Producer: Electric Dreams
Retail Price: £9.99
Author: Catalyst Coders

Ever fancied roaring around a racetrack at high speed? Standing on the winner's podium with a bottle of champagne in one hand, and a blonde in the other? Well in this game, the player at least gets to try the racing bit. Converted from the Atari coin-op game, Championship Sprint gives one or two people the chance to test their driving skills on a Grand Prix racetrack.

Initially, participants are given the choice of either racing on a standard track or on one of their own design, created using the track editor which is included on the flip side of the tape. The program then prompts for the number of players and their chosen control method (joystick or keys). Once this is set, the course itself may be selected from one of eight tracks.

The game starts with four cars sitting abreast of the starting grid. The flag drops, and they're off! Human drivers compete against computer controlled opponents and attempt to finish first over each three-lap race. Not only having to contend with their digital adversaries, there are also hazards on the track: oil, water, gravel, and a baby whirlwind do their best to send the player spinning off the road. However, help is at hand in the shape of gold spanners: collecting four of these endows the player's car with useful bonus extras for the next race, such as turbo boost and higher top speed. At the end of the current race the cars are shown in the pits, along with their placings, scores, and best lap times.

If in a particularly creative mood, the player can use the construction set to design devious tracks to delight or annoy friends. Selections are made by clicking the cursor on a series of icons placed along the right-hand side of the screen. These allow the user to view the segments of track that are used to create the course, select obstacles to place in the drivers' way and check a finished track for faults. Once completed, tracks can be saved to tape for posterity.

COMMENTS

Joysticks: Cursor, Kempston, Sinclair
Graphics: a large range of sections allow many varied tracks, although the individual segments are simply drawn
Sound: appalling. No tunes and few spot effects
Options: definable keys, track construction set and one or two players

And they said Super Sprint was bad! Additions there may be, but improvements they aren't. My main gripe with both the Sprint games is the appalling collision detection. The track may be drawn to look smooth and circular, but if you actually examine the limits by banging into the sides of the track you'll find it blocky - in other words somebody couldn't be bothered to use pixel collision detection and settled for the easier, and less accurate, character detection. If this aspect of the game wasn't so infuriating then it could be mildly addictive. One of the plus points is the track designer: it should lengthen the lastability by a few weeks - if you can be bothered to load the editor, design your track, save your track, load in the main game and then load in your saved track (phew)!
PAUL

It was enough to have to put up with the tiny graphics and irritating gameplay of the original Super Sprint but to stand another dose of the same, well it could be fatal! (To the enthusiasm, at least) The only aspects that cheer up the game are the vaguely decent pictures of racing cars in between courses. Championship Sprint suffers terribly from colour clash which makes the potentially rubbish graphics even worse (if that's possible), and gives the game a generally untidy feeling. There are no sound effects or tunes, which all detract from a generally uninteresting, unimaginative game. If I didn't know any better, I would think it was budget game: it's definitely not worth the £9.99 asking price!
NICK

I've never been a great fan of racing games, and often find that I spend more time off of the track than on it. This was the case with Championship Sprint: control of the car seemed very loose and 'soggy'. Aggrieved by the faultless performances of the computer controlled cars as they zoom around the track, I soon found that the game bored me to tears. Graphically, it's okay: the track and backdrops are all quite nicely drawn, but the can themselves look a little crude and simplistic. The construction set is a nice idea, but even with the facility to design a track, I feel Championship Sprint won't hold your attention for very long.
MARK

Electric Dreams
£9.99
Reviewer: Tony Worrall

Hands up all of you who enjoyed the original Speccy Super Sprint? Hmmm! not an awful lot it seems. Alright, hands up everybody who thought it good value for money? Even less I would have thought.

Good news. Electric Dreams, for reasons best left to its marketing managers, has released a follow-up entitled Championship Sprint. The 'Super' may have been hacked off the title, but CS is a superior package, thanks to the welcome inclusion of a track designer on the flip side of the tape.

