Grand Prix 4

Last updated
Grand Prix 4
Grand Prix 4 Coverart.png
Developer(s) Simergy [1]
Infogrames Chippenham [2]
Publisher(s) Infogrames
Designer(s) Geoff Crammond
Composer(s) James Hannigan
SeriesGrand Prix
Platform(s) Windows
Release
Genre(s) Racing simulation
Mode(s) Single-player, Multiplayer

Grand Prix 4, commonly known as GP4 is a Formula One racing simulator game co-developed by Geoff Crammond's development studio Simergy and Infogrames' Chippenham development studio, and published by Infogrames. Released for the PC on June 21, 2002, and is the last entry in Crammond's Grand Prix series, and the last entry released under the MicroProse label. Based on the 2001 Formula One season, GP4 is a huge graphical and physics upgrade from the previous version, Grand Prix 3 which had been released in 2000.

Contents

Modifications from version 3

Grand Prix 4 featured a heavily revised graphics engine and updated physics, including wet weather driving:

Release

Although the game could be considered a relatively modest commercial success, the chances of a further entry to the series could be considered slim to none because MicroProse's parent company Infogrames dissolved the developer shortly after the game's release. In addition, the Sony Computer Entertainment brand's exclusive licensing deal for Formula One games rules out an update with official stats. An Xbox port of the title had been planned for release in late 2002, before being cancelled in October that same year. [6]

Reception

Grand Prix 4 received "generally favorable reviews" according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. [7]

The game won the award in the Sports category at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts Awards in 2002. [18] It was also nominated for Computer Gaming World 's 2002 "Sports Game of the Year" award, which ultimately went to Madden NFL 2003 . The editors called Grand Prix 4 "one of the better racing games in years past". [19] It was also a runner-up for GameSpot's annual "Best Driving Game on PC" award, losing to Rally Trophy . [20]

Related Research Articles

<i>Grand Prix Legends</i> 1998 video game

Grand Prix Legends is a computer racing simulator developed by Papyrus Design Group and published in 1998 by Sierra On-Line under the Sierra Sports banner. It simulates the 1967 Grand Prix season.

<i>Grand Theft Auto: Vice City</i> 2002 video game

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City is a 2002 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the fourth main game in the Grand Theft Auto series, following 2001's Grand Theft Auto III, and the sixth entry overall. Set in 1986 within the fictional Vice City, the single-player story follows mobster Tommy Vercetti's rise to power after being released from prison and becoming caught up in an ambushed drug deal. While seeking out those responsible, Tommy gradually builds a criminal empire by seizing power from other criminal organisations in the city.

<i>Grand Theft Auto III</i> 2001 video game

Grand Theft Auto III is a 2001 action-adventure game developed by DMA Design and published by Rockstar Games. It is the third main entry in the Grand Theft Auto series, following 1999's Grand Theft Auto 2, and the fifth instalment overall. Set within the fictional Liberty City, the story follows Claude, a silent protagonist who, after being betrayed and left for dead by his girlfriend during a robbery, embarks on a quest for revenge that leads him to become entangled in a world of crime, drugs, gang warfare, and corruption. The game is played from a third-person perspective and its world is navigated on foot or by vehicle. Its open world design lets players freely roam Liberty City, consisting of three main areas.

Geoff Crammond is a computer game designer and programmer who specialises in motor racing games. A former defence industry systems engineer, he claims to have had little interest in motor racing before programming his first racing game (Revs) back in 1984, but he holds a physics degree, which may explain the realism of some of his programming. As a consequence of that project he became a big fan of Formula One motor racing. At the end of the 80s, this interest, plus the ever improving capabilities of home computers, inspired him to specialise in programming Formula One racing simulations.

<i>Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare</i> 2001 video game

Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare is a survival horror video game and the fourth installment and first reboot of the video game series Alone in the Dark, developed by Darkworks and published by Infogrames Entertainment, SA. The game was released in 2001 on several platforms including Windows, PlayStation, Dreamcast, and Game Boy Color. A PlayStation 2 version of the game was also released several months after and only in Europe.

<i>Grand Prix 3</i> 2000 video game

Grand Prix 3 is a computer racing simulator by MicroProse, released in 2000 by Hasbro Interactive.

