Spirit of Speed 1937

[KC]

Acclaim will release a game for the Dreamcast based upon the 1937 Grand Prix cars, drivers, and tracks. The drivers include Louis Chiron, Rudolf Caracciola, Luigi Fagioli, Tazio Nuvolari, Bernd Rosemeyer, Hans Stuck, Achille Varzi, and Jean Pierre Wilmille. The cars include the Bugatti 35B, Bugatti 59, ERA R5B Remus, Miller, Auto Union D, Auto Union C, Maserati 8CM, Napier Railton, Mercedes 154, Alfa Romeo 12C, Alfa Romeo Bimotore, and Duesenberg. Historic tracks include Avus, Brooklands, Donington, Montlhery, Pau, Tripoli, Monza, Roosevelt, and an American oval called Montana (probably could not license Indy). The screen shots look fantastic. The sounds are supposed to be captured from the original cars. If you like vintage GP machinery, it will be for sale in the US June 28th and soon for the PC.

[Gerard]

KC, Spirit of Speed 1937 is already available for the PC.
I bought the game last year and have been playing it the past 8 months.

It is indeed a fantastic game, not as difficult to get into as Grand Prix Legends.

The sound is awesome, taken from the original cars.
The game will appeal much more to the gamers who like to open the box, throw in the CD and race away.

The Mercedes is the easiest car to learn but I like the Alfa Romeo Bimotore. It's blindingly fast on the straights but hard to handle in the corners.

Brooklands is the track I like most, with it's banking oval.

Spirit of Speed 1937 is a game that manages to bring back the atmosphere of racing in those days.
You really can get a feel of what it was like then.
For those who are interested visit the official website.
It's at http://www.spiritofspeed1937.com

[KC]

Its not offered in the US right now. I have never figured out why games with a multinational appeal are limited like they are. I can understand why we don't get Cricket games or Football Manager games because of the limited market for them, but race games are always top sellers in the US.

[Gerard]

I e-mailed Hasbro Interactive to ask them why the game 'Spirit of Speed 1937' was not available in the USA, whilst it is on sale in Europe since last year.

This is what they said:

'Thank you for contacting us.
The Spirit of Speed 1937 is not going to be released in the United States.
It is available in Europe only.
We appreciate your interest.'

There wasn't an explanation given for the reason it is not going to be available in the USA.
I think it's a very strange decision by Hasbro.

[MrLipid]

Spirit of Speed 1937 never made it to the United States. It is, however, currently available on budget in New Zealand. Drop in here:

http://www.gamesman.co.nz/

The price is reasonable and Gamesman Online ships anywhere in the world.

And for those who've found the handling in Spirit of Speed to be a bit quirky, a solution can be found here:

http://www.gamesdomain.com/gdreview/...r01/stick.html

There is even a Spirit of Speed Offline Challenge currently being organized. Current plans have it starting within the month (October 2001). News, as it develops, can be found here:

http://dynamic2.gamespy.com/~hg/foru...?s=&forumid=42

[Aysedasi]

Sorry to sound negative, but Spirit of Speed 1937 has to be quite the worst racing game I have ever played. Picked it up for £4.99 in a PC shop bargain bin! The cars, admittedly, are glorious, but playability is even worse than Infogrammes "Le Mans" (as a Le Mans nut, I expected so much more.....).

GPL is an infinitely superior game - hard, yes, but so much more rewarding when you begin to get to grips with it. You also have the advantage of countless car, track and other downloads from the net.

I'm also a great SCGT and GP3 addict. I've finally decided that GP3 is better than RS2 after all!

What I really want is for someone to bring out a really good real-time Le Mans simulation. There is a fantastic version of the Le Mans track available for download for GPL - driving a Lotus or Ferrari on a chicane-less Circuit de la Sarthe takes some beating!

[MrLipid]

No debate about the quality of GPL.

That said, I find SoS enjoyable as a racing era simulator. With the CTFJ utility, the steering becomes much more responsive and tearing around Roosevelt or Monza can be a pleasant light diversion. Drop in some of the music of Raymond Scott and the mood is complete. More like a vacation than serious driving and sometimes a vacation is just the ticket.

The sim I am eagerly waiting for is Rally Trophy. Pushing a Ford Cortina through a Finnish forest on a rainy night sounds like a hoot!