings. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on June 2, 2019. Retrieved December 25, 2020.
  6. ^ Mahood, Andy (October 29, 1998). "Grand Prix Legends". Gamecenter. CNET. Archived from the original on August 16, 2000. Retrieved April 18, 2021.
  7. ^ Bauman, Steve (October 28, 1998). "Grand Prix Legends". Computer Games Strategy Plus. Strategy Plus, Inc. Archived from the original on May 23, 2003. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
  8. ^ Goble, Gord (January 1999). "Blast From the Past (Grand Prix Legends Review)" (PDF). Computer Gaming World. No. 174. Ziff Davis. pp. 340–41. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 27, 2023. Retrieved September 3, 2023.
  9. ^ Edge staff (November 1998). "Grand Prix Legends" (PDF). Edge. No. 64. Future Publishing. pp. 82–83. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 7, 2023. Retrieved September 3, 2023.
  10. ^ Morris, Daniel (1999). "Grand Prix Legends Review for PC on GamePro.com". GamePro. IDG Entertainment. Archived from the original on June 23, 2004. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
  11. ^ Cooke, Mark (December 1998). "Grand Prix Legends Review". GameRevolution. CraveOnline. Archived from the original on October 12, 2015. Retrieved September 3, 2023.
  12. ^ a b Poole, Stephen (December 17, 1998). "Grand Prix Legends Review [date mislabeled as "May 1, 2000"]". GameSpot. Fandom. Archived from the original on December 5, 2004. Retrieved September 3, 2023.
  13. ^ lightman (October 21, 1998). "Test: Grand Prix Legends". Jeuxvideo.com (in French). Webedia. Archived from the original on February 25, 2020. Retrieved September 3, 2023.
  14. ^ a b "Grand Prix Legends". Next Generation. No. 49. Imagine Media. January 1999. p. 100. Retrieved December 25, 2020.
  15. ^ Klett, Steve (January 1999). "Grand Prix Legends". PC Accelerator. No. 5. Imagine Media. p. 90. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
  16. ^ McDonald, T. Liam (January 1999). "Grand Prix Legends". PC Gamer. Vol. 6, no. 1. Imagine Media. Archived from the original on December 22, 1999. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
  17. ^ Hill, Steve (November 1998). "Grand Prix Legends". PC Zone. No. 69. Dennis Publishing. pp. 104–5. Retrieved December 25, 2020.
  18. ^ "The Fifty Best Games of All Time (#47)". Next Generation. No. 50. Imagine Media. February 1999. p. 73. Retrieved December 25, 2020.
  19. ^ a b Mahood, Andy (December 2000). "Staying Ahead of the Game". PC Gamer. Vol. 7, no. 12. Imagine Media. Archived from the original on August 27, 2003.
  20. ^ a b Walker, Mark H. (June 25, 2003). Games That Sell!. Wordware Publishing. p. 194. ISBN 155622950X.
  21. ^ Goble, Gord (July 24, 2004). "History of Papyrus Racing Games [date mislabeled as "June 8, 2005"] (Page 6: A Daring Move)". GameSpot. Fandom. Archived from the original on August 5, 2004. Retrieved December 25, 2020.
  22. ^ a b CGW staff (April 1999). "Computer Gaming World's 1999 Premier Awards (Best Driving)" (PDF). Computer Gaming World. No. 177. Ziff Davis. p. 100. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 1, 2023. Retrieved September 3, 2023.
  23. ^ GameSpot staff (1999). "The Best & Worst of 1998 (Driving Game of the Year - Nominees)". GameSpot. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on October 1, 2000. Retrieved August 28, 2021.
  24. ^ CGSP staff (February 11, 1999). "The Best of 1998 (Best Sports Game)". Computer Games Strategy Plus. Strategy Plus, Inc. Archived from the original on February 9, 2005. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
  25. ^ Gamecenter staff (January 29, 1999). "The CNET Gamecenter.com Awards for 1998! (Racing Winner)". Gamecenter. CNET. Archived from the original on February 10, 2001. Retrieved August 28, 2021.
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