Remembering classic games: Vroom (1991)

Based on an early version built by French developer Daniel Macré in his evenings and weekends, Vroom on the Amiga and ST attempted to bring home all the high speed thrills and glamour of the Formula One championship. What's more, it tried on computers that, these days, wouldn't have enough processing power to successfully run a delicates cycle on your washing machine.

In spite of this, Vroom was blisteringly quick compared to other racers of the day, firing 16-bit scenery at your eyeballs like a motorsport-themed remake of the end of A Clockwork Orange. While it was by no means a simulator, Vroom was surprisingly authentic. The six circuits in the game were rough approximations of real life layouts, such as Fuji and Silverstone, albeit with scenery more sparse than the Gobi Desert. In another hat tip to realism, the game also accounted for fuel consumption, tyre wear and, brilliantly, full blown engine detonations, complete with the alarming sight of flames licking in the rear view mirror. The only thing missing was a 'jump out of the car screaming and roll around on the grass' button.

It was no surprise, then, that the 1993 sequel to Vroom became the first ever officially licensed F1 game, featuring 12 circuits from the real calendar, a championship full of real drivers and, most importantly for Formula One, considerably more trackside advertising.

Brilliant as it was, the original game wasn't without its eccentricities, though. The primary steering method wasn't the joystick, but the far more vague mouse. Still, if you tired of accidentally slamming into trees because of a recalcitrant squeaker, you could attempt the entirely unofficial mini-game: seeing who could launch the car furthest over the rear tyre of an opponent. Our record of 'about 350 metres, honest' has stood for 30 years...