| Developer: | Tatsumi |
| Distributor: | Atari |
| Genre: | Racing |
| Board: | 2x Intel 8086 |
| Year: | 1983 |
Pole Position is an undeniable classic of coin-op gaming, but if you want something more technically impressive from that era, it's hard to find anything to beat Tatsumi's F1 racer TX-1. Distributed by Atari the year after Pole Position, it's not a game everyone remembers, but those that do will instantly recall the panoramic, wrap-around view the game offered the player, which was unlike anything else at the time. Instead of a single monitor, TX-1 had three, which provided an unprecedented view of the track and what was coming towards the player. Corners swept towards you in great, arcs and you could see the opposition jostling for position long before you reached the corner yourself. It made the road feel that much more real. The game also offered branching paths to the finish line, which meant the panoramic view was more than just a gimmick, even if that didn't make a lot of sense in the context of an a Formula 1-style race event.
I talked about Pole Position as a classic in June 2011 and there's no denying that it is the more famous of the two games, but at the time, TX-1 was a much more exciting arcade experience, even if things get lost in the gaps between the monitors.
Capturing live footage of this game is understandably difficult, but this footage taken from MAME gives you a good idea of what made this racer so unique and exciting.
MTW
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