{"id":2980,"date":"2013-11-23T13:22:38","date_gmt":"2013-11-23T13:22:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.controlpadblues.com\/?p=2980"},"modified":"2013-11-23T13:22:38","modified_gmt":"2013-11-23T13:22:38","slug":"a-foam-cup-full-o-cheetos-tm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.controlpadblues.com\/?p=2980","title":{"rendered":"A Foam Cup Full o\u2019 Cheetos (TM)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Racing simulators have come a long way since the dawn of video games.<\/p>\n

In the beginning, there were the top-down games like Atari\u2019s Indy 500<\/em> and Grand Prix<\/em>.\u00a0 These “sims” were pretty common all the way through to the release of Super Sprint<\/em>, and other games like Spy Hunter<\/em> (and even Adventures in the Magic Kingdom<\/em>) kept milking the formula for all it was worth.<\/p>\n

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\"Grand<\/a>

Grand Prix (1982 – Atari) was actually quite visually impressive in its heyday.<\/p><\/div>\n

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Namco\u2019s Pole Position<\/em> popularized the \u201c3D\u201d and \u201cbehind the car\u201d view by enhancing the player\u2019s sense of speed.\u00a0 That type of racing game was popular well into the 16-bit era, with Rad Racer<\/em> (NES) and Top Gear<\/em> (Super NES) being two of the more memorable games that used that style.<\/p>\n

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\"Both<\/a>

Michael Andretti’s World GP (1990 – NES; shown above) and Al Unser Jr.’s Turbo Racing (1990 – NES) both feature drivers from the American CART (Indy) circuit, but use tracks from the Formula One World Championship instead.<\/p><\/div>\n

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As big a fan of racing as I am today, I was always awful at those games as a kid \u2013 the way lightning-quick reflexes were needed to make corners just didn\u2019t suit my gaming style.\u00a0 It still doesn’t, actually.<\/p>\n

With the advent of Mode 7, games like F-Zero<\/em> and Super Mario Kart<\/em> showed us what racing games could feel like.\u00a0 I was way better at these, simply because it felt like I had more input with the way the throttle and steering mechanics worked.\u00a0 You could see twists and turns in the distance, and you could actually anticipate and set up for the apex in a series of corners.<\/p>\n

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\"Not<\/a>

Not that it made F-Zero any easier!<\/p><\/div>\n

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Anyway, F-1 Pole Position<\/em> for Super NES was one of those games that fired on all cylinders.\u00a0 The Mode 7 graphics gave you the sense that tracks were much more than just a bunch of blind corners thrown together.\u00a0 Each locale felt like it had a life of its own.<\/p>\n

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\""Wow!<\/a>

“Wow! Brazil looks so real!” – 13 year-old Andre<\/p><\/div>\n

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With the exception of the late, great Ayrton Senna (who had a game of his own with Sega), every F1 driver and team from the 1993 season made an appearance.\u00a0 You could also tinker with every aspect of your car\u2019s performance before each session, maximizing your chances to win the main event.<\/p>\n

Like Days of Thunder<\/em>\u2019s Cole Trickle however, I don\u2019t do setups\u2026\u00a0 I just drive the race car.<\/p>\n

My favourite feature was the multiplayer.\u00a0 Crank up the A.I. difficulty, up the race length a bit, and then figure out the best pit strategy to try and out-rank your friends.\u00a0 It was so competitive between us, and definitely one of my greatest memories from playing a multiplayer game.<\/p>\n

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