''Spirit of Speed 1937'' is a

racing In sports, racing is a competition of speed, in which competitors try to complete a given task in the shortest amount of time. Typically this involves traversing some distance, but it can be any other task involving speed to reach a specific g ...

video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

developed by Broadsword Interactive. The game was originally released in 1999 exclusively in Europe by

Hasbro Interactive Hasbro Interactive, Inc. (Currently named Atari Interactive, Inc.) is the former video game subsidiary of board game and toy manufacturer Hasbro. Originally formed in 1995 and headquartered in Beverly, Massachusetts, Hasbro Interactive initially ...

, who released the game under the

MicroProse MicroProse is an American video game publisher and video game developer, developer founded by Bill Stealey, Sid Meier, and Andy Hollis in 1982. It developed and published numerous games, including starting the ''Civilization (series), Civilizat ...

brand name. In 2000, the game was ported to the Dreamcast, and was published by

Acclaim Entertainment Acclaim Entertainment, Inc. was an American video game publisher based in Glen Cove, New York. Originally founded by Greg Fischbach, Robert Holmes, and Jim Scoroposki from a storefront in Oyster Bay in 1987, the company built a global develop ...

under the

LJN LJN Toys Ltd. was an American toy company and video game publisher founded by Jack Friedman in 1967. MCA Inc. acquired the company in 1985, and sold to Acclaim Entertainment in 1990. The toy division of the company was closed by Acclaim and a m ...

banner, the final game published with this label, five years after LJN was shut down by Acclaim. This version saw a North American release, and was released there on June 27, 2000. ''Spirit of Speed 1937'' takes place in 1937, when motorsport was in its infancy.

Gameplay

''Spirit of Speed 1937'' features 15 classic vehicles, including the first twin-supercharged single-seat racer, the

Alfa Romeo P3 The Alfa Romeo P3, P3 monoposto or Tipo B was a classic Grand Prix car designed by Vittorio Jano, one of the Alfa Romeo 8C models. The P3 is considered to be the world's first genuine single-seat Grand Prix racing car and was Alfa Romeo's second ...

. Also featured are the twin V8 Alfa Romeo Bimotore designed by

Scuderia Ferrari Scuderia Ferrari (; ), currently racing under Scuderia Ferrari HP, is the racing division of luxury Italian auto manufacturer Ferrari and the racing team that competes in Formula One racing. The team is also known by the nickname "the Pranc ...

, the

Alfa Romeo 12C The Alfa Romeo 12C or Tipo C was a 12-cylinder Grand Prix car. The 12C-36 made its debut in Tripoli Grand Prix 1936, and the 12C-37 in Coppa Acerbo 1937. The 12C-36 was a Tipo C fitted with the new V12 instead of the 3.8 litre straight-eight of th ...

, the Auto Union Type C which was designed by

Ferdinand Porsche Ferdinand Porsche (3 September 1875 – 30 January 1951) was a German automotive engineering, automotive engineer and founder of the Porsche, Porsche AG. He is best known for creating the first Petrol engine, gasoline–Electric motor, el ...

, and the

Auto Union Type D Auto may refer to: Vehicles * An automobile, or car * An autonomous car, a self-driving car * An auto rickshaw Mechanisms * Short for automatic * An automaton * An automatic transmission Media * Auto (art), a form of Portuguese dramatic play * ...

. Other cars include the

Bugatti Type 35 The Bugatti Type 35 is an iconic race car design produced by Bugatti at their Molsheim premises between 1924 and 1930. It was extremely successful when raced by the factory works team. It was also bought by a diverse roster of privateer client ...

, Bugatti Type 59,

Prince Bira Prince Birabongse Bhanudej Bhanubandh (; ; 15 July 191423 December 1985), commonly known as Prince Bira of Siam or simply Prince Bira, was a member of the Thai royal family. Bira was also a racing driver, sailor and pilot, who competed in Formul ...

ERA An era is a span of time. Era or ERA may also refer to: * Era (geology), a subdivision of geologic time * Calendar era Education * Academy of European Law (German: '), an international law school * ERA School, in Melbourne, Australia * E ...

"Remus", Mercedes-Benz W125,

Mercedes-Benz W154 The Mercedes-Benz W154 was a Grand Prix racing car designed by Rudolf Uhlenhaut. The W154 competed in the 1938 and 1939 Grand Prix seasons and was used by Rudolf Caracciola to win the 1938 European Championship. The W154 was created as a result ...

