0:59 - Hehe, the speech at the start is so realistic! 😜 It's almost identical to the arcade version! 🤣 The car movement in ZX Spectrum Pole Position reminds me of those classic LCD Game & Watch titles. The vehicles seem to teleport rather than smoothly traverse the track. A clear winner there. Looking forward to some more comparisons.
😄I forgot I did that, think I do it most times I play Pole Position on any version, can't help myself😁 Yes you're spot on, it is like those LCD games movement, good description, if only the movement was smoother and better sounds it would have been masively improved. 1984 I guess would've been ok, but certainly don't feel I was missing out. The Beeb version really is impressive I think, second only to the Atari800.
@@Tetlee Anything that adds to the arcade feel gets my vote! 😁 So I never had a BBC Micro, or played any games beyond the educational ones at school, but I did enjoy Uridium, Yie Ar Kung-Fu, and Knight Lore on the ZX Spectrum which I think were also on the BBC Micro back in the day. Can't wait to see what others you've found for this series.
@@pauljackson6168 Uridium I already covered in the Beeb unfortunately otherwise that would've definitely been one for the series, that's brilliant on the Beeb. I got to play with a few Beeb games at school, especially lunch breaks. Chuckie Egg, Imogen, Space Pilot, Frak, haha great games 😁 Probably be Nifty Lifty next as was 1 that was requested. Have a great weekend Paul👍
I honestly didnt expect the Beeb to trump on the Speccy on this game, but it did. Sounds so much better and gameplay looks much more forgiving. Its interesting to see a hint at how the track was designed...it looks like theyve scrolled a stripey back ground layer and overlayed the track and sides (particularly on the speccy version) and just left out the track chevrons and track lines (you can even see the stripes in the billboard posts 😁). Beeb looks like a similar trick but is much better hidden. The road lines have basically just hidden the red stripes. Clever but early programming tricks 👍
Haha I wondered why the bilboards had flashy legs, I see why now😁 Yeah alot of the devs were learning on the job at this point, really interesting to see how far they progressed with the later racers on both systems. Have a great weekend Sean buddy👍
Pole position is an absolute classic, 4:34 OMG that Speccy Version does look slow, I don't remember it being that slow as a kid but It was a very very long time ago 😂 7:00 Squeaky skidding I like it 😂 This version is Definitely superior, 11:05 Can't argue with your scores, Well played mate have a wonderful weekend
Yeah absolutely loved Pole Position in the arcades, hope to find it somewhere as would love to play it on the cab again. The Speccy version is a snooze fest to play tbh, I wouldn't want to go back to it. The Beeb version is great, not far off the excellent Atari800 port. Has it's own style but I kinda like that. Have a great weekend yourself Marc👍
@@colincoxhybridgamer906 yeah the Beeb version was leagues better here. The Speccy collision detection would've driven me nuts too, but aside from that the Speccy port just felt boring.😬
Hey Christian, yes these early micro computer racers were a bit ropey, the Soeccy especially did way better a few years later. The Beeb did pretty great I think, certainly fun to play👍
I remember back in the day this was one of those games that would crash on the start screen more times than not on my speccy so a game I never really got to play a lot lol but I do remember that start tune on the speccy very nostalgic and I thought the crash animation was awesome I played the BBc version at school bud and I was impressed for the time the speed and I think the BBC graphics and sprites have a real charm
@@SEGAZombie yeah pretty sure I played the Beeb version at school, but we did play a few different F1 games so not 100% sure which ones. At least you didn't miss much with your Speccy game crashing😄 not a crowning moment for Speccy ports this one😬😄
Some very generous marking there, but as it was only one against the other and how much you liked them, fair enough. The specky version looks more like a turn based game and watch game with its 2 FPS :) I'm sure they could have done much better. Feels good to be dating that about something other than my beloved beeb;) Perhaps you could do a series of homebrew Vs, scored😅 against the arcade ;)
hehe yes no doubt there, but I do think it was pretty amazing for 1984. The Speccy did indeed seem a port of an LCD game, shame as it looks nice but far from fun to play. Homebrew vs Arcade would be a great idea, only thing is all my stuff is on original hardware, I don't bother with emulation. Cheers for watching Richard, hope you are working on some more excellent Beeb games🙂
Really don’t want to say this, but yep the BBC does look a lot better especially passing other cars, the sounds when the spectrum just sounded the same. Real shame on the spectrum port but still love it and that cover with the F1 cars looks amazing. Enjoyed the arcade game, probably why I enjoyed the spectrum port. Cheers Lee
Yeah the Speccy port looked very good I thought, but the gameplay really let it down, pretty dull where as the Beeb has the excitement of the arcade game and with its own cool look. Thankfully the Speccy had some belters later on, cheers for watching mate.