<i>Grand Prix Challenge</i> 2002 video game

Grand Prix Challenge is a Formula One racing video game developed by Australian developer Infogrames Melbourne House and published by Infogrames for PlayStation 2. It was released in Europe on 22 November 2002, and was officially licensed by Formula One Administration. It was later released on 28 February 2003 in New Zealand and Australia, 3 March in North America and 22 May in Japan.

<i>NBA Live 99</i> 1998 basketball video game

NBA Live 99 is the fifth installment of the NBA Live video games series. The cover features Antoine Walker of the Boston Celtics. The game was developed by EA Sports and released on November 4, 1998, for the Nintendo 64, and then on November 10, 1998, for the Windows and PlayStation. Don Poier is the play-by-play announcer. It was the first NBA Live game released for Nintendo 64. NBA Live 99 was followed by NBA Live 2000.

<i>Formula One Grand Prix</i> (video game) 1992 video game

Formula One Grand Prix is a racing simulator released in 1991 by MicroProse for the Amiga, Atari ST and PC created by game designer Geoff Crammond. It is often referred to as Grand Prix 1, MicroProse Grand Prix, or just F1GP. Although the game itself was not affiliated officially with the FIA or any Formula One drivers, team liveries and driver helmets were accurate to represent the 1991 season, but the names were fictional. The game is a simulation of Formula One racing at the time and was noted for its 3D graphics, remarkably high framerate and attention to detail, in particular the player's ability to edit the teams and drivers and set up their car to their own personal specifications. The game was ranked the 27th best game of all time by Amiga Power. Grand Prix's success spawned three sequels, called Grand Prix 2, Grand Prix 3 and Grand Prix 4.

<i>Arx Fatalis</i> 2002 video game

Arx Fatalis is a 2002 action role-playing game developed by Arkane Studios and released for Windows and Xbox. The game is played from a first-person perspective and is set on a world whose sun has failed, forcing the above-ground creatures to take refuge in caverns. The game's mechanics include the use of mouse gestures to cast spells. Arx Fatalis received mostly positive reviews from critics but was not commercially successful. In 2011, Arkane Studios released the game's source code under the GNU General Public License (GPL), though the game assets remain proprietary.

<i>Sheep</i> (video game) 2000 video game

Sheep is a strategy puzzle video game released for PlayStation, Microsoft Windows and Game Boy Advance. In 2001 it was released for Mac OS X by Feral Interactive. The Game Boy Advance version was supposed to be released in North America in the spring of 2002, but was canceled for unknown reasons.

<i>F-1 World Grand Prix</i> 1998 video game

F-1 World Grand Prix, developed by Paradigm Entertainment, is a Formula One racing game/sim first released in 1998 for the Nintendo 64 game console and to later platforms including the Sega Dreamcast, Microsoft Windows, Sony PlayStation, and Game Boy Color. The Nintendo 64 version is based on the 1997 Formula One season, featuring each of the 17 circuits from the season and all 22 drivers, with the exceptions of Jacques Villeneuve and the MasterCard Lola team.

<i>Monaco Grand Prix: Racing Simulation 2</i> 1998 video game

Monaco Grand Prix: Racing Simulation 2, also known as just Monaco Grand Prix or Racing Simulation: Monaco Grand Prix, is a Formula One racing game developed and published by Ubisoft for the Windows, Nintendo 64, PlayStation, and Dreamcast. It was released in 1998–1999. A sequel, Racing Simulation 3, was released in 2002.

<i>Test Drive 6</i> 1999 video game

Test Drive 6 is a racing video game developed by Pitbull Syndicate for PlayStation, Microsoft Windows and Dreamcast. In the United States the game was published by Infogrames North America, while in Europe the game was published by Cryo Interactive. The game featured 37 licensed cars, plus four police car variants. As a first for the series, cars from General Motors are not playable in this game, instead they appear as traffic cars. The soundtrack featured industrial rock and techno music from artists such as Fear Factory, Lunatic Calm and Cirrus.

<i>Formula One Championship Edition</i> 2006 video game

Formula One Championship Edition is a racing video game developed by Studio Liverpool and published by Sony Computer Entertainment exclusively for PlayStation 3.

Ever since Pole Position in 1982, Formula One (F1) has always played a part of the racing genre in video games. Early Formula One games were typically arcade racing games, before Formula One Grand Prix (1991) popularized Formula One racing simulations on home computers.

