Ludography
62/100
Players8 ratings
Pitstop cover

1983 · Arcade · Racing

Pitstop

Pitstop is an action racing game featuring six different race tracks. Your goal is to earn as much money as possible by winning races in the Grand Circuit which consists of a race on each of the six tracks; each time a race is completed, you'll earn money based on how you placed and the number of laps completed before moving on. While you are racing, keep an eye on your tires and fuel; if your tires become too worn (causing a blowout) or you run out of fuel, the game will be over. To prevent this from happening, you'll need to make a pitstop.

Released
1983
Platforms
Atari 8-bitColecoVisionCommodore 64Commodore C64/128/MAX
Genres
ArcadeRacing
Developers
—
Publishers
Epyx
Modes
Single-player
Perspective
Third person
Themes
Action
Country
United States
Languages
English

About

Pitstop is a 1983 racing video game developed and published by Epyx for the Atari 8-bit computers, ColecoVision, Coleco Adam, and Commodore 64. It was followed by Pitstop II in 1984.

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

Pitstop is played from a semi-first-person perspective, placing the player in a bird's-eye perspective slightly behind a race car. The game features three difficulty modes and three gameplay modes: Single, Mini-Circuit, and Grand Circuit. In Single, the player can choose from one of six tracks and learn how to play the game. In the game's Circuit modes, the player races against other drivers and earns a certain number of points and money depending on the place he finishes in each race. The Mini-Circuit features only three tracks, while the Grand Circuit features all six.

Pitstop implements pit stops, a concept not featured in many other contemporary racing video games. Color-based damage is shown on the player's car whenever it hits another vehicle or a wall on the track, both of which wear out the tires. The player also has a fuel meter that gradually depletes during each race. If the player's vehicle displays a red color from taking too much damage, or if it is running low on fuel, it must make a pit stop.

Reception

The Commodore 64 Home Companion noted that the game's pit stop feature "slows the action down, but it adds an element of strategy (Can I make it around again without blowing out that right-front tire?) to what would otherwise be just another eye-hand coordination game." Roy Wagner of Computer Gaming World felt that Pole Position was a superior racing game, and wrote that Pitstop "is the pits because that is where the race is won or lost."

Computer Fun gave the game 2.5 out of 4 and wrote that "fantasy is a fragile thing and the reality of Pitstop is something less than harrowing, as the driver finds when he braces himself for an outrageous switchback only to find it as tame as a suburban boulevard. Disappointingly, the six 'unforgiving' tracks merely blend into a pureed sameness. Graphically, the cars are done in fine style but the trackside scenery consists of green flatlands and an occasional bush or sign. […] As for gameplay, Pitstop is at its best in the more difficult settings where things are a little more hectic and the side-to-side motion of the cars add challenge."

Releases by platformdates and regions as published

PlatformReleasedRegions
Atari 8-bit31 December 1983North America
ColecoVision31 December 1983North America
Commodore C64/128/MAX31 December 1983North America

Editions and related releases

Included in
C64 Direct-to-TV 2C64 Direct-to-TV

Games like this

Collections2 collections

Platform libraries

Genres

Description adapted from its source, CC BY-SA 4.0.