Open-wheel mayhem... the pavement flying scant inches beneath the bottom of your seat.. V12 engines screaming for mercy at 11,000 RPM's.. Grand Prix Legends takes you back to the earliest days of Grand Prix racing. Days when drivers had to carve their path to victory without the benefits of computerized suspension, fuel-injection monitors and anti-lock braking systems. Come with me on a cruise down memory lane to a time when it was just man vs. machine, no corporate sponsors and no 5 point racing harnesses to hold you back.
If you're after something slightly different, Grand Prix Legends could be just the game to break the monotony. Set in the 1967 season, with the full roster of classic drivers and many now defunct circuits, GPL does a very good job of convincingly simulating the raw danger of racing on what are hardly more than big engines with wheels.
Grand Prix Legends Cars
The boys at Papyrus went to the wall with this title. Firstly, I must confess I am a bit of a classic racing freak, so I appreciated the opportunity to dig into this long delayed product from the Sierra-Motorsports division. GPL takes you back to 1967 in, what I feel, could be the racing sim game of the year. The researchers at Papyrus seemed to have left few stones unturned in gathering infinite amounts of data to bring this title to life. True physics and track-detail all swiftly drag you into a game that, for the racing enthusiast, brings it all home. Initially promised for first quarter '98, Grand Prix Legends is a title I feel was worth the wait.
Graphics: 18/20
If you looked up 'unbelievable' in ye-old-dictionary it would have to say `see Grand-Prix Legends'. Sporting an all new 3D engine from Papyrus, the textures, shading and detail levels achieved in GPL will set a benchmark for future racing sims. Needless to say 3DFX is both supported and utilized fully. Everything from the spinning wheels to the bouncing suspension has been animated almost to perfection. A fully functional and interactive 3D dashboard gives you all the information available for your car as you blaze your way down the track through tight corners and fast straightaways. Smoking your tires around the corners, skid markings recorded to perfection (allowing you to repeat your more spectacular crashes to a frame) the detail included is just ... well .. just staggering. The smooth textures of both car and track are so well done that I can safely say I have yet to see a game of this graphical quality to date.
With all that said though I could not give this game a 20/20 for 2 nagging (and blatantly nagging at that) shortcomings which really baffle me. Firstly: what where they thinking putting 2 dimensional spectators into a game of such unsurpassed realism? A seriously big faux-pas. Maybe I was just not supposed to be driving slow enough to notice. But with the number of crashes I perpetrated I got plenty of close-ups of the 2D inanimate spectators; a painful reminder of gaming history. Secondly: Will someone please tell game developers that dirt does get chewed up by spinning tires. A fact very few, if any, seem able to acknowledge.
A great video options menu allows you to tone down the display options for those of you without FX (or for those who don't meet the P166 / 32MB ram min. requirements) but I wouldn't recommend it. Do yourself a favor and get an FX card to enjoy this game. Direct X 6 is also required and must be installed before playing the game.
Sound: 12/15
Intense engine samples are really effective in this game as your selected beastie winds out its 12-cylinders to the threshold of 12,000 RPMs. Once again attention to detail keep the sound response glued to your throttle level allowing you maximum control over your vehicle. Once again for those trying to beat the system using an under powered PC you can turn down the sounds of approaching vehicles but that's kind of like taking the whistle away from a speeding freight-train isn't it?
Gameplay: 29/30
Before you play Grand Prix Legends for the first time, promise yourself you will not turn it off for at least 15 minutes. Because that is what it takes to actually make it around the track for the first time as you adjust your '90s driving habits to the wild physics of a 1960's racer. GPL is more of an actual simulator than a game. The unbelievable amount of detail in the physics model coupled with a rather ominous page of mechanical adjustments and car settings give you a virtual endless number of possible racing configurations. Trust me, get to know your setup info because you are going to need to adjust it well to beat the pros. Driver configurations include name, country, helmet colour, car chases. The chases selections are from one of the 7 teams from the 1967 racing year each with it's own unique horsepower, weight and torque configurations. All the actual tracks from the `67 racing season are drawn out in painstaking detail, taking you back to what the actual racers had to navigate. You can plan any one of the 11 tracks as a single race or as part of your championship season with a range of 6 difficulty and damage settings to make each race a little tougher or easier as you adjust. The keyword here is 'simulation'. If you want an arcade 'racer' Grand Prix Legends is not it (almost to a fault) but if you want a feel for what Grand Prix is all about don't pass it up.