True, the 'A' side appears to be more or less identical to the original Super Sprint (a selection of tricky tracks and a dreadful start-up screen), so owners of that game will feel a mite peeved off if they think they are forking out for something new. But the 'B' side is where all the real action takes place. This is the Championship Sprint Course Construction program, and now you have the chance to experiment with totally wild designs, and pit in as many features and obstacles as can be safely fitted onto the track.

Using the track designer couldn't be simpler, (and that's a great help to a simple person like me). Everything is icon controlled in the best way possible. So a series of icons run down the left hand side of the screen, while the main part of the screen is taken up by the design itself. Moving your cursor and pressing fire drops a section of track onto the screen. This can then be shifted around at will, positioned or removed. It's all up to you really. If you have ever messed about connecting bits of Scalextric together you should have a pretty good idea of what I mean.

Once your wacky designs are complete and everything checks out okay, save your custom creations and load them into the 'Racing' side of the tape. Select the custom tracks option and away we go. Up to eight new tracks can be loaded, but if you get bored with those, there's nothing to stop you having a crack at designing a new set.

Championship Sprint is much better value than the overpriced and un-rewarding Super Sprint. Even so, all the old niggles about poor control and dodgy sprites are still here, which is a pity. The programmers have had the chance to improve all those things that let Super Sprint down, but seem to have been concentrating more on the construction aspect than on the gameplay.

To sum up (M'lord). If you really enjoy this type of racing game go for it, but just because some of the tracks have been custom-built, don't expect an easy ride - the computer-controlled cars never give up without a fight. Fans of the original Super Sprint will enjoy this, but if you already have that game, forking out another tenner for what is little more than a glorified track designer, may force you to think twice.

BARGAIN BASEMENT

Once again RICH PELLEY leaps into the driving seat of a number 39 bus and zooms off to Cheap City...

Alternative
£2.99
Reviewer: Rich Pelley

Remember Super Sprint? it was crap. Utterly. It was one of those birds-eye view 'race around lots of different Formula One tracks in a piddly little car' things which was really good in the arcade - but on the Spec? As I've said. Crap. You just couldn't tell what was going on, the controls were dodgy and it was practically the same as Grand Prix Simulator from CodeMasters - which was about a fifth of the price (and which everyone bought instead).

Then came Championship Sprint - essentially exactly the same as the Super variety, but this time with a special track editor which meant it was stacks more fun if a trifle 'over-priced'. And here it is again - and it could be yours for the snippish snip of £2.99.

But would you want it? I'd say - well, perhaps. The editor is definitely the best bit. It's easy to use - you moving an arrow about and pressing Fire. It's a bit like building a Scalextric set really. This is the only good bit, mind - the graphics are still puny, the controls dodgy. But at a mere three nicker it all seems a lot more reasonable, so maybe this could be for you.

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)?

CHAMPIONSHIP SPRINT
Electric Dreams

This is the sequel to Super Sprint, which just happens to have been the first-ever looking-at-it-from-the-top driving game. (Or it would have been if everyone hadn't done rip-offs before Electric Dreams got the official version out.) This means there are four little cars driving round a series of courses, up to two of which can be controlled by players. Four would have been nice, and perfectly possible. There are spanners to collect which allow you to choose add-ons at the end of the race if you pick up enough. So far so good, but surely there's more to it than this? And indeed there is. Sprint cunningly incorporates a course editor with which you can build up your own custom courses, laden with chicanes, bridges and nasty corners. What fun, eh?

So really it's just a plain, ordinary looking-at-it-from-the-top one with a bit of extra pizazz. I used to find them fun, but not any more. Sigh. It's better with a friend, but not much.

Label: Electric Dreams
Author: Catalyst Coders
Price: £9.99
Memory: 48K/128K
Joystick: various
Reviewer: Jim Douglas

Neeeeeeeoooooowwww! When you're an experienced Formula One racing driver like me, it's pretty tricky to find a race sim that offers any sort of challenge these days. Having finished Outrun in ten seconds, annihilated Nigel Mansell's G.P. In a mere moment, and complete every track in Super Sprint with no difficulty whatsoever, I was beginning to think that I'd never find a driving game to challenge me again (Stop making things up, you idiot - Ed).

