Game: Super Monaco GP
Console: Sega Mega Drive
Developer: Sega
Release Date: 4th January 1991
Since the release of the SNES, everything, including Sega titles seemed to have the prefix 'Super'. 'Super Smash TV', 'Super Fantasy Zone' and 'Super Thunder Blade' to name a few. The two games I'm reviewing today are no exception, adding the prefix to denote that these games are a sequel of sorts in their respective series. First up is Super Monaco GP (or Sega Grand Prix as the title seems to say) which is based on Formula 1 racing, allowing players to compete both in an arcade mode and a full season of races as well as practising on any circuit.
The racing itself is fairly typical for the era and reminiscent of Outrun with harsher corners and higher speeds. It can be difficult to steer through slalom corners and small mistakes are punished heavily. There are three types of control which increase in difficulty but also affect the car's performance. The easiest and worst performing allows the player an automatic gearbox, a four speed manual gearbox and better performance is afforded to players who choose 'Type B' controls, and 'Type C' gives brave players a 7 speed gearbox and a significant performance increase.
Arcade mode takes place on the Monaco track and after a short qualifying lap pits the player against 14 CPU opponents in a knockout race. After each checkpoint is passed, the required position increases until either the player is knocked out, or has achieved a podium finish. Overtaking opposing cars is fairly easy although the type of controls chosen also makes a big difference as the CPU racers can also vary in performance.
World Championship mode sees the player compete for two seasons; gaining the best car and winning the championship through good performance and outperforming rivals in the first year, and beating the seemingly unbeatable rival based on Ayrton Senna in the second year. With 16 tracks to race in each season, the game does a good job of simulating the real F1 championship of the time. Not only are the tracks based on their real world counterparts but there's some nice scenery on the horizon on most circuits too.
Graphically the game isn't bad at all; whilst you can see a lot of pixels, it makes a vast improvement on the racing games of the previous generation and features some nice 3D style effects, despite everything being technically 2 dimensional. There's not a lot of music in the game and most of the time, the car sounds are the only thing you'll be listening to. They're pretty good although tyre squeal could use a little improvement and the voice over the radio is in terrible quality, with more white noise than actual speech.
Overall Super Monaco GP is a mixed experience; there's a decent arcade mode featuring fast paced gameplay and Championship mode simulates the experience of the Formula 1 season pretty well for the time, but small mistakes can ruin an entire season or arcade race and the rival mechanic is innovative but flawed at times.
Rating: 62/100
Grade: C
Game: Super Hang-On
Console: Sega Mega Drive
Developer: Sega
Release Date: January 1991
Hang-On started life as an arcade game complete with tilt controls which the player sat on a motorcycle shaped seat to play. Super Hang-On, its sequel was also an arcade game before coming to home console. On the Mega Drive version of the game there are two game modes; Arcade Mode and Original Mode. Arcade mode gives players a choice of 4 different courses; Africa, Asia, America and Europe, which ascend in difficulty and length. Original Mode allows players to upgrade a bike from scratch and get sponsors whilst racing against a rival.
The overall racing view is fairly similar to that of Super Monaco GP, save for the fact you're on a motorcycle; the road appears to come at you, rather than your bike moving along the road. Falling off your bike can have the same disastrous consequences as crashing too, if not even more so as its almost impossible to get to the next checkpoint in arcade mode once you've fallen off the bike.
The arcade mode is by far the most enjoyable as players are given a decent bike and can jump straight into the action, speeding through entire continents in a matter of minutes. While the gameplay is fairly simple and only really consists of steering your bike along the roads whilst avoiding opponents it can get addictive, and with tight time constraints there's no time to waste. Of course one mistake can spell failure but it doesn't take long to get back to where you were, even on the longest stage.
Original mode starts you with a slow and heavy bike which handles terribly, on which you must beat a rival to progress. As you win races, you gain sponsors and are allowed to upgrade the bike, which is a slow process. Personally I got too tired of the bike's poor handling when compared to the bike in arcade mode to want to continue.
Graphically Super Hang-On isn't as impressive as Super Monaco GP, especially at high speeds when the sides of the track seem to flicker by. The bikes and details on the horizon are nice from a distance, but can seem a little strange up close. The selection of music is good with a choice of 4 tracks to accompany racing, and a few other themes here and there. The engine noise and other effects are also of a good standard.
Overall Super Hang-On is more fun to play than Super Monaco GP due to its pick up and play arcade style and simplistic tracks. Riding through different locations is fun in the arcade mode and although challenging, it has a good difficulty. Original mode is less enjoyable although it does give the game some replay value and depth. With good music and fun gameplay this arcade classic is definitely worth a look.
Rating: 68/100
Grade: C
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