#121 Super Sprint

Posted: 16th June 2017 by Jeroen in Games
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610th played so far

Genre: Driving
Platform: Arcade
Year of Release: 1986
Developer: Atari Games
Publisher: Atari Games

While earlier we played Portal 2 for its appearance in Lego Dimensions, Super Sprint instead appears in the game as a not-really-cameo. Nevertheless, I’ve probably played the game more that way than I ever would have otherwise. If nothing else, it’s a nice bit of continuity.

Our Thoughts

Super Sprint isn’t a very complicated racing game. Top down, the track for each round fits on a screen and you race around like Micro Machines. That setup is pretty straight forward, and one of the big delights in this is how the different tracks appear. There are eight of them, with a lot of different turns and some nice action with tunnels, bridges and closing doors. It creates a nice increasing set of challenges.

Then, from the second round on, the tracks get more difficult, having more hazards added so the challenge isn’t just enemy AI, but also finishing on time with the track in the state it’s in.

What pulls the game further along is the car customization. It’s limited – acceleration, grip and top speed increases only – but adds an extra challenge in grabbing the wrenches that allow you to upgrade them. I’m not quite sure how it would have worked in the arcade – you would have had to struggle to keep up – but it’s a nice idea to add some more options to the game.

Final Thoughts

Super Sprint doesn’t look very fancy, but its simplicity really makes for a better game and I’ve enjoyed diving into it a lot. There is just enough variety to keep things interesting, while the challenges escalates enough to keep it interesting.