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Arcade (Sega)

Arcade (Sega)

Arcade (Sega)

Way before the computer world exploded with hyper-realistic open-world graphics, a visit to the amusement arcades during coastal trips of the 70s to 80s was, for many, a welcome aside to avoiding jellyfish stings and sunburnt skin.

At the very forefront of arcade gaming in the 70s was Monaco GP, which had a sit-in cabinet, and was one of the most thrilling games to spend your money on. Inside the cabinet was a steering wheel, accelerator, and gear changer selector for 'Lo' and 'Hi'. For a kid who hadn't quite hit their teens, this would have been the nearest thing to getting onto the road itself, but fortunately it wasn't used as a mark of skill for UK driving tests.

Monaco GP was a clear-cut hit and went on to spawn the sequels Super Monaco GP and Ayrton Senna's Super Monaco on a number of platforms. Sadly, the original didn't make it onto the home computer systems, excepting the Sega SG-1000, which is a shame because it was a simple game but very effective in providing the seat-of-your-pants excitement that makes a game such a classic.