Producer: Leisure Genius
Retail Price: £9.95
Author: Andy Green

For many people, the mere mention of the word 'Scalextric' conjures up visions of many happy hours spent piecing together plastic track sections. Now with this computer version of the old sitting-room floor racing game those moments can be relived. There is a choice of 17 ready-made tracks included, or a completely new track may be designed and built using a series of short sections.

When building a circuit, there are 15 different track elements to choose from. To begin with, there are four 'straight'components, each of a different length. Next come the 'chicanes,'where the track narrows to a single car width. These come in several forms: curved chicanes, straight chicanes and chicane entrance and exits. There are also skid chicanes where the track quickly narrows then broadens again.

There are three different corner radii: 'inner' curves are tightest, followed by 'standard'and 'outer'. There is also a banked curve which has the standard radius.

Having positioned the first section, you place your cursor on the next piece of track required -pressing 'fire' then lays this in place, and so on until a circuit is completed. If you are unhappy with the result, you can choose to replace sections of the track, or alternatively scrap the whole design. To finish a circuit design, the two ends of the track must be quite close. Then the 'finish' icon is selected, and the computer informs you whether or not the two ends of the track can be joined. If not, another combination may be tried.

There's more to Scalextric than building tracks, however - after the circuit has been chosen the real racing can get underway. Two people can compete, or you can take on the computer which drives the car that appears on the lower window - the screen is split horizontally, with each portion showing the rear view of one of the competing cars (when the two cars are close to one another they appear on both screens). The screen also shows the twists and turns in the track ahead. The car's controls are accelerate, brake, steer left and right - 9ear-changes are dispensed with.

If the car exceeds a safe speed in a corner it starts to skid outwards. The maximum safe speed depends on the tightness of the curve, but exceeding the car's handling limits causes a collision with the verge. Hitting the grass causes the car to slow right down to 50 mph before it can be steered back onto the track. If two cars collide, the one at the back explodes - however, barging from the side is harmless to both vehicles.

A small map at the bottom of the screen shows the track layout and the position of each car, and the lap time achieved by the two drivers is given after every circuit of the track.

COMMENTS

Control keys: definable: left, right, accelerate and brake
Joystick: Kempston, Cursor, Interface 2
Use of colour: workmanlike
Graphics: good detail on cars
Sound: monotonous engine effect
Skill levels: one
Screens: two

I was expecting great things from this - after all, what could be better than a Scalextric set without a dodgy transformer? Unfortunately Scalextric has turned out to be a below-average racing game, with an uninteresting little bit at the beginning. The graphics are initially good, but they get boring when you've seen all the tracks. The sound is nothing more than you would expect from a game of this quality - that is, a bog-standard engine noise. I'm very disappointed: surely LEISURE GENIUS could have come up with something a little more inspired.
BEN

I saw an advert for this years ago, and I'm not sure that it's been worth the wait. Scalextric isn't one of the best racing simulations around, but it does contain some very nice features that set it apart from other games of its type. The icon system is very easy to use, although getting a good track together can take some time. The cars are very well drawn with some good perspective graphics, but they're not responsive enough for a competitive game. If you really want to buy Scalextric, don't be fooled by the pretty graphics - insist on playing it first.
PAUL

Scalextric is alright, as far as racing games go but it's all been done before. The track editor is very slick and useful, but I just can't see that there's that much of a market left for a race game. The graphics are fine, with few problems apart from the usual colour clashes. If you're not yet the owner of one of the many thousands of race games, then Scalextric is worth considering. Neatly done, and professionally packaged, it has everything going for it - apart from an original idea.
MIKE

Leisure Genius
£9.95

Cor! I remember this! I sat huddled with my mate in his loft, our two little cars rattling around the black track with a silver rail up the centre... Scalextric. Second fave indoor sport to Subbuteo Football, to blokes of my age anyway! Wow! Many an hour or three has been whiled away, going too fast along the track flipping my little JPS off the banked curve into the fishtank.

So now there's a computer game? Surely some mistake, you can't replace the thrill of real little cars and bits of broken plastic track by a video game. Imagine my surprise when, far from being a load of old tut, it's actually a sensible and highly playable race game.

Oh sure it's got fifteen different tracks from around the world, like all the others. And yes, I know it's borrowed most of its ideas from the likes of Pole Position. But I'm sentimental about this old corker, and I think it's a great game. The graphics are a cut above the previous games of this ilk, and the inertia and motion of the cars are a smidgin more realistic than its rivals. The thing which really puts it nose and front wheels ahead of the pack is the feature that allows you to design your own track layouts. If the world's racetracks are a bit too tame for your taste, you can bang together your own track from segments, just like the real life game.

