NeoSprint

There have been some retro flavoured car games released in recent years. New Star GP, 80's Overdrive, Slipstream, Horizon Chase Turbo: Senna Forever, and Circuit Superstars to name just a few that have come out in the last 2.5 years. So it's not exactly like the market is completely empty. Next on the starting line is a reboot of Atari's very old Sprint series, this time under the name NeoSprint.

On the surface it is an extremely nice little game. Small cars, which make me think back to my old Micro Machines from childhood, driving around on more or less complex tracks. The default setting is an isometric view of the whole track, but you can also zoom in to focus more on your own car. However, I preferred to see the whole track. The controls are really as minimalist as you'd expect from a game like this. Throttle, brake, turn right or left, and a slight possibility of drifting. These skills you can then put to use in the campaign mode, time trials or just classic races. Unfortunately, the online part is almost non-existent. There is no possibility at all to race against others online, but it is possible to play up to four people on the same couch if you feel like it.

Whilst it is entertaining for a while, unfortunately it doesn't last all the way to the end. The feeling of playing for any length of time is simply not there. It's a game that is best played in small chunks. It gets extra frustrating when the computer-controlled cars behave as if it were a destruction derby. If you manage to tackle another car in the right way, you can tip it over and then it's almost just to kiss the podium goodbye. However, they have a tendency to get stuck in tight corners themselves. Should you drive into the wall, it is as if it is made of rubber as you bounce back out into the track. But it usually doesn't matter much as most races are very easy. Even though there are only three laps in each race in the campaign mode, I was close to lapping the others almost every time.

However, the difficulty level goes up on the so-called obstacle courses. Here there are oil spills, cones, and other things to avoid. Here it's a race against the clock to try to get a bronze, silver, or preferably gold medal by completing a lap in a specific time. Ride a cone and there will be time penalties, get stuck in some kind of slime and gold medals have already flown away. It requires precise driving, but it is also perhaps the most entertaining game mode. Time trials is the same concept, but without all the obstacles that obstacles. The struggle to trim half a second or a tenth lap after lap is fun.

Unfortunately, the same can't really be said for the campaign mode. It's admittedly not that kind of game, but the story is so non-existent that it might as well not have been there. Pick a cup, in different environments and cinemas, run four races, the last of which is one-on-one, mano a mano. It's also the person who is something of a boss for that whole cup, but we barely get to know them. They're in all four races, but only before the last one are we treated to a brief quote that "I'm going to win on my home track!" and when they do lose, they make a sad comment about not understanding how this could happen. That is all. Maybe it's a way of trying to make each cup personal, but it feels mostly unnecessary and by the time the next cup starts, the previous boss is already forgotten.

Perhaps the best addition in the whole game, however, is the level builder. If you're good at, or just feel like, building courses, there's a lot of fun to be had here. An uphill right from the start and then a hairpin curve that goes over a grandstand? Absolutely, go for it. You can also share these courses online, which of course adds to the overall game value. Because there are people who are very good at creating fun tracks. I'm not one of them, as you can see from the screenshot below.

NeoSprint is a charming game in a retro genre already overflowing with games. It does nothing to stand out from the crowd, but at the same time it offers what is most important in a car game: driving pleasure. At least for a little while.