Classic Racers Elite (2024) - Every PC F1 Game
5Classic Racers Elite by Vision Reelle, 2024.
This one took a while to arrive on the PC, as the developer Vision Reelle went off to assist with Hot Lap Racing before launching this one. It's essentially an expanded, glow-up version of the original 2019 Classic Racers hillclimb game (which I've also covered already), with extra vehicles, locations and improved graphics. I like this game, despite it's simplicity!
Otherwise there's not much different; race across a number of stages, both with time-based hillclimb (or single lap) challenges, with some slightly more annoying slalom stages to test your cornering skills. I was playing on joypad here, which seems easier than the previous game (where I think I used steering wheel). It only took me one evening (pretty much) to unlock everything, then it's just a case of racing to be the best on the leaderboards.
Track-wise, there are a handful of circuits based on real-life, notably Monaco (called Manoca), Paul Ricard (Circuit Francis Pastis) and Le Mans (more of less, called Le Monsse!).
One criticism I have of this game though is that the reflections (on car body, mirrors and some trackside scenery) animates very slowly, which takes away some of the slick appearance of the game. But I like that all cars now have full in-car cockpit views. The cars include classic F1, rally and sports cars, but obviously we're just looking at the F1 content here!
1. Race Start (Monza): 0:00 Starting off on the recreation of a 1980s Paul Ricard, this is one fast track. I'm using a 1980's F1 car that seems to be a renamed AGS JH23 from 1988.
2. Spray Effects (Silverstone): 0:42 A high speed countryside track in the AGS again. There's no rain in this game though.
3. Tunnel & View (Monaco): 1:03 Here's the Monaco track, this is the same as the previous game, but looks way nicer. The car is a rebranded Lotus F1 car.
4. Wet Track (Spa-Francorchamps): 1:24 This is the same track I used in the original game, but is' so heavily reworked I had to double-check! The enormous, yet repetitive, conifers of the original game are much more subtle here. No rain though. The car is a 1960s Honda replica.
5. Pitstop (Interlagos): 1:46 The pits are inaccessible in this game (as there's no damage, and the circuit-based tracks only last one lap, so there's no point!). However, I did find a cheeky petrol station in the Le Monsse track that I could pretend I could stop at! The car is a 1960s Matra lookalike.
6. Huge Crash (Montreal): 2:05 Here's the Lyon street circuit I showed in the first game, but in reverse. As before, crashes see tyres and hay bales flying, as well as your car, but you'll only be harmed with a loss of time, which can be critical on a time-attack hillclimb game! This is the AGS again, in something approaching Minardi colours.
This is part of the Every PC F1 Game playlist, which you can find here: • Every PC F1 Game