Top down rally racer, ZX Spectrum like but playable
Carlos Sainz is a rally God from a bygone era. As we still see, the greats of the racing era would often times lend their names to games, and would also aid in their development. So is the case here, with this game originally developed for home computers. A DOS version was ported as well, but not a lot was changed. Still, compared to the ZX Spectrum version the DOS version of this one is more colorful, and even features a few more vehicles (and plays more smoothly too, as you'd imagine). At any rate, Carlos Sainz is a game that is very satisfying, even if minimalist, even if not a simulation per se, but an involving minimalist top down arcade rally racer. You can play a single player race, you can play chained races in a championship mode and you can tinker with your vehicle but not too much! It's perfectly well balanced for its genre and style and it also controls very well, has a great, immediate feel to the car, especially in controlled drifts and other high speed maneuvers. It's of course no Sega Rally, but in its style and category it's surely a winner!