I certainly got bored quickly of the Speccy version, haha. I couldn't sit and play a game like this for an hour at a time, but the Beeb one I've revisited a fair bit and always find it fun. Cheers Alex mate.
Love that you've pitted these two against each other - Sir Clive v Chris Curry seems extra spicy. Beeb version is far better for this one. It's a shame I didn't know it was a good system for games back in the day.
Hey good point, The Battle of Britain😄 Thr Beeb was pretty capable alright, I got to play quite a few of the vlassics bitd but still constantly suprised just how many great games there were for it.
Fairly sure I've only ever played this on the arcade (long ago). The beeb version sounded so much more like the original and looked more fun also. BBC for the win.
@@davidretrogamesplayedbadly3533 ah the arcade can we awesome Dave, would love to come across that again some day, first arcade racer I played. Yeah the Beeb tramples all over the poor Speccy port here, great one to play🙂
Classic game here had many a blast in the arcades the cars on Speccy version jerk more than Brenda 😉couldn’t remember the beeb version so yeah clear winner 🏆
If you took the Beeb sound and gameplay and the Speccy visuals (and I can't believe I'm saying that) it would be absolutely fantastic. The Beeb has got to win overall, though. The Speccy gameplay is more like a 2 or 3 🙄
@@GenerationPixel agreed, and I almost gave the gameplay a 3, 4 was certainly generous. It's a shame as the Speccy graphics were pretty impressive for such an early attempt at a 3d racer, even some nice colour use on the main car. Yep a combo of both would've been perfect👌
I recently bought this on the Speccy but it wouldn't load, looks great graphically, I agree with your rating, but man, it sure seems to play awful, what a shame A definite clear win for the beeb here, not sure about the flat car but aside from that looks great. Pleased to hear you've found Manic Miner👍
Ah well no loss there with the load failures buddy, haha just admire the nice boxart😉 The Beeb has its own look for sure, the flat cars look like from a more serious F1 game, I actually like the look even if it does stray from the arcade design. Have you ever played the Vectrex port? That's alot of fun.
Hey Lee, Don't like the black area, and the road markings aren't white on the speccy? and as you said, the collision detection is bad on the spectrum version unfortunately. Yeah the BBC version is a bit more blocky but colors/sounds are nicer, and plays better, also like the green area instead of the black on the speccy. BBC definitely wins mate, hand down 👍
Hey I didn't even notice the red/ white chevrons carried through to the road markings, haha. Lazy trickery there. The Speccy version is an unusual look, like a night time race. Beeb version does pee all over the Speccy port here no doubt about it😉
The Spectrum version has nice well defined graphics but the illusion of speed is awful as is the dubious attempt at Collision detection. Just ignore everything else and focus on the lines in the middle of the road, they hardly move. The BBC version is much better but still not in the same class as the Atari version. I'd give an honourable mention to the incredibly smooth Vectrex version too. Most of the other versions of Pole Position are pretty poor, the C64 one in particular is a bit of a letdown with it's horrendous washed out colour palette. Good comparison vid though Lee, I'd say your ratings were spot for the Speccy-but I'd probably take a few points off your BBC scores as you're then putting too close to the Atari and I'd say there's probably still a decent gulf between the Atari and Beeb versions.
