Spirit of Speed 1937 is a racing

Racing game

A racing video game is a genre of video games, either in the first-person or third-person perspective, in which the player partakes in a racing competition with any type of land, air, or sea vehicles. They may be based on anything from real-world racing leagues to entirely fantastical settings...

 video game developed by Broadsword Interactive and published by both Acclaim Entertainment

Acclaim Entertainment

Acclaim Entertainment was an American video game developer and publisher. It developed, published, marketed and distributed interactive entertainment software for a variety of hardware platforms, including Sega's Mega Drive/Genesis, Saturn, Dreamcast, and Game Gear, Nintendo's NES, SNES, Nintendo...

 for the Dreamcast and by Microprose

MicroProse

MicroProse was a video game publisher and developer, founded by Wild Bill Stealey and Sid Meier in 1982 as Microprose Software. In 1993, the company became a subsidiary of Spectrum HoloByte and has remained a subsidiary or brand name under several other corporations since...

 for PC. The game was released in North America on June 29, 2000. Spirit of Speed 1937 takes gamers back to the 1930s when motor sports was just getting started and drivers raced for the thrill of speed, the danger, and the glamour that came with it. Some of the greatest automobiles, drivers, and engineers throughout the history of racing hail from this era.

Gameplay

Spirit of Speed 1937 features 13 classic vehicles, including the first twin-supercharged single-seat racer, the Alfa Romeo P3. Also featured are the twin V8 Alfa Romeo Bimotore designed by none other than Scuderia Ferrari, the Alfa Romeo 12C, the Auto Union Type C that was designed by the legendary Ferdinand Porsche, and the Auto Union Type D, a model that conformed to the Formula 1 standard of 3.0 liter supercharged or 4.5 liter non-supercharged engines.

Other cars include the Bugatti 35, Bugatti 59, Duesenberg, ERA Remus - which sported a 1500cc supercharged motor that accelerated to 60 mi/h in a little under five seconds, Mercedes Benz 125, Mercedes Benz 154, Miller, and the 24-litre Napier-Railton that hits its top speed at a terrifying 168 mi/h despite its rather hefty weight for a one-seater. Players race around nine legendary courses located in Melhalla (Libya), AVUS

AVUS

The Automobil-Verkehrs- und Übungs-Straße, better known as AVUS, is a public road that was also used as a motor racing circuit. It is located in the south-western districts of Berlin, Germany, between Charlottenburg and Nikolassee, and is nowadays an important part of the public highway system, as...

 (Germany), Montana

Montana

Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...

 (U.S.A.), Roosevelt

Roosevelt

Roosevelt may refer to:* Franklin D. Roosevelt , the 32nd President of the United States* Theodore Roosevelt , the 26th President of the United States* Eleanor Roosevelt , wife of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and First Lady...

(U.S.A.), Montlhéry

Montlhéry

Montlhéry is a commune in the Essonne department in Île-de-France in northern France. It is located from Paris.Inhabitants of Montlhéry are known as Montlhériens.-History:...

 (France), Pau (France), Donington

Donington Park

Donington Park is a motorsport circuit near Castle Donington in Leicestershire, England.Originally part of the Donington Hall estate, it was created as a racing circuit during the pre-war period when the German Silver Arrows were battling for the European Championship...

 (England), Brooklands

Brooklands

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

 (England), and Monza

Monza

Monza is a city and comune on the river Lambro, a tributary of the Po, in the Lombardy region of Italy some 15 km north-northeast of Milan. It is the capital of the Province of Monza and Brianza. It is best known for its Grand Prix motor racing circuit, the Autodromo Nazionale Monza.On June...

 (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 gameplayer 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 game received overwhelmingly negative reception from critics; it received a 39.33% from GameRankings based on nine reviews. IGN

IGN

IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...

'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

GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...

's Frank Provo criticized the sound effects and the visuals of the game. Giving the game a score of 1.9/10, the site named it the Worst Video Game of 2000 - the first year the award was given for console games.