As a bog standard race game, its reet gradely, but having said all that, there are some things I wish the programmers had incorporated. It would've been very nice to be able to flip your cars on the track at the corners, 'cos for me that was half the fun of playing Scalextric in the first place. I'm sure this wouldn't have been much of a problem, and it would've made it more like the real thing.

So, if you can afford it, buy it and enjoy. You too can be Sports Personality of the Year.

Run it again and again and again - there's nothing like a good race game. You can always beat that world record just once more, as DOMINIC HANDY and MIKE DUNN discover when they go into...

Scalextric
Leisure Genius

57% Issue 38

MIKE: The Scalextric toy racing set has almost become a necessary part of growing up, and Leisure Genius brings it right up to the computer ago with their Spectrum version. A two-player Chequered Flag variant with a construction kit for good measure, Scalextric isn't bad, technically, but short on gameplay.
49%

DOMINIC: Almost the best racetrack game around. The construction kit ties ion well with the title subject, and also makes the game lots of fun to play. And the two-player option adds to the value.
70%

THE COMPLETE YS GUIDE TO DRIVING GAMES

It's strange but true - normally courteous YS readers tend to turn into homicidal maniacs once they get behind the wheel of a Spectrum. We sent JONATHAN DAVIES, who still hasn't managed to get that wretched helmet off, to find out why.

It's an expensive business, driving. Not only do you have to hand out piles of dosh to actually get a car, but there are loads of 'hidden costs' thrown into the bargain' too. For a start, you've got to get it insured (in case you crash), which means serious sponds for your average Spectrum owner Then there's road tax, servicing, MOTs, petrol, all sorts of things. And, if you want to keep up with the latest fashions, you'll want to purchase a few 'extras' as well, ranging from simple '-TURBO-' stickers for the back window to alloys, buckets and twin cams. And they all mean spending lots and lots of money.

So wouldn't it be nice if you could get your Spectrum to sort of 'pretend' was a car, allowing you to zoom about to your heart's content for minimal outlay instead? Well, actually you can! Yes, all you need to do is buy a suitable driving game, load it up and you've got yourself a set of wheels.

It'll be almost exactly the same as driving a real car except that you can crash as much as you like without having to worry about your no-claims bonus. And you'll be able to choose from all the latest posh sports cars like Porsches, Ferraris and Lotuses and drive them as far and as fast as you like without having to splash out on a drop of petrol! (In fact, because driving games are so much cheaper and more practical than real cars, it is predicted that by the year 2012 the motorcar will have become obsolete, replaced by the driving game.) The only trouble with all this is that it's a bit hard to pick up birds with a 48K Spectrum.

JUST WHAT, EXACTLY, IS A DRIVING GAME?

Mmm, knew we'd have to get round to this sometime. Well, I've had a think and come up with the following spec...

- It's got to have either a car, a motorbike or a lorry in it.

- That means no bicycles, boats, jet-skis, tanks or anything like that.

- And no skateboards either. They're crap.

Seems simple enough. It means we're including Grand Prix-type games (where you just race against other cars) and shooting ones (where you zap them) but not similar-looking ones that don't have cars, bikes or lorries in (like boat ones). Okay? Phew. I never thought it would be quite so easy.

SO HOW ABOUT THINGS LIKE ARMY MOVES?

Oh cripes. Look, just shurrup. will you, whoever you are. No, Army Moves is out, I'm afraid. It's rubbish anyway.

So let's take a look at a few examples, eh? It's worth noting that, where driving games are concerned, the ratio of crap ones to good ones is a lot higher than with other types of game (apart from football games, of course). So you can't be too careful.

RATINGS

The YS Ratings System? You don't want that old thing. No sir, over here we have the brand-new top-of-the-range 1990 model. It's turbo-charged, fuel-injected, 16-valve, super-cooled and has a full X-pack (with droop snoot). And spots. You'll be doing yourself a favour.

DRIVE
It's no good having a driving game that seems to be simulating an FSO or something. You want real power, a feeling of being at one with the road and all that sort of thing. Control responses, speed etc are all taken into account here.

VISIBILITY
Assuming you remember to clean all the dead leaves and bird turds off the windscreen before you set out, what's the view like? A thinly-veiled graphics category, in other words, but jolly important all the same.

ROADHOLDING
It may seem to have everything, but once you've set off, and you've been on the road for a while, do you relish every second that you're behind the wheel? Or do you want to keep stopping at the services? Or perhaps you'd rather just take the bus instead, eh?

FIRST-OFF-AT-THE-LIGHTS FACTOR
A competitive edge is most important where driving's concerned, both in real life and on the Speccy. So do the other cars put up a decent fight, or do they just seem to be part of the scenery (if, indeed, there is any)?

