Pole Position II

Pole Position is a fun game where you basically drive in a car and try to win the pole position, the first place position, in the preliminary rounds before you actually start racing in the game. Once the first round is over, you get that position to start off in the different levels. In each of the levels you must drive you race car along the track of your choice, which there is a decent variety of. Along the way you must also be careful that you do not run into obstacles that will either result in your race car slowing down or exploding.

If you crash into a billboard which along the side of the road, not actually on the road, you will end up crashing, and your car regenerates, but you end up losing a lot of time. Another occasion in which your car will be destroyed is if you end up crashing into another car. There are also other obstacles along the way that will serve only to really slow you down during the racing simulation experience. For example, there are puddles and other objects in the road you have to avoid to keep maintaining speed. Aside from that you can wander off the race course and start driving on the grass that lies on either side of the track. If you enter this area your car will start to slow down.
Aside from that the controls are relatively easy. You have your buttons that allow you to move left and right in order to drive and avoid the obstacles. The only other buttons that you need to know are the acceleration button that makes your car move and increases your speed to pass others on the course and get the pole position.
There are two levels for using the acceleration in the game. You can toggle it up or down. You start in first gear to gain acceleration and once you are at a fast speed you go into second gear to increase your speed even further. However it is good to be wary of which gear you are using when coming up against obstacles.
A hint for the game is to try to use second gear for everything except the initial acceleration or accelerating after a low speed. The only other instance where first gear would be a better choice would be if you are trying to go around a corner. It allows for better grip and then you toggle back to second gear. This especially helpful when trying to pass someone while turning a corner.
Overall a good game. The graphics are what you would expect from a really old game.