[{"TitleName":"Grand Prix Challenge","Publisher":"Challenge Software","Author":"Graham D. Shaw, Vincent Vity","YearOfRelease":"1992","ZxDbId":"0002114","Reviews":[{"Issue":{"Name":"Your Sinclair Issue 72, Dec 1991","Price":"£2.2","ReleaseDate":"1991-11-07","Editor":"Andy Hutchinson","TotalPages":76,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editor (Libra): Andy Hutchinson\r\nArt Editor (Leo): Andy Ounsted\r\nGames Editor (Virgo): James Leach\r\nStaff Writer (Cancer): Linda Barker\r\nArt Assistant (Pisces): Maryanne Booth\r\nAdvertising Manager (Aries): Cheryl Beesley\r\nProduction Coordinator (Scorpio): Melissa Parkinson\r\nPublisher (Scorpio): Jane Richardson\r\nPublishing Assistant (Gemini): Michele Harris\r\nGroup Publisher (Gemini): Greg Ingham\r\nCirculation Director (Libra): Sue Hartley\r\n\r\nYour Sinclair, Future Publishing [redacted]\r\n\r\nSubscriptions: Pearl Stokes (Aries) [redacted]\r\nDistribution: MMC [redacted]\r\n\r\nCover Illustration (Taurus): Colin Jones\r\nISSN 0269 6983\r\nABC Jan-June 1991 65,444\r\n\r\nYour Sinclair is lovingly carved out of raffia by the same insane bunch of lollipop theieves who create Commodore Format (Libra), Amstrad Action (Libra), Amiga Format (Leo), 8000 Plus (Libra), PC Answers (Leo), PC Plus (Libra), Sega Power (Virgo), Amiga Power (Taurus), Amiga Shopper (Taurus), Classic CD (Gemini), Needlecraft (Aries), Mountain Biking UK (Gemini), PC Format (Virgo), Public Domain (Virgo) and ST Format (Leo).\r\n\r\nBut what we really want to know is... have you ever leapt into a bowl of trifle from 15 feet wearing nothing but a pair of slippers and a slightly bemused expression?"},"MainText":"Challenge Software\r\n£3.99 cass\r\nReviewer: Andy Hutchinson\r\n\r\nPoor old Mansell, eh? There he was, trying to beat the Brazilian chap, when he loses his brakes and spins off the track with all the grace of a hippo with the trots. To cap it all, Senna lets his learn mate, Berger, win the race. Ha! Anyway, here's a chance to get your own back.\r\n\r\nWhat we have here is a menu-driven game. That means that the computer decides what to do. So there s no dodging and a-diving on the track, no gears, no accelerators and no steering. What you have instead is a plethora of decisions to make and a few keys to press, making the faithful old joystick a tad redundant.\r\n\r\nAll the Grand Prix racers have been reduced to mere numbers and then shoved rudely onto this cassette. Instead of getting to guide Mansell or Warwick to the championship, you're lumbered with a thoroughly second rate driver called (of all things) J Smith. Such originality, such daring, such crap.\r\n\r\nThe first thing you've got to do is lavish some dosh on your motor. This includes paying out for mechanics, an engine (the YS team feel that this one's quite important), steering, power, fuel and\ttravel costs. Sorted all that out, pick some tyres and zip into a race.\r\n\r\nRaces usually follow the same pattern - Mansell streaks into the lead, Senna sits one second behind him and the rest of us knock around in the pit lane. Meanwhile, the mechanics inform us that we obviously had cowboys in last time the car was repaired and that these repairs are likely to cost us as much as a 'pony'.\r\n\r\nAnyway, it's all terribly dull. The most exciting moment is that rare second when your crap car manages to knock Boutson into 10th place. The moment you (or rather the computer decides to) attempt to overtake him he whacks his car into reverse and performs an old rural two finger salute. You then perform a daring slip-stream manoeuvre which leaves the chap looking decidedly stupid.\r\n\r\nThe idea of the game is to make loads of dosh and win the Championship. If you get bored of racing you can always try betting. Stick your dash on Mansell or Senna and you can't go wrong. Right, on with the race preparation: anyone know what the AA's number is?","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"Bit too boring to be any fun. Stick to optomotry instead. (Look it up!)","Page":"17","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Andy Hutchinson","Score":"51","ScoreSuffix":"%"}],"ScreenshotText":[{"Text":"Dear old Nige won the race, although you might have trouble finding him here."},{"Text":"Peaky Piquet's history in my rear view mirror, for a second anyway."