Pole Position II

"Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines!"

When Pole Position was released by Atari under license from Namco, it went on to become the biggest game of 1983, so it was natural a sequel would be inevitable. When the Atari 7800 was planned for release in 1984, they figured they'd give buyers the thrill of having the sequel to the game of 1983. Unfortunately, Jack Tramiel took over Atari, fired 1000 employees, and delayed it until 1986. When it finally came out, it still came packaged with Pole Position II. Nevertheless, it goes to prove that sometimes it's better to get something late than never!

Graphics: 8/10
The billboards all look the same, different colors, but always with an Atari logo drawn on them. The backgrounds from the arcade are still intact and go with their respective tracks, like the pyramids of Egypt on the Test Course. Your car is a dark yellow color, where the rival cars are yellow, green, or blue. You won't see the Start/Finish line with the lights that you might be used to in the arcades. Instead, you get a white line on the track, and when you're ready to go, a set of lights appear above your car. OK, so they had to make a few sacrifices, but other than that, it still looks great!

Sounds: 8/10
The sound of your engine is a little monotonous at times, and since that's what you'll be constantly hearing, it can get a little grating at times. The Pole Position II fanfare will play at the beginning of every qualifying lap, and when you finish the game you'll hear a small portion of one of the game over themes from the arcade game. The crashes are average, nothing major, but nothing minor either.

Controls: 9/10
You use the left joystick button to accelerate, and the right button to brake. Pushing the joystick upwards shifts into high gear, and pulling it back shifts into low gear. And, of course, tilting the joystick left or right will turn the car in those respective directions. Once the car gets going, though, you need to know when to downshift to avoid accidents, costing you precious time during the main race.

For those who don't know, basically Pole Position introduced the concept of a 'chase camera' for racing games, as well as the concept of actually having to qualify to participate in the main race. Pole Position II added three new tracks and each of them had different qualifying times. For this version, the qualifying lap times are all the same for each track, and they're all the same as they were in the original Pole Position.

Replay: 9/10
There are four different tracks to race on, each of them possessing their own difficulty. The Test course, a simple square track with four turns provides a good place to practice your driving skills. The Fuji speedway from Pole Position returns, containing several turns, including one hairpin. The Seaside track contains more turns and a couple of hairpins. And, finally, there's the Suzuka raceway, the most difficult of them all, with many different turns and curves which will test even the most seasoned drivers.

Overall: 9/10
So why was it so common, you ask? Because it was the pack-in game, silly! Odds are, if you have an Atari 7800, you should have this game too. If you don't, then try going out and looking for a copy of this game to add to your library. Go for the Pole!

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 10/14/02, Updated 10/14/02