Super Monaco GP
Games have come a long way since I started playing them especially in the 3D department like first person shooters and driving games. Super Monaco GP was first released in the arcades and as far as I know it featured only the Monaco track but maybe that was because it’s so difficult that I didn’t get very far. Basically you drive an F-1 car and you have to win the race at Monaco. The home versions add more tracks to keep the game interesting over time.
Most versions will start directly in the qualifying lap which is to determine your starting position in the actual race. You’ll have to drive a complete lap without crashing to be able to enter the race at all. The race itself is against about 18 opponents but you’ll rarely see many of them at a time, usually just one. The Sega home systems add a lot more to the game, the master system adds things like adjustable wings, engine’s etc while the megadrive adds a whole GP mode in which you race a whole season and start off with a slower car but once you win you get better equipment. The main part of the game is a straightforward racer viewed from slightly above the drivers position. The only real option all the versions have is the transmission with three options: automatic, 4-speed and 7-speed. Obviously the manual transmission allows you to go faster but it’s a lot more work and more difficult.
Super Monaco GP was quite impressive in the arcades as it had fast and furious action, the home versions lost a bit in the translation though as many of them don’t really feel fast while playing. This really hurts a highspeed racing game but the Sega versions make up by adding more to the original game than only a couple more tracks. If you really want to try it get the megadrive version as it has the most to offer of all the versions.
Overal rating: 7/10
This game was released for many different systems here are some notes:
| Amiga | Released in 1991. Altough it looks good the graphics are quite jerky and stuff, the best of the non Sega versions though. |
| Amstrad CPC | Released in 1991. There is no sense of speed at all since the game is run at only a few frames per second. |
| C64 | Released in 1991. The C64 was never very good in 3D stuff so there is little background. The actual game is not too bad. |
| Megadrive/ Genesis |
Released in 1991. The best and most elaborate version. |
| SMS – Sega Master system |
Released in 1991. Slightly below the megadrive version but pretty good. |
| Others | This version is not available. ZX spectrum released in 1991. |
| Date added | Dec-07-2007 13:52 |
| Name | Super Monaco GP |
| Developer | Sega |
| Publisher | U.S. Gold |
| First released | 1991 |
| Genre | Racing |