Anyway, Electric Dreams - apparently stuck in sequel mode - is bringing out Championship Sprint; the sole difference between this and their earlier Super Sprint is the Course Construction aspect, so you'd have to be completely barmy to buy both.

What you've got to do is hare around a series of eight tracks as fast as possible, beating the "drone" (computer-controlled) cars and avoiding the oil patches. Sliding the little cars around the tracks is strangely satisfying, even though the graphics aren't up to much.

All the standard features appear in the construction option. You can position your track anywhere on the screen and then cycle through all the possible road sections until you find a piece suitable for connection. You can, obviously, make your course as easy or difficult as you wish, before saving it to tape. The "racing" side of the tape can then be played, and your tracks loaded in and played.

So, what's the verdict? It's a tight package. Well put together and easy to use. It's attractive to look at, too, but I wonder if people can really be persuaded to part with £10 when there are similar budget games around lacking only the course designer aspect. The resulting question is, is the track designer worth about £7?

Electric Dreams alter course.

CONSTRUCTION sets are great things to have around on most games, so a re-designable Super Sprint must have looked like a good move for ED. As it turns out, this one's not quite the hot property you might have expected. The track designer is nicely implemented but the range of track shapes available isn't too large - you can't even do the first standard Super Sprint track properly - and in any case different tracks can only hold your attention for so long. What gripped about the original was the great control and driving action, but sadly this one just doesn't have that in the same way.

Reviewer: Andy Wilton

RELEASE BOX
C64/128, £9.99cs, £14.99dk, Imminent
Spec, £9.99cs, Out Now
Amstrad, £9.99cs, £14.99dk, Out Now

Predicted Interest Curve

1 min: 60/100
1 hour: 75/100
1 day: 80/100
1 week: 60/100
1 month: 50/100
1 year: 10/100

Spectrum 48/128 Cassette: £9.99
Commodore 64/128 Cassette: £9.99, Diskette: £14.99
Amstrad CPC Cassette: £9.99, Diskette: £14.99

SPANNER IN THE WORKS

Licensed from the Atari coin-op, Championship Sprint - for those of you who can still stand the pace after the recent plethora of Sprint clones - has one main advantage of over Super Sprint (also published by Electric Dreams) and that is the ability to design your own courses using the track editor. Catalyst Coders are the programming force behind the game, and they have improved it considerably over Super Sprint.

The game of Championship Sprint is just as you would expect: eight different tracks to race around, each with whirlwinds, gravel, oil and water hazards. The objective is simply to race four circuits against three other cars on each of the eight tracks and emerge the winner. Collecting the occasionally appearing spanners may later improve the car's performance, giving it either super turbo, turbo acceleration, a score increase or higher top speed. It is advisable to use a joystick because the car is less easily controlled via keys.

Losing a race means the end of that particular game, but should first place be achieved you go onto compete in the next race, and so on until all eight tracks are completed. Two players can also race simultaneously against two computer controlled cars.

SCALE TRICKS

Championship Sprint's attraction is the track editor which allows you to create and race on your own courses designed from 30 different pieces of track. It is like building a Scalextric track - the piece of track desired (whether it be a ramp, a straight, a comer or whatever) is selected and the cursor moved to the location where you want it to be placed: press fire to position.

Along the top of the screen are pull down menus (these appear as icons along the right-hand side on the Spectrum), split into lour groups, which activate more options - hazards, ability, screens and options. Through hazards you can decide whether you want whirlwinds, gravel, water or oil, and in what quantity on the track. Ability has two sub-options; Spanners, lets you put up to seven spanners on the track, and Drone Speed determines how fast the opposition travels, ranging from zero (slowest) up to five (fastest). Screens accesses three sub-options: Next shows you the next track, Clear erases the track on the current screen and Set Course lets you input the direction the cars race around the track. The final choice is in the Options menu: from this you can save or load tracks, set the playing keys or see all 30 different track segments.

Without the track editor Championship Sprint would rate as merely a good rendition of the Sprint theme, but with its inclusion, the package proves an interesting addition to the range.