Spirit of Speed 1937

The final game from the Laughing Joking Numbnuts on the final Sega console, and of course, it all ended bitterly. There is no known reason for why Acclaim decided to publish this under the LJN name, but some say it was because they knew they had a terrible game on their hands. This game recreates 1930s racing, using classic model vehicles on famous race tracks around the world. Very interesting concept, but I eventually think it was supposed to be more realistic. Even though it's claimed to be a realistic racing title, there are no mechanics that many racing games at the time had, such as fuel usage, pit stops, or customisation of the car, such as the suspension, engine and brakes. It has terrible load times that often take up to 10 minutes or more. No, really, you could listen to a song or two and the game might still be loading for no apparent reason. The load times seem to be on par with Sonic '06 and HyperScan games. Despite being on the Dreamcast, a powerful console, the game rarely manages more than 10 frames per second. The graphics are also awful and choppy for the standards of the Dreamcast. The tracks look like model playsets, and the cars look as if they were taken from an remote-controlled car set. Many of the cars even have inaccuracies with their models. In fact, Grand Prix Legends, a 1996 game released on Windows PCs, looks superior. The PC version of this game (only in Europe) rarely slows down at all. Speaking of the tracks, despite the course designs resembling well known tracks such as Monza Speedway and Roosevelt Circuit, they feel lazy, and look the same half the time. The controls are unresponsive and slippery, as a single twitch of the thumbstick can send your car into a wall. Often some argued that this is a result of the game trying to simulate 1930s car movement. The soundtrack is lackluster and forgettable, only consisting of mainly trumpets, despite trying to sound like music from the 1930s. Also, poor and often too loud sound effects. The car engines sound like broken lawn mowers, the type squeals are practically ear-bleeding, and certain sounds are missing like the crowds in the stands. A supposed "realistic" mechanic is your car can catch on fire if you overheat the engine. The problem is, there is no indication on the speedometer of when it will happen, so there's a big chance that your car's engine will explode for no reason and eliminate you from the race. LJN, you are so dead to us all. For shame.