Prepare to Qualify!
For any gamer over the age of 45, those three words are bound to stir up some fond memories. You see, most of us found our love for the racing genre Namco’s classic 1982 Gran Prix racing game, Pole Position. Up until Pole Position, most racing games had been 2D top-down with the entire track in view – the being very similar to driving an RC car. They were fun, for sure – but once Pole Position came out with its blisteringly fast 3D behind-the-car graphics and the computer voice telling us to “Prepare to Qualify”, it was all checkered flags.
Naturally, there were a number of Pole Position clones that quickly followed – my favorite being Epyx’s 1984 Pitstop II on the Commodore 64. Pitstop II had similar graphics and mechanics of Pole Position, but it introduced a new element of strategy by tasking gamers to manage fuel and tire wear as they raced around one of six real-world tracks like Brands Hatch, Hockenheim, and Watkins Glen. If that weren’t enough, it offered 2-player split-screen – which was virtually unheard of at the time. I was an absolute fanatic about Pitstop II, even going so far as modding my joysticks to make them more responsive – at least that’s what we thought at the time.
So why the history lesson? It is because after four decades of playing and reviewing dozens of Gran Prix/F1 racing titles, I may have found my absolute favorite in New Star GP – it may not be flashy, it certainly isn’t fancy, but it reminds me of those early days of Pole Position and Pitstop II in all the best ways.
New Star GP touts itself as a retro racer and that description could not be more appropriate. The visual presentation is straight out of the eighties – crisper and bolder than on the old tube TV, but still absolutely dripping with a nostalgic retro vibe. But looks can only go so far, which makes the incredible racing action all the sweeter. The racing in New Star GP is challenging, it’s rewarding, and most of all – it’s just plain fun. It has been a while since a racing game had me this hooked, and much of my obsessive behavior can be attributed to the game’s racing side-challenges offered at each of the game’s 34 courses that make up the Career Mode.
Spanning forty years of Gran Prix racing, Career Mode starts gamers as a fledgling racer in the early 1980’s with era-appropriate vehicles. It introduces the gamer to the concepts of maintaining not only the race car (tires, fuel, equipment, and how they all affect each other) but also managing the staff and crew who have to be hired, fired, and generally kept content and happy. Then there’s the sponsors, the other racers, and the fans that all affect the outcome of each race. For seemingly simple retro-flavored racer, New Star GP is incredibly deep. And if it is starting to sound overwhelming for you, don’t fret.
New Star GP makes all this management very obvious and simple; flagging the gamer that an immediate decision needs to be made and offering up one of two choices. Either choice will result in somebody or something more content, and someone else less content. The content will stay, while the discontent will eventually sever ties – by quitting the team, dropping the sponsorship, or going for blood on the track. These decisions often have financial repercussions as well – either earning or costing gamers valuable star currency needed to upgrade their cars to help increase performance and efficiency.
Each racing venue offers up the requisite Time Trials and Gran Prix race – which I have already said are challenging, rewarding, and fun on their own. But where New Star GP really shines is in the various side-mission race modes offered at each event. Checkpoint races, Elimination races, Reverse races, and Rival races – these time and task-based challenges work to keep the racing fun, and fresh, and fulfilling. Playing these races over and over not only helps the gamer garner currency for vehicle upgrades, but also offer an added benefit in teaching the nuances of each course. Gamers will not only get a lesson in the physics of each turn, chicane, and straightaway, but also a good understanding of the lifespan of tires and fuel to help develop an equipment and pitstop strategy for the weekend’s ultimate event, the Gran Prix.
After each 10-race season commences, the gamer progresses to the next decade – a new era-appropriate car, and new courses. 1980’s, 1990’s, 2000’s, 2010’s and finally the modern 2020’s. Nothing is officially licensed, but the cars are all based off real-life counterparts. Likewise, the 34 courses may not be named the same as the real-life venues, but each is instantly recognizable. The first time I raced Cote d’Azur, I knew every turn from my countless times racing Monaco in other racing games.
If Career Mode seems like too much, the gamer can always slide into the Championship Mode where they can make up their own custom Championship series of 1 to 10 races at courses of their choosing, and then tweak the rules to set race length, include pitstops, weather effects, short/long track versions, AI aggressiveness, vehicle damage, and vehicle physics (realistic/arcade). Championships can be played with 1-4 players locally, but sadly there is no online play offered at the time of this review.
I really cannot say enough about how impressed I am with New Star GP. It looks retro but plays absolutely modern. Heck, the PS5 version isn’t even native PS5 – it is technically a backwards compatible PS4 – but it zips along at a solid 60fps, and just plain feels right. Interestingly, in the process of writing this review, PlayStation Plus released EA Sports’ F1 2023 as one of March’s free monthly games – naturally I was curious, so I installed it. Yes, it’s gorgeous. Yes, it’s the most realistic F1 racer yet made. Yes, it’s flat-out incredible. But you know what? I kept coming back to New Star GP because it was just so much fun.
