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SUPER SPRINT (ST)
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Publisher: Atari.
Developer: Atari. Released: 1987. Genre: Racing. Other versions: SPC; C64; CPC; NES. Posted 17th May 2023. By Tom Clare © 2023 |
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Super Sprint would receive ports across three competing 8-bit home computers, though Atari would retain exclusivity of the sole 16-bit version for their ST platform. It might seem a little silly branding a game from this relatively early period of gaming ‘old-fashioned’, but as Outrun was lighting up arcades with its prodigiously fast, into-the-screen checkpoint racing and Test Drive had taken the first, tentative steps on the road towards driving simulations, Atari’s top-down racer stuck closely to what had gone before. It’s a formula that had worked for them throughout the seventies and eighties and whilst SS would never look like pulling up trees, it made for a fun outing.
Each of Super Sprint’s four ports plays a little differently, but as the ST instalment is the only one representative of the arcade original, this is the one I’ll be looking at. Races are simple affairs that pit four cars in a mad dash around small, kart-like circuits. These tracks gradually become more elaborate and hazardous as you progress with underpasses, figures-of-eight and timed gates being added to the mix, though races typically last around a minute.
The ST version sticks closely to the arcade original, though the lack of a 3D effect makes banking awkward to judge
Winning races and collecting gold wrenches gives the player a chance to upgrade their vehicle. Whilst everything is kept streamlined and simple, SS captures the exciting immediacy of the arcade game, thanks to some colourful, busy attract screens and pitlane-themed menus that lend it the feel of a coin-op.
The racing itself is good. Nothing special, and nothing especially new, but solid entertainment nevertheless. Whilst the handling can be a little sticky, the cars are agile and fun to drive, and it’s deceptively challenging. With a bit of practice, winning races is achievable, though stringing victories to maintain your scoring streak may prove illusive due to the metronomic performance of the AI (there’s usually one very fast competitor per race) and the punishment that tends to ensue from small misjudgments. Fortunately, failing to win does not result in a Game Over scenario. Instead, whilst players will have to build their score again from scratch, the game always moves on to the next course, allowing everyone the chance to sample its range of challenges.
The racing itself is good. Nothing special, and nothing especially new, but solid entertainment nevertheless. Whilst the handling can be a little sticky, the cars are agile and fun to drive, and it’s deceptively challenging. With a bit of practice, winning races is achievable, though stringing victories to maintain your scoring streak may prove illusive due to the metronomic performance of the AI (there’s usually one very fast competitor per race) and the punishment that tends to ensue from small misjudgments. Fortunately, failing to win does not result in a Game Over scenario. Instead, whilst players will have to build their score again from scratch, the game always moves on to the next course, allowing everyone the chance to sample its range of challenges.
FOCAL POINT: 8-BIT SUPER SPRINT 101
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Super Sprint (1987, ZX Spectrum | Commodore 64)
As alluded to earlier in the review, the three 8-bit iterations of Super Sprint are all a little different. The Commodore 64 version comes off worst, weighed down by an ugly, washed-out appearance and notably terrible collision physics that seem to respond to hits by instantaneously pointing your car in a random direction. As is perhaps to be expected, the ZX Spectrum port looks the least like the arcade version, but sports reasonable handling. However, it lacks the coin-op style presentation of the other versions and is let down by some awful, droning sound effects. The Amstrad CPC version is quite nice though, enjoying slightly more convincing visuals and some decent handling. It’s good, though you will have to put up with a rather cramped keyboard configuration that’s seemingly the result of the game trying to accommodate multiple players.
Presentation-wise, it’s more tidy than spectacular. The courses are pleasantly laid-out, though tiny sprites, minimal scenery and ordinary effects are not the sort of thing that would have had your friends clamouring around your ST, looking for a glimpse of the future. Still, it bares a fairly strong resemblance to the arcade game, whilst its cute, diddy cars are easily identified by bright, primary colours. This is particularly handy if you’re having a two or three-player blast, as players can quickly work out which car they’re controlling. For some reason, every version of SS I played suffers from horrible sound, and this one is no different.
Could it have been better? Well, there’s certainly a case for improving the sticky nature of collisions. Tracks are uniformly narrow and with cars exhibiting a slight understeer effect when cornering at speed, the temptation is often to turn a little early to avoid drifting into a wall. The trouble is, clipping an inside wall is every bit as ruinous as hitting an outside one. Cars have an unfortunate habit of stopping dead, before juddering repeatedly into the barrier, as the player tries desperately to rotate the car enough to get it back on the road. Despite the appearance of tunnels and underpasses, there’s no appreciable 3D effect or perspective, which makes taking the banked corners, in particular, tricky to judge.
Could it have been better? Well, there’s certainly a case for improving the sticky nature of collisions. Tracks are uniformly narrow and with cars exhibiting a slight understeer effect when cornering at speed, the temptation is often to turn a little early to avoid drifting into a wall. The trouble is, clipping an inside wall is every bit as ruinous as hitting an outside one. Cars have an unfortunate habit of stopping dead, before juddering repeatedly into the barrier, as the player tries desperately to rotate the car enough to get it back on the road. Despite the appearance of tunnels and underpasses, there’s no appreciable 3D effect or perspective, which makes taking the banked corners, in particular, tricky to judge.
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What it lacks in detail it makes up for in activity... as well as some excellent menu screens
Super Sprint may have lacked the exhilarating, wind-in-your-hair gameplay of the emergent checkpoint racers of the time, but it makes up for it through accessible, pick-up-and-play bursts of fun, as players can engage in a challenging solo mode in pursuit of high-scores, or enjoy riotous, quick races with friends. Not the best racer out there, but certainly the best version of Super Sprint you’ll find outside of the amusement parks.
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VERDICT
"Atari's venerable series was beginning to get left behind by 1987. That said, what Super Sprint lacks in cutting-edge tech, it makes up for in tried-and-test gameplay. Not the game to show off the potential of 16-bit gaming, but a very respectable port of the arcade game regardless." OVERALL: 7/10 |