<i>F1 2000</i> (video game) 2000 video game

F1 2000 is a racing video game developed by Visual Science for the PlayStation version and Image Space Incorporated for the Microsoft Windows version and published by EA Sports for PlayStation and Microsoft Windows. It is based on the 2000 Formula One season. F1 2000 was the last Visual Science F1 game to appear on the PlayStation. With an official FIA Formula One license, it includes the full 2000 World Championship season, including the new Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Jaguar Racing team.

<i>EA Sports F1 2001</i> 2001 video game

F1 2001 is a racing video game developed by Image Space Incorporated for the Microsoft Windows version and EA UK for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox version and published by EA Sports for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2 and Xbox. It is based on the 2001 Formula One season. A port for GameCube was planned, but cancelled for unknown reasons, and eventually released with minor changes as F1 2002. A Game Boy Color version was also cancelled during development.

<i>Michelin Rally Masters: Race of Champions</i> 2000 video game

Michelin Rally Masters: Race of Champions, also known as simply Rally Masters, is a racing video game developed by Digital Illusions CE and published by Infogrames in 2000 for Microsoft Windows and PlayStation. It is branded after the Race of Champions sporting event, and features 20 licensed rally automobiles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lost Toys</span> British video game developer

Lost Toys Ltd. was a British video game developer founded in March 1999 by Glenn Corpes, Jeremy Longley, and Darran Thomas, all of whom had previously worked for Bullfrog Productions. Les Edgar helped by providing financial support. Lost Toys was the third Bullfrog break-off group, after Mucky Foot Productions and Lionhead Studios, and was founded due to disillusionment after Electronic Arts purchased Bullfrog.

References

  1. "Geoff Crammond in Autumn". 10 May 2002.
  2. "Grand Prix 4 details". Eurogamer . February 2002.
  3. "Geoff Crammond's Grand Prix 4". Eurogamer . Archived from the original on June 22, 2002. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
  4. "Geoff Crammonds Grand Prix 4". Game Nation . Archived from the original on August 16, 2002. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
  5. Parker, Sam (September 10, 2002). "Grand Prix 4 ships". GameSpot . Retrieved April 5, 2024.
  6. "In the chair with Geoff Crammond". Retro Gamer . No. 69. Imagine Publishing. p. 88.
  7. 1 2 "Geoff Crammond's Grand Prix 4 for PC Reviews". Metacritic . CBS Interactive . Retrieved May 13, 2013.
  8. "Grand Prix 4". Computer Games Magazine . No. 146. theGlobe.com. January 2003. p. 77.
  9. Smolka, Rob (December 2002). "Grand Prix 4" (PDF). Computer Gaming World . No. 221. Ziff Davis. p. 124. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
  10. Bramwell, Tom (July 7, 2002). "Grand Prix 4". Eurogamer . Gamer Network. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
  11. Ajami, Amer (September 11, 2002). "Geoff Crammond's Grand Prix 4 Review [date mislabeled as "September 12, 2002"]". GameSpot . CBS Interactive. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
  12. Fryman, Avi (October 18, 2002). "GameSpy: Geoff Crammond's Grand Prix 4". GameSpy . IGN Entertainment. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
  13. Lafferty, Michael (September 16, 2002). "Grand Prix 4 Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on January 25, 2008. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
  14. Magruder, Randy (September 12, 2002). "Grand Prix 4 Review". IGN . Ziff Davis. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
  15. Jihem (June 21, 2002). "Test: Grand Prix 4". Jeuxvideo.com (in French). Webedia. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
  16. Mahood, Andy (December 2002). "Grand Prix 4". PC Gamer . Vol. 9, no. 12. Future US. p. 98. Archived from the original on March 15, 2006. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
  17. Presley, Paul (August 5, 2002). "PC Review: Grand Prix 4". PC Zone . Future plc. Archived from the original on June 30, 2007. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
  18. "Interactive | Games - Sport in 2002". British Academy of Film and Television Arts .
  19. CGW staff (April 2003). "Computer Gaming World's 2002 Games of the Year (Sports Game of the Year)" (PDF). Computer Gaming World. No. 225. Ziff Davis. p. 94. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
  20. GameSpot Staff (December 30, 2002). "GameSpot's Best and Worst of 2002". GameSpot . Archived from the original on February 7, 2003.