Agreed, no sense of speed and the dull unchanged engine noise doesn't help with that either. At one point I lost all speed from driving on the corner chevrons but there was no way of realising from the sounds. I agree the Atari800 version is still the undisputed king, but I think the Beeb version is pretty great. I suppose I could have tweaked the scores with that in mind but I only come up with it in the moment. I try to take release year and system into account when rating and I'd struggle to give the Beeb much lower, difficult to see how it could've been any better IMO. However even if two versions score the same I could still favour a particular version if that makes sense, just my funny logic, I'd never make a professional reviewer😄 Next one of these I do will be Nifty Lifty, I haven't even played the Speccy version of that since the 80's(have never played the Beeb version) so looking forward to doing that one.
So pleased to see this series back mate and covering my 2 favourite micros
@@SEGAZombie hey I'm really happy you enjoy them Scott, they're great fun to do. Nifty Lifty should be next and I haven't played that since the 80's🙂
0:59 - Hehe, the speech at the start is so realistic! 😜 It's almost identical to the arcade version! 🤣
The car movement in ZX Spectrum Pole Position reminds me of those classic LCD Game & Watch titles. The vehicles seem to teleport rather than smoothly traverse the track.
A clear winner there. Looking forward to some more comparisons.
😄I forgot I did that, think I do it most times I play Pole Position on any version, can't help myself😁
Yes you're spot on, it is like those LCD games movement, good description, if only the movement was smoother and better sounds it would have been masively improved. 1984 I guess would've been ok, but certainly don't feel I was missing out.
The Beeb version really is impressive I think, second only to the Atari800.
@@Tetlee Anything that adds to the arcade feel gets my vote! 😁
So I never had a BBC Micro, or played any games beyond the educational ones at school, but I did enjoy Uridium, Yie Ar Kung-Fu, and Knight Lore on the ZX Spectrum which I think were also on the BBC Micro back in the day. Can't wait to see what others you've found for this series.
@@pauljackson6168 Uridium I already covered in the Beeb unfortunately otherwise that would've definitely been one for the series, that's brilliant on the Beeb.
I got to play with a few Beeb games at school, especially lunch breaks. Chuckie Egg, Imogen, Space Pilot, Frak, haha great games 😁
Probably be Nifty Lifty next as was 1 that was requested.
Have a great weekend Paul👍
@@Tetlee Thanks Lee, you too.
Watching your Uridium BBC Micro gameplay is queued up next!
These are always an enjoyable watch Lee, well played and great job.🕹🏎⚡️ Hope you have a jolly good weekend fellow.🍀
@@Pjvenom1985 cheers buddy, glad you enjoy them, they're only for fun.
Have a great weekend yourself🍀👍
Loved Pole Position in the arcade with its sit in cab and spinning steering wheel!! :)
Oh me too, infact I'm pretty sure it was the very first arcade racer I played, so good!
I honestly didnt expect the Beeb to trump on the Speccy on this game, but it did. Sounds so much better and gameplay looks much more forgiving.
Its interesting to see a hint at how the track was designed...it looks like theyve scrolled a stripey back ground layer and overlayed the track and sides (particularly on the speccy version) and just left out the track chevrons and track lines (you can even see the stripes in the billboard posts 😁). Beeb looks like a similar trick but is much better hidden. The road lines have basically just hidden the red stripes. Clever but early programming tricks 👍
Haha I wondered why the bilboards had flashy legs, I see why now😁
Yeah alot of the devs were learning on the job at this point, really interesting to see how far they progressed with the later racers on both systems.
Have a great weekend Sean buddy👍
Pole position is an absolute classic, 4:34 OMG that Speccy Version does look slow, I don't remember it being that slow as a kid but It was a very very long time ago 😂 7:00 Squeaky skidding I like it 😂 This version is Definitely superior, 11:05 Can't argue with your scores, Well played mate have a wonderful weekend
Yeah absolutely loved Pole Position in the arcades, hope to find it somewhere as would love to play it on the cab again.
The Speccy version is a snooze fest to play tbh, I wouldn't want to go back to it.
The Beeb version is great, not far off the excellent Atari800 port. Has it's own style but I kinda like that.
