Grand National (video game)

Grand National
Publisher(s)Elite Systems
Platform(s)ZX Spectrum, Amiga
Release1985: Spectrum
1989: Amiga
Genre(s)Sports
Mode(s)Single-player

Grand National is a 1985 video game for the ZX Spectrum from British publisher Elite Systems. It is based on the horse race of the same name. The goal is to win a race with your chosen horse at Aintree Racecourse while also having a bet on the outcome. An Amiga port was published in 1989.

Gameplay

Spectrum screenshot

Players must adjust their speed and avoid hedges and other competitors.[1] Rapidly alternating between two keys makes the horse run. Another key jumps over fences.

Reception

Reviewing the ZX Spectrum version, Crash complimented the games graphics, thinking it a "vast improvement" over Elite Systems' previous release, The Dukes of Hazzard, but criticised the lack of each way bets and the unintuitive controls.[2] In their column "Joystick Jury" (formatted in the style of Juke Box Jury), the editors of Your Spectrum generally thought the game would be a hit, complementing the graphics and betting mechanics, but with Ross Holman thinking the pace of the action inadequate.[3]

See also

References

  1. ^ Wilkins, Chris (2016). The Little Book of Sinclair ZX Spectrum Games. Fusion Retro Books. p. 14.
  2. ^ a b "Grand National". Crash. No. 16. May 1985. pp. 36–37.
  3. ^ a b Nicholls, Dave; Willis, Roger; Holman, Ross (June 1985). "Joystick Jury". Your Spectrum. No. 15. p. 51. Retrieved 17 May 2024.