Grand Prix Legends Game For Mac
If you're after something slightly different, Grand Prix Legends could be just the game to break the monotony. Set in the 1967 season, with the full roster of classic drivers and many now defunct circuits, GPL does a very good job of convincingly simulating the raw danger of racing on what are hardly more than big engines with wheels. Grand Prix Legends Preservation Society. Want to say something to them? Got something you feel they should be aware of? Want to know what they're about? Well, you're just a post away!:D. 19 topics; 327 replies.
- It's easy to confuse Formula One racing simulations because they look and play in a similar fashion. There's UbiSoft's Monaco Grand Prix 2, Psygnosis' Formula 1, EA Sports' F1 2000, Sierra's Grand Prix Legends, Eidos' F1 World Grand Prix and then also EA's F1 Championship 2000.
- Apply the Grand Prix Legends v1.2.01 ENGLISH Update. Extract the GPL12UK.EXE Patch from the archive to the game directory. Execute the Patch to remove the CD-Check from: SIERRAGPLGPL.EXE; Play the Game!
Open-wheel mayhem.. the pavement flying scant inches beneath the bottom of your seat. V12 engines screaming for mercy at 11,000 RPM's. Grand Prix Legends takes you back to the earliest days of Grand Prix racing. Days when drivers had to carve their path to victory without the benefits of computerized suspension, fuel-injection monitors and anti-lock braking systems. Come with me on a cruise down memory lane to a time when it was just man vs. machine, no corporate sponsors and no 5 point racing harnesses to hold you back.
The boys at Papyrus went to the wall with this title. Firstly, I must confess I am a bit of a classic racing freak, so I appreciated the opportunity to dig into this long delayed product from the Sierra-Motorsports division. GPL takes you back to 1967 in, what I feel, could be the racing sim game of the year. The researchers at Papyrus seemed to have left few stones unturned in gathering infinite amounts of data to bring this title to life. True physics and track-detail all swiftly drag you into a game that, for the racing enthusiast, brings it all home. Initially promised for first quarter '98, Grand Prix Legends is a title I feel was worth the wait.
Grand Prix Legends Download
Graphics: 18/20
If you looked up 'unbelievable' in ye-old-dictionary it would have to say `see Grand-Prix Legends'. Sporting an all new 3D engine from Papyrus, the textures, shading and detail levels achieved in GPL will set a benchmark for future racing sims. Needless to say 3DFX is both supported and utilized fully. Everything from the spinning wheels to the bouncing suspension has been animated almost to perfection. A fully functional and interactive 3D dashboard gives you all the information available for your car as you blaze your way down the track through tight corners and fast straightaways. Smoking your tires around the corners, skid markings recorded to perfection (allowing you to repeat your more spectacular crashes to a frame) the detail included is just .. well . just staggering. The smooth textures of both car and track are so well done that I can safely say I have yet to see a game of this graphical quality to date.
With all that said though I could not give this game a 20/20 for 2 nagging (and blatantly nagging at that) shortcomings which really baffle me. Firstly: what where they thinking putting 2 dimensional spectators into a game of such unsurpassed realism? A seriously big faux-pas. Maybe I was just not supposed to be driving slow enough to notice. But with the number of crashes I perpetrated I got plenty of close-ups of the 2D inanimate spectators; a painful reminder of gaming history. Secondly: Will someone please tell game developers that dirt does get chewed up by spinning tires. A fact very few, if any, seem able to acknowledge.
A great video options menu allows you to tone down the display options for those of you without FX (or for those who don't meet the P166 / 32MB ram min. requirements) but I wouldn't recommend it. Do yourself a favor and get an FX card to enjoy this game. Direct X 6 is also required and must be installed before playing the game.
Sound: 12/15
Intense engine samples are really effective in this game as your selected beastie winds out its 12-cylinders to the threshold of 12,000 RPMs. Once again attention to detail keep the sound response glued to your throttle level allowing you maximum control over your vehicle. Once again for those trying to beat the system using an under powered PC you can turn down the sounds of approaching vehicles but that's kind of like taking the whistle away from a speeding freight-train isn't it?
Gameplay: 29/30
Before you play Grand Prix Legends for the first time, promise yourself you will not turn it off for at least 15 minutes. Because that is what it takes to actually make it around the track for the first time as you adjust your '90s driving habits to the wild physics of a 1960's racer. GPL is more of an actual simulator than a game. The unbelievable amount of detail in the physics model coupled with a rather ominous page of mechanical adjustments and car settings give you a virtual endless number of possible racing configurations. Trust me, get to know your setup info because you are going to need to adjust it well to beat the pros. Driver configurations include name, country, helmet colour, car chases. The chases selections are from one of the 7 teams from the 1967 racing year each with it's own unique horsepower, weight and torque configurations. All the actual tracks from the `67 racing season are drawn out in painstaking detail, taking you back to what the actual racers had to navigate. You can plan any one of the 11 tracks as a single race or as part of your championship season with a range of 6 difficulty and damage settings to make each race a little tougher or easier as you adjust. The keyword here is 'simulation'. If you want an arcade 'racer' Grand Prix Legends is not it (almost to a fault) but if you want a feel for what Grand Prix is all about don't pass it up.