Have a great weekend yourself Marc👍
Another great comparison video. One clear winner the BBC. The collision detection would of drove me nuts on the spectrum
@@colincoxhybridgamer906 yeah the Beeb version was leagues better here. The Speccy collision detection would've driven me nuts too, but aside from that the Speccy port just felt boring.😬
Hey Lee, yeah I like my racing game smoother than that lol BUt the second one seem quite beter indeed! Thanks for showing it to us!
Hey Christian, yes these early micro computer racers were a bit ropey, the Soeccy especially did way better a few years later. The Beeb did pretty great I think, certainly fun to play👍
I remember back in the day this was one of those games that would crash on the start screen more times than not on my speccy so a game I never really got to play a lot lol but I do remember that start tune on the speccy very nostalgic and I thought the crash animation was awesome
I played the BBc version at school bud and I was impressed for the time the speed and I think the BBC graphics and sprites have a real charm
@@SEGAZombie yeah pretty sure I played the Beeb version at school, but we did play a few different F1 games so not 100% sure which ones.
At least you didn't miss much with your Speccy game crashing😄 not a crowning moment for Speccy ports this one😬😄
Some very generous marking there, but as it was only one against the other and how much you liked them, fair enough. The specky version looks more like a turn based game and watch game with its 2 FPS :) I'm sure they could have done much better. Feels good to be dating that about something other than my beloved beeb;)
Perhaps you could do a series of homebrew Vs, scored😅 against the arcade ;)
hehe yes no doubt there, but I do think it was pretty amazing for 1984. The Speccy did indeed seem a port of an LCD game, shame as it looks nice but far from fun to play.
Homebrew vs Arcade would be a great idea, only thing is all my stuff is on original hardware, I don't bother with emulation.
Cheers for watching Richard, hope you are working on some more excellent Beeb games🙂
Ginger back to my pinball game for the beeb for a while
Really don’t want to say this, but yep the BBC does look a lot better especially passing other cars, the sounds when the spectrum just sounded the same. Real shame on the spectrum port but still love it and that cover with the F1 cars looks amazing. Enjoyed the arcade game, probably why I enjoyed the spectrum port. Cheers Lee
Yeah the Speccy port looked very good I thought, but the gameplay really let it down, pretty dull where as the Beeb has the excitement of the arcade game and with its own cool look. Thankfully the Speccy had some belters later on, cheers for watching mate.
Both versions look ok but the problem with these sorts of games is that I find I get bored very quickly with them
Great video mate 👍
I certainly got bored quickly of the Speccy version, haha. I couldn't sit and play a game like this for an hour at a time, but the Beeb one I've revisited a fair bit and always find it fun.
Cheers Alex mate.
Love that you've pitted these two against each other - Sir Clive v Chris Curry seems extra spicy. Beeb version is far better for this one. It's a shame I didn't know it was a good system for games back in the day.
Hey good point, The Battle of Britain😄
Thr Beeb was pretty capable alright, I got to play quite a few of the vlassics bitd but still constantly suprised just how many great games there were for it.
Fairly sure I've only ever played this on the arcade (long ago).
The beeb version sounded so much more like the original and looked more fun also.
BBC for the win.
@@davidretrogamesplayedbadly3533 ah the arcade can we awesome Dave, would love to come across that again some day, first arcade racer I played.
Yeah the Beeb tramples all over the poor Speccy port here, great one to play🙂
Hey mate, I'm watching Traiters atm, I will watch ya vid tomorrow 😂😂
@@stewsretroreviews haha no idea what Traitors is but enjoy buddy😀
@Tetlee What mate 😲 , probably the highest TV rating show in the country atm lol.
@@stewsretroreviews lol, I watch so little terrestrial television, yep I must be way outta touch mate😄
Great video, beeb version definately the better by a long way.
@@RetroSK3L3 cheers Matt, yeah I agree, for 1984 I think it was very impressive. Speccy, don't think I'll be playing again😄
Classic game here had many a blast in the arcades the cars on Speccy version jerk more than Brenda 😉couldn’t remember the beeb version so yeah clear winner 🏆
😂always make me laugh with your comments Goldie mate, haha yeah alot of jerking going on there for sure😄
The Beeb version is great👌
Gameplay 4/10 vs 9/10 😅 shows how much different a port can be!