}],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Life Expectancy","Score":"50%","Text":""},{"Header":"Instant Appeal","Score":"51%","Text":""},{"Header":"Graphics","Score":"45%","Text":""},{"Header":"Addictiveness","Score":"48%","Text":""},{"Header":"Overall","Score":"51%","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"Sinclair User Issue 120, Feb 1992","Price":"£1.85","ReleaseDate":"1992-01-18","Editor":"Garth Sumpter","TotalPages":52,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editor: Commander Coloninabadway\r\nDesign: Captain Ooneneeky Cheeky\r\nSoftware Editor: Star Commander Angus Headrush\r\nAdditional Design: Earthling Jane Davies\r\nSU Crew: Garth 'Space Cowboy' Sumpter, John 'B'tardy' Cook, Alan Dykes, Pete 'Astro' Gerrard, Phillip 'Black Hole' Fisch\r\nAd Manager: Jerry 'Astonomical' Hall\r\nAd Production: Jo 'Goodbye Girl' Gleissner\r\nMarketing Man.: Mark 'Hard to..' Swallow\r\nMarketing Women: Sarah Ewing, Sarah Hillard\r\nPublisher: Graham Taylor\r\nManaging Director: Terry Pratt\r\n\r\n(c)1992 EMAP IMAGES\r\n[redacted]\r\n\r\nColour by Proprint\r\nPrinted by Kingfisher Web\r\n\r\nNo part of this magazine may be reproduced without the consent of the publishers. So there. Incidentally, I hope you all got what you wanted for Christmas. I, Fnot the Irreverent, have got what I wanted - I'm rid of the pesky SU Crew and have got my hands on their magazine - in a short while now, my plans for Earth domination will be complete - and the SU Crew are stuck are the other side of the galaxy. No-one can save the Earth now!"},"MainText":"Label: Challenge\r\nMemory: 48K/128K\r\nPrice: £3.99 Tape\r\nReviewer: Big Al Dykes\r\n\r\nWe've all heard of Nigel Mansell and Ricardo Patresi but who's ever heard of J. Smith?\r\n\r\nWell, rest assured you soon will 'cos he's coming out of the chicane and vrooming his way right to the top of the Grand Prix Challenge world championship leaderboard like a man with a turbo boosted botty on a collision course with destiny.\r\n\r\nTrying to organise a Formula One race team isn't the easiest task in the world. It's an expensive business, especially if you re not winning any races, but then again if you can win you shouldn't play. Grand Prix Challenge involves joining a formula one racing team, getting sponsorship, kitting out your car, managing the engineers, betting on the outcome and finally getting down to the business of racing. As a simulation you don actually control the car but during the race you still have to make management decisions on how aggressively you drive and when to have a tyre changing or engine modifying pit slop. All these factors are interconnected (aggressive driving wears down tyres faster etc.) and the game is absorbing from start to finish.\r\n\r\nGraphics are good, indeed better than some so called 'realistic' racing games but the most impressive thing about Grand Prix Challenge is the menu driven control procedure, each option is logically activated by pressing the first letter of it's title, it's smoother than Garfy scoping babes and is super to use. Overall this game grabbed the interest of the entire SU Crew, recently exiled to planet Gastro 5, and is zhoo zruwk d orrn dw.","ReviewerComments":["Simulations are normally best suited to late night candle-burning or boring Sunday afternoons but if you're going to play Grand Prix Challenge I would suggest having lots of time available. It'll keep you at your keyboard for a long time.\r\nGarth Sumpter"],"OverallSummary":"Sims may come and sims may go but this is definitely a worthwhile addition to any sim collection. Motor racing fans will be delighted with it make no mistake.","Page":"20","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Alan Dykes","Score":"85","ScoreSuffix":"%"},{"Name":"Garth Sumpter","Score":"","ScoreSuffix":""}],"ScreenshotText":[{"Text":"Can you make it to the top?"},{"Text":"Forget graphics. This it a great racing management game!"}],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Graphics","Score":"79%","Text":""},{"Header":"Sound","Score":"62%","Text":""},{"Header":"Playability","Score":"87%","Text":""},{"Header":"Lastability","Score":"85%","Text":""},{"Header":"Overall","Score":"85%","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]}]}]