Grand Prix Story

Hot Springs Story came as a pleasant surprise to Kairosoft fans. Who would have expected a management game that put you in charge of a spa to be so enthralling?

On the one hand, it was as addictive as the studio’s smartphone debut, Game Dev Story. On the other hand, the subject matter was unashamedly Japanese, at the risk of alienating some Western fans.

Which is presumably why Kairosoft chose the international sport of Formula 1 racing as the basis for its latest business management sim.

Grand Prix Story places you in charge of a small team, fresh on the circuit. You begin life with one driver and just a couple of stalwart mechanics toiling away in a tiny garage.

The development of your mean machine naturally comes first, with the choice of car you can build at the outset limited, to say the least.

Each of the racing vehicles up for selection - roadsters (balanced and durable); buggies (good handling); and dragsters (speedy but bad at corners) - can be improved, though, with parts that increase its stats or compensate for its flaws.

However, these components need to be properly scrutinised using Research Points before they can be fitted, and the fastest way to earn these tokens is by racing.

The Grands Prix themselves are simulated. An unseen time trial decides your position on the grid and then the race begins.

Aside from temporarily handing your car a speed boost when your driver develops an Aura, you are reduced to the role of a passive observer during the event - much like everyone else in the pit lane.

Your status at the checkered flag determines how much money you win, which can be used to train your driver, boost their stats, or install new car parts.

Money also pours in from sponsors if your race performances are up to scratch. You can drop these and pick up fresh ones as often as you like, in the same way as you hire and fire drivers or mechanics.

Grand Prix Story is much slower to unravel than previous Story outings, and watching the same races over and over again can become tedious.

Thankfully, these irritations are confined to the early stages of the game. As soon as the Grand Prix tournaments open up and your garage expands in size, there is suddenly a lot more to occupy yourself with.

You can change your paintwork, vroom around single circuits and tournaments in the same year, and enter two cars into each race.

The Story formula marches on successfully for now. Once you've overcome the slight single-race fatigue at the beginning of the game, you’ll soon be busily shuffling through menus and trying not to look like a tube on the tube while you restrain yourself from cheering the driver on.