
A playthrough of Namco's original Pole Position from 1982, emulated on MAME. This is the highest I've been able to score so far; I was aiming for 64K, but I reckon anything over 60K is respectable. Settings used were: Time 120, Laps 4, Extended Rank C, Practice Rank C. These seem standard for MAME, but note that many players use easier settings that allow a higher score (but spoil the game in my opinion). Control was via mouse and keyboard, which works surprisingly well. Pole Position was a game I never got to play more than a couple of times in the arcades. Mostly due to lack of opportunity, but also due to the expense. This game is HARD, and a pocket full of 10p's won't last long. I've always hankered after playing it though, and tried a lot of the lookalikes on home micros. But none had anything like the feel of the original, and many were downright unplayable. Discouraged, I delayed revisiting this on MAME until a couple of weeks ago. I was afraid Pole Position would be a disappointment, but it turned out to be an absolute masterpiece. Nearly thirty years old, yet it's so playable I can literally race all day. Why it's so brilliant when its rivals were so lame cannot be described, only experienced. Some tips: Always go flat out in qualifying. Never brake, never lift off the throttle, never downshift, and never drive on the kerbs. When you approach the infamous Turn 4 (the Hairpin, Centipede, or Pepsi turn) aim for the gap between the inner kerb and the car to the <b>...</b>
retrogaming
racing game
Namco
playthrough
high score
longplay
MAME
arcade
video game