Duesenberg Duesenberg Automobile & Motors Company, Inc. was an American race car, racing and luxury car, luxury automobile manufacturer founded in Indianapolis, Indiana, by brothers Fred Duesenberg, Fred and August Duesenberg in 1920. The company is kn ...

Miller A miller is a person who operates a mill, a machine to grind a grain (for example corn or wheat) to make flour. Milling is among the oldest of human occupations. "Miller", "Milne" and other variants are common surnames, as are their equivalents ...

, and the 24-litre

Napier-Railton The Napier-Railton is an aero-engined racing car built in 1933, designed by Reid Railton to a commission by John Cobb, and built by Thomson & Taylor. It was driven by Cobb, mainly at the Brooklands race track where it holds the all-time lap ...

. Players race around nine legendary courses located in Melhalla (Libya),

AVUS The ('Automobile traffic and training road'), known as AVUS (), is a public road in Berlin, Germany. Opened in 1921, it was also used as a motor racing circuit until 1998. Today, the AVUS forms the northern part of the Bundesautobahn 115. C ...

(Germany),

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

(U.S.),

Roosevelt Raceway Roosevelt Raceway was a race track located just outside the village of Westbury on Long Island, New York. Initially created as a venue for the 1936 Vanderbilt Cup auto race, it was converted to a ½-mile harness racing facility (the actual ci ...

(U.S.),

Montlhéry Montlhéry () is a Communes of France, commune in the Essonne Departments of France, department in Île-de-France in northern France. It is located from Paris. History Montlhéry lay on the strategically important road from Paris to Orléans. U ...

(France), Pau (France), Donington (England),

Brooklands Brooklands was a motor racing circuit and aerodrome built near Weybridge in Surrey, England, United Kingdom. It opened in 1907 and was the world's first purpose-built 'banked' motor racing circuit as well as one of Britain's first airfields, ...

(England), and

Monza Monza (, ; ; , locally ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the Lambro, River Lambro, a tributary of the Po (river), River Po, in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capital of the province of Mo ...

(Italy). ''Spirit of Speed 1937''s modes of play are Single Race, Championship Season, and Scenario. Single Race allows players to select a car and course to race on. Championship Season is where users take part in a series of races in an attempt to win the title. Scenario is a mode that sets up a historic racing moment for the player to experience. Each mode is broken into three separate difficulties but none of them include a two-player feature. Along with the standard controller, the game also supports arcade sticks and steering wheels.

Reception

The Dreamcast version received unfavorable reviews according to the

review aggregation A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...

website

GameRankings GameRankings was a video gaming review aggregator that was founded in 1999 and owned by CBS Interactive. It indexed over 315,000 articles relating to more than 14,500 video games. GameRankings was discontinued in December 2019, with its staff bei ...

. ''

IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...

''s Jeremy Dunham called it "the poorest excuse for a Dreamcast game I have ever laid eyes on", harshly criticizing nearly every aspect of the game, including the load times, course designs, control, and graphics. ''

GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady, and Jon Epstein. In addition ...

''s Frank Provo criticized the sound effects and the visuals of the game. In Japan, however, where the game was ported and published by Acclaim Japan on April 5, 2001, ''

Famitsu , formerly , is a line of Japanese Video game journalism, video game magazines published by Kadokawa Game Linkage (previously known as Gzbrain), a subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation, Kadokawa. ''Famitsu'' is published in both weekly and monthly f ...

'' gave it a score of 25 out of 40. ''GameSpot'' named it the Worst Video Game of 2000 – the first year the award was given for console games. Conversely, ''DC Swirl'' gave the game 3 out of 5 swirls, commending the accurate portrayal of auto racing of the period, and approving of the relatively low price point at which the game was retailed. HappyPuppy gave a rating of 6.5/10 and a mixed review criticizing the gameplay but complimenting the graphics. Argentine magazine ''Next Level'' gave the game 70%, approving the low price and the authentic representation of themes of the era. Spain-based magazine ''Super Juegos'' gave a better score of 72. ''GF3K.com'' gave a far better score of 7.8 out of 10, praising the controls, sound, and the game's accuracy in portraying vintage racing cars.

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Spirit Of Speed 1937 1999 video games Acclaim Entertainment games Broadsword Interactive games Cancelled Game Boy Advance games Dreamcast games Hasbro Interactive games LJN games Multiplayer and single-player video games Racing video games set in the United States Video games developed in the United Kingdom Video games set in 1937 Video games set in England Video games set in France Video games set in Germany Video games set in Italy Video games set in Libya Windows games