SCALEXTRIC
Virgin

Did you have Scalextric when you were a kid? Me, I was lucky to get a clip round the ear. I remember gazing enviously at other peoples lengths of black plastic, hoping that one day I'd be able to get my own back somehow. Unfortunately I haven't yet, as Virgin's attempt at a conversion is yet another driving let-down.

To be sure, you can assemble tracks from an unlimited selection of pieces without having to worry about running out of left-hand bends. But once you get down to the racing bit you find that you've wasted your time. It's a two-player looking-at-it-from-behind game, with the screen split between the two players. Clever stuff, but unfortunately the graphical content is minimal and there's not really much to the driving either. One major prob is that once someone's got into the lead he's virtually guaranteed to be the winner as long as both players keep their foot to the floor all the way round. Very boring indeed.

So it's not much cop then.

Label: Leisure Genius
Author: Andrew Bradley
Price: £9.95
Joystick: various
Memory: 48K/128K
Reviewer: John Gilbert

Scalectric. Remember those toy slot-car racing sets a few years back? The set-up is expensive but Leisure Genius has hit upon an inexpensive alternative. It's a kind of Pole Position construction set! Design a track, then take on a friend or the computer to see who will be first around its straights, curves and chicanes.

The circuit design phase is neatly icon-controlled. Set the track-laying arrow to where you want to place the starting gate, then select a horizontal (across the screen) or vertical (up the screen) position.

There are 15 types of track section including four types of curve just like the real thing: outer, standard, inner and banked.

Once you're happy with a circuit design you can save it to tape.

If, however, you don't want all that creative bother you can load in one of the 17 authentic Formula One circuits included in the package. Silverstone and Brands Hatch are available for your personal races but, if you want to go further afield, you can try Rio Brazil, Imola and Monaco among many others.

Either way, once the circuit is fixed the race proper begins. Your car has a top speed of 240 mph but on the tightest curves you'll spin off at over 50.

Bumping against the grassy edge of the track slows you down and gives your opponent a chance to scrape past especially if you are on the hard option of the three play levels. The chicanes are the trickiest. The track narrows, so only one car can pass at a time. If you're overtaking your rival at the time you'll end up splashed all over a grassy verge.

The Pole Position like 3D sequences, in which your car is in the top window and your opponent's at the bottom, are a bit slower than other race games but the track construction option, which is a I whole lot of fun, more than makes up for it.

MACHINE: Spectrum
SUPPLIER: Leisure Genius
PRICE: £9.95

Another game we've all been waiting ages for. The Spectrum version of the legendary slot car racing game. There was a time when everyone who was anyone had their front room full of bits of track, cars and trailing wires.

Now you can forget all the mess and bent bits of track and play the whole thing on your trusty Speccy.

Not quite the same as the real thing - but at least you can build your own tracks, complete with chicanes and skid patches.

After you've built a track or simply chosen one of the 17 famous Formula One tracks included ready made on the tape. Building the track is done by using a simple object menu - and the program even finishes off your track for you if you've got everything in the right place. Very user friendly.

The actual race screen is split into two - as in Pitstop II. In fact this game is the closest you'll get to Pitstop on the Spectrum.

The race sequence looks OK but it's a bit slow and it seems pretty easy to beat the computer controlled car. The growling engine sound effects get a bit monotonous as well.

It's fun attempting to beat lap records - and controlling the car is tricky at higher speeds. There's simulated G-force when you corner, and yes, you can skid off the track if you go too wild!

Not a bad game but not a instant hit either. My guess is that if you are a slot car racing fan you'll have more fun with the real thing. But if you're after a well put together race game for your Spectrum than at least have a look at this offering.

Virgin/Leisure Genius
£9.95

Scalextric arrives on the Spectrum as a sophisticated construction set with almost limitless possibilities for designing your own tracks as well as 17 preset simulated Formula 1 circuits.

Constructing a circuit is simplicity itself with an icon driven system and there is the option to save the tracks you've built. Racing takes place on a split screen display where you have the option to race in two player mode or against a computer controlled car. There's also a plan view of the whole circuit which plots your position during a lap - a useful aid when trying to anticipate sharp bends.

This computer simulation offers plenty of variety as far as tracks are concerned but because every race is just a two car race the racing action can become stale very quickly. It may have been an idea to change the Scalextric formula and include a larger field of cars, weaving your way through back markers can be just as satisfying as winning.

One area of racing that has at last got some attention is crashing. In most simulations whatever happens in one player mode its always your fault and you are eliminated, whereas in Scalextric the rule is that the car approaching from behind is always the loser, but if the difference in speed between the two colliding cars is less than 20 miles an hour there's no crash - the front car is just shunted along the track.

A good value package only lacking the competitive edge that comes from having a grid full of cars racing round the track.