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The Cycles: International Grand Prix Racing (1989)

After SpecialOne dedicated to DosBox is time to go back to talking about games ... I fished out of the drawer of memory " The Cycles: International Grand Prix Racing " title race "dedicated to the wonderful world of two wheels.

In 1989, Accolade and ISD , strong excellent graphics engine Test Drive II, decided to strike while the iron is hot and market their personal interpretation of campionanto motorcycling world, now best known as the World Championship. Consistent with the year of issue, where you can compete in the categories are 125, 250 and 500 Queen. It is not the possibility to select the brand of bike we're going to fly: accontentaci the only model we present for each category. The game modes are provided for in the classical genre: practice, single race and championship. From the main menu we also decide: the level Difficulty (selectable from the five available), name of your virtual pilot and the number of turns that make each Grand Prix.

The main menu of The Cycles

circuits on which you can compete, are provided for the 1989 edition of the championship: Suzuka in Japan, Jerez in Spain, Misano in Italy and so on, until Goiania in Brazil (for a total of 15 circuits).
After selecting the game mode, the displacement of your missile on two wheels to race on the circuit and you will be immediately projected on the grid Departure ready to open the throttle. And here on the screen the real innovation of this title: Unlike previous motorcycle titles, the game view is placed at the back of the bike (at Super Hang On, so to speak), but to increase the feeling of realism , is in first person, then we will see the game from the eyes of our virtual rider, complete with a fairing and instrumentation of the bike at the bottom of the screen.

Two pictures in game

As you can see from the pictures, the graphic rendering is very good despite only 16 EGA colors used by the game. We only notice that I would move the game engine is that when you turn in your view, does not change but is always parallel to the road. Perhaps the time was not yet ripe for such graphic goodies, but for the record, I point out.
As for the sound than the duo's previous titles Accolade / DSI get the support AdLib tunes with nice presentation and the main menu. During the game we put up instead to the "roar of the engine, superbly played by the PC Speaker (mistero! !!!!).

We come now to my view, essential to any game: the gameplay. We start from the driving model decidedly arcade ... if you are fans of the simulation you'd better look elsewhere because, in this way everything runs off without too much respect for physics! As for the gameplay true there is not much to say .. Take Test Drive II , remove the chase with the police, the traffic inside and a pair of wheels and what there is there is The Cycles . Having taken the title in hand after having reviewed the second chapter in the saga of Test Drive, I can not help but show a more monotonous gaming sessions ... it is true that the desire to win the world championship will be a stimulus, but given the many similarities between the two titles and the same driving model, I have to favor the rich gameplay variant of the four wheels.
Let me be clear, The Cycles is a good title and motorcycle enthusiasts will surely appreciate the undoubted quality and breath of innovation brought to the genre.

That said, I leave you with the inevitable footage of your favorite bloggers on the legendary race circuit in Misano ... pole position, fastest lap and victory ... grand slam!!

same year Accolade and DSI , following the golden rule, "that horse wins, you do not change," Grand Prix Circuit issue, driving game set in the roaring circus of Formula 1. As you can see the pictures, the similarities between the two games are varied (from main menu). Eight tracks, three different teams (Ferrari, Williams and McLaren) and pit stop to change tires complete the pedigree of this good as a guide.