@@bundjohn very true, if anything the 4/10 was generous, almost gave the Speccy gameplay a 3/10. Very dull and unengaging to play.
If you took the Beeb sound and gameplay and the Speccy visuals (and I can't believe I'm saying that) it would be absolutely fantastic.
The Beeb has got to win overall, though.
The Speccy gameplay is more like a 2 or 3 🙄
@@GenerationPixel agreed, and I almost gave the gameplay a 3, 4 was certainly generous.
It's a shame as the Speccy graphics were pretty impressive for such an early attempt at a 3d racer, even some nice colour use on the main car.
Yep a combo of both would've been perfect👌
I recently bought this on the Speccy but it wouldn't load, looks great graphically, I agree with your rating, but man, it sure seems to play awful, what a shame
A definite clear win for the beeb here, not sure about the flat car but aside from that looks great. Pleased to hear you've found Manic Miner👍
Ah well no loss there with the load failures buddy, haha just admire the nice boxart😉
The Beeb has its own look for sure, the flat cars look like from a more serious F1 game, I actually like the look even if it does stray from the arcade design.
Have you ever played the Vectrex port? That's alot of fun.
@Tetlee no not got that unfortunately but does look good
@retroimportgamer513 I got a multicart recently, that one is really good and if course the analogue controls help no end.
Hey Lee,
Don't like the black area, and the road markings aren't white on the speccy? and as you said, the collision detection is bad on the spectrum version unfortunately.
Yeah the BBC version is a bit more blocky but colors/sounds are nicer, and plays better, also like the green area instead of the black on the speccy.
BBC definitely wins mate, hand down 👍
Hey I didn't even notice the red/ white chevrons carried through to the road markings, haha. Lazy trickery there.
The Speccy version is an unusual look, like a night time race.
Beeb version does pee all over the Speccy port here no doubt about it😉
The Spectrum version has nice well defined graphics but the illusion of speed is awful as is the dubious attempt at Collision detection. Just ignore everything else and focus on the lines in the middle of the road, they hardly move. The BBC version is much better but still not in the same class as the Atari version. I'd give an honourable mention to the incredibly smooth Vectrex version too. Most of the other versions of Pole Position are pretty poor, the C64 one in particular is a bit of a letdown with it's horrendous washed out colour palette.
Good comparison vid though Lee, I'd say your ratings were spot for the Speccy-but I'd probably take a few points off your BBC scores as you're then putting too close to the Atari and I'd say there's probably still a decent gulf between the Atari and Beeb versions.
Agreed, no sense of speed and the dull unchanged engine noise doesn't help with that either. At one point I lost all speed from driving on the corner chevrons but there was no way of realising from the sounds.
I agree the Atari800 version is still the undisputed king, but I think the Beeb version is pretty great. I suppose I could have tweaked the scores with that in mind but I only come up with it in the moment. I try to take release year and system into account when rating and I'd struggle to give the Beeb much lower, difficult to see how it could've been any better IMO. However even if two versions score the same I could still favour a particular version if that makes sense, just my funny logic, I'd never make a professional reviewer😄
Next one of these I do will be Nifty Lifty, I haven't even played the Speccy version of that since the 80's(have never played the Beeb version) so looking forward to doing that one.
Oh and yes the Vectrex version is superb, those analogue controls really add to it aswell.
Wow looking back on these i still love the atari 2600 version to me 2600 is best
@@johnsumnall5844 the Atari 2600 version? Do you mean the Shifty Lifty, the more recent homebrew release?
The bbc one is good
@@gingerhippygaming7962 yep, really good, one I've come back to quite a bit, I never want to revisit the Speccy port😬
The Speccy version is boring if i'm honest..... BBC has this hands down
Yeah I doubt I'd bother going back to the Speccy port, have already played the Beeb port quite a bit, way more exciting racing👍