Fun Factor: 14/20
I have to be realistic and say that this game isn't so much fun as it is challenging. I spent hours just learning to keep the car on the track and adjusting my settings for each race. The most entertaining part of the game was just the pure enjoyment of such great graphics, oh ya and the brutal detail displayed as my car disintegrated after coming out on the losing end of an argument with a stubborn barrier.
Multiplayer: 3/5
Internet capable multi for a killer racing sim like this was just icing on the cake. Unfortunately only IPX and serial (ie. modem) is supported, but it works fine over most of your Internet IPX gaming services. I don't know how much fun multiplayer will be because you never get to see your opponent until you are both unbelievably good and can stay with the pack, but still the ability to chase your best friend at grand prix speeds over the net is a welcome addition to the game.
Overall Impression: 10/10
Top notch, well done, pat on the back etc. The marriage of detail, fact, history and Papyrus' incredible new racing engine make a perfect package in this game. I can't stress this enough, Grand Prix Legends isn't an arcade type of game that you load up to spin around a few laps. The intense attention to detail and super physics engine provide you with the perfect tool for experiencing racing history. Without a doubt Grand Prix Legends gets my vote for `Racing-Simulation' of the year.
People who downloaded Grand Prix Legends have also downloaded:
Grand Prix 4, Grand Prix 3, Grand Prix 2, Le Mans 24 Hours, IndyCar Series, NASCAR Racing 2003 Season, Grand Prix World, Formula One Grand Prix
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- Grand Prix Legends
Description of Grand Prix Legends Windows
Upgrade the game graphics and more using the GPLPS GPL Installer: https://gplps.wordpress.com/gplps-gpl-installer/.
Get patches and mods to get the game running here: http://gpltd.bcsims.com/?ir=Mods.
Captures and Snapshots
Screenshots from MobyGames.com
Comments and reviews
Gisbitus2020-03-191 point
Tried to mount the ISO but Wincdemu says the file is corrupted
Chris2019-09-080 point
i never use mods
IAIN MCMURTRIE2019-07-141 point
had this when it first came out it was best f1 sim out then and is stiil great now
Billtheguy2019-07-087 points
For those who are having 'This is not a valid CD' problem:
1. Download the iso file.
2. Mount the iso file (with WinCDEmu).
3. Download GPLPS Installer from the link in the description.
4. Run GPLPS Installer and select the mounted iso as source.
5. Install.
Dave333332019-06-06-2 points
Mounted the English iso with WinCDEmu and started the installer. 'This is not a valid CD.'
titi112019-04-210 point
love this game
Tom2019-02-281 point
One of the best simracing games, made by Papyrus with a great multiplayer engine up to 20 players in the race. There's only one thing you need - the wheel. Playing with the keyboard is possible you only get frustrated and you'll end on the first corner ;)
GrimReaper2019-01-230 point
@The Man:
Yes, as the flags suggest, they're FR and DE versions, there is no EN version here.
the man2019-01-061 point
Grand Prix Legends Game For Mac Download
Are the copies below in english? They look to be in german and french
thehelpfulguy2018-10-292 points
clark kent ni.
you silly. what you need to do is mount the game onto a virtual disk (use magiciso) and then your computer can play it as though there was a disk inserted
sanic2018-03-270 point
YHe it works just download power iso run the file or download the installer here http://gpltd.bcsims.com/?ir=Mods
McFunster2018-03-032 points
Yes, there is a workaround. Download a free copy of FANTOM CD. Install it, reboot. Click OPEN on the Fantom CD program and point it to the ISO of GPL. Mount the image and reinstall the program from there.
NeonTemplar2017-12-171 point
One of the funniest racing games I've ever played. Infinite mods of real and fictional tracks, or complete seasons of F1 with its teams, drivers and all this stuff. Even without that the base game is awesome
Jason2017-11-07-1 point
There are definitely nocd cracks out there for this game. Quick search should yield a result.
speed bones2017-11-011 point
its a bust
Grand Prix Legends Game Download
niceguy9823982017-07-241 point
Same problem for me.
Clarke_Kent_NI2016-12-193 points
I tried to install the game but it asks for the disk, is there a way around this?
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