Fun Factor: 14/20
I have to be realistic and say that this game isn't so much fun as it is challenging. I spent hours just learning to keep the car on the track and adjusting my settings for each race. The most entertaining part of the game was just the pure enjoyment of such great graphics, oh ya and the brutal detail displayed as my car disintegrated after coming out on the losing end of an argument with a stubborn barrier.
Multiplayer: 3/5
Internet capable multi for a killer racing sim like this was just icing on the cake. Unfortunately only IPX and serial (ie. modem) is supported, but it works fine over most of your Internet IPX gaming services. I don't know how much fun multiplayer will be because you never get to see your opponent until you are both unbelievably good and can stay with the pack, but still the ability to chase your best friend at grand prix speeds over the net is a welcome addition to the game.
Overall Impression: 10/10
Best multiplayer games on mac. Top notch, well done, pat on the back etc. The marriage of detail, fact, history and Papyrus' incredible new racing engine make a perfect package in this game. I can't stress this enough, Grand Prix Legends isn't an arcade type of game that you load up to spin around a few laps. The intense attention to detail and super physics engine provide you with the perfect tool for experiencing racing history. Without a doubt Grand Prix Legends gets my vote for `Racing-Simulation' of the year.
People who downloaded Grand Prix Legends have also downloaded:
Grand Prix 4, Grand Prix 3, Grand Prix 2, Le Mans 24 Hours, IndyCar Series, NASCAR Racing 2003 Season, Grand Prix World, Formula One Grand Prix
Grand Prix Legends Game For Mac 10
| Grand Prix Legends | |
|---|---|
| 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 computerracing simulator developed by Papyrus Design Group and published in 1998 by Sierra On-Line under the Sierra Sports banner. It simulates the 1967 Grand Prix season.[2]
Gameplay[edit]
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[edit]
Grand Prix Legends Forum
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] Licensing could also be difficult. Papyrus co-founder Dave Kaemmer commented, 'It's not a pleasant thing to call someone on the phone and say that you want to license their dead son's name, but people have been very helpful.'[2]
Reception[edit]
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According to Andy Mahood of PC Gamer US, Grand Prix Legends experienced 'abysmally poor sales'.[15] It ultimately totaled 200,000 sales by 2004. GameSpot's Gord Goble attributed its performance to the 'combination of treacherous gameplay, sometimes glacial frame rates, and esoteric subject matter'.[16]
The game received 'favorable' reviews according to the review aggregation website GameRankings.[3]GameSpot said, 'Grand Prix Legends will reward you with arguably the most intense racing experience ever seen on a personal computer.'[9]
Grand Prix Legends was the runner-up for Computer Gaming World's 1998 'Best Driving' award, which ultimately went to Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit. The editors wrote of Grand Prix Legends, 'Arguably the most ambitious and realistic driving simulation to date—modeling the thrills and difficulties of Grand Prix racing circa 1967—it is also perhaps the toughest to play. It's an awesome game for those who can handle it.'[17]
Grand Prix Legends won Computer Games Strategy Plus's 1998 'Sports Game of the Year' award. The editors wrote, 'Racing games are always popular, and there are a lot of them, but few if any approach Grand Prix Racing's level of sophistication and uncompromising detail.'[18]
Legacy[edit]
References[edit]
- ^Gentry, Perry (October 6, 1998). 'What's in Stores This Week'. CNET Gamecenter. Archived from the original on August 17, 2000. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
- ^ abcde'NG Alphas: Grand Prix Legends'. Next Generation. No. 29. Imagine Media. May 1997. pp. 66–69.
- ^ ab'Grand Prix Legends for PC'. GameRankings. CBS Interactive. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
- ^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.
- ^Goble, Gord (January 1999). 'Blast From the Past (Grand Prix Legends Review)'(PDF). Computer Gaming World. No. 174. Ziff Davis. pp. 340–41. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
- ^Edge staff (November 1998). 'Grand Prix Legends'. Edge. No. 64. Future plc.
- ^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.
- ^Cooke, Mark (December 1998). 'Grand Prix Legends Review'. Game Revolution. CraveOnline. Archived from the original on October 12, 2015. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
- ^ abPoole, Stephen (December 17, 1998). 'Grand Prix Legends Review [date mislabeled as 'May 1, 2000']'. GameSpot. CBS Interactive.
- ^L'avis de lightman (October 21, 1998). 'Test: Grand Prix Legends'. Jeuxvideo.com (in French). Webedia. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
- ^'Finals'. Next Generation. No. 49. Imagine Media. January 1999. p. 100.
- ^'Grand Prix Legends'. PC Gamer UK. Future plc. 1999.
- ^McDonald, T. Liam (January 1999). 'Grand Prix Legends'. PC Gamer. Vol. 6 no. 1. Future US. Archived from the original on December 22, 1999. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
- ^'PC Review: Grand Prix Legends'. PC Zone. Future plc. 1999.
- ^Mahood, Andy (December 2000). 'Staying Ahead of the Game'. PC Gamer. Vol. 7 no. 12. Future US. Archived from the original on August 27, 2003.
- ^Goble, Gord (July 24, 2004). 'History of Papyrus Racing Games'. GameSpot. Archived from the original on August 3, 2004.
- ^CGW staff (April 1999). 'Computer Gaming World's 1999 Premier Awards (Best Driving)'(PDF). Computer Gaming World. No. 177. Ziff Davis. p. 100. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
- ^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.
External links[edit]
- Grand Prix Legends at MobyGames