Nigel Mansell's World Championship Longplay (SNES) [QHD]
97Game Info
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Developer: Gremlin Graphics
Publisher: Gametek
Year of Release: 1993
Game Review & Impressions
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With the success of the Lotus trilogy and Super Cars series, it's fair to say Gremlin had cemented it's reputation as a publisher/developer of some of the best driving games for the home video game market. Focusing on the world of Formula 1, Gremlin secured a license to create a game based on British F1 champion, Nigel Mansell. Mansell had recently achieved a staller victory with the Williams motorsport team during the 1992 season, so a promotional vehicle featuring both champion driver and car would be an easy sell to racing fans.
Fortunately, the game isn't just a bunch of low-rent marketing bluster with a crappy game bolted on. In fact, this happens to be, at least in my opinion, one of the best 2D racing games of the period. The speed and responsiveness of the gameplay is certainly better than the Genesis version of Super Monaco Grand Prix, undoubtedly the primary influence, which is impressive when considering the latter was a first-party Sega title. The inclusion of arcade and simulation game modes is a nice touch, and a variety of race modes, including a full season tour, means there's plenty of racing action for fans to get stuck into.
I spent over 2 hours recording this, and even by the end of the session, I really have nothing negative to say about it. The sense of pace, car handling and general level of presentation are all equally excellent. The AI governing the rival drivers delivers a sufficiently decent challenge, but one that can be overcome with consistently good driving; many racers suffer from AI which zooms into the distance, never to be seen again, but that is certainly not the case here. I was also delighted to see opposition cars needing to pit to get their tyres changed, meaning they're subject to the same rules and restrictions as the player.
As for the race tracks, the fact they're licensed means the course layouts resemble those of their real-life counterparts, at least for the time. Something I was particularly impressed with was the background artwork for each of the respective race tracks. Having driven around most of these in the most recent Forza Motorsport and have a good overall feel for how they're supposed to look, I can say the artists did a really good job with the resources available. For example, the track at Spa Francorchamps features a a backdrop full of dense forests and hilly pines, which is pretty accurate to the real-life equivalent.
If you're like me and prefer your racing more on the arcade-like, Nigel Mansell's World Championship is definitely a SNES title to check out. The overall design results in one of the most accessible and fun games of its kind, one that's easy to recommend - go check it out.
Chapters
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TBC