Pretty good multi-event olympics type game for 128K systems. The fact that each event takes place in a different country gives it a bit of added interest too. Thankfully, the instructions are available for this one and they are certainly needed since some of the events have a bit more depth to them than simple joystick waggling. Some events here are joyfully unconventional, so even the most experienced computer-olympian will hopefully find something original and refreshing. The game uses a multi-load system, loading each event separately, eventually using both sides of the tape. This works well enough under emulation with flash-loading, but how unfortunate there was never a +3 disk version released. This game was really crying out for a disk version and it would've also allowed for permanent saving of records too.
At the start of the game, there's some sort of inevitable "fanfare" type tune playing. Actually, the less said about that the better, you'll probably want to skip straight to the main menu. It's by no means awful, but perhaps a tad too cliched. I used a Kempston joystick to navigate around the top-level menu, where various options can be changed. You can enter up to four player names at the beginning of the game, but if you want to just enter one then just press ENTER after entering a single name and the game will start in single player mode. As is usual in these types of games, you get three attempts in most events.
Summary of the events:-
Weighlifting: You must use skilful timing of your joystick movements in order to lift increasingly heavy weights in the "snatch" and the "clean and jerk". It's implemented well and challenging to get right.
Barrel Jumping: Skate along the ice and then leap across a user selectable number of barrels. Good fun, but quite honestly looks like the sort of thing you could break a leg attempting.
Cliff Diving: There's no way this event would find its way into a computer game in the UK in 2009! This is what the media nowadays call "tombstoning". The potentially fatal art of jumping off the edge of a coastal cliff where you must reach a minimum horizontal distance or you will crash to your death on the rocks. Fun in a computer game of course, just ill-adivsed in real life! My head kept hitting the rocks underneath the water. Ouch! Nice cliff graphics though.
Slalom Skiing: This one takes us onto side 2 of the cassette. This is very well implemented. Relatively simple to play after the previous events, this one has good graphics and excellent, ultra-smooth vertical scrolling. It's one of the best skiing events I've seen on the speccy.
Log Rolling: This is quite well done as you attempt to stay on the rolling log for as long as possible without falling in the lake. Nice humourous shark effect when you finally do fall off.
Bull Riding: Keep your wits about you as you attempt to match your movements with those of the bull, lest you get violently thrown off. Nice American desert/rodeo setting for this one too, even including some cactus in the distance. A thoughtful touch! The game itself is rather tricky.
Caber Toss: Welcome to the Scottish Highlands and be careful not to drop that caber on your toe. Those things weigh quite a bit! Pleasant simple backdrop with medieval tents and rolling hills. The game itself is all about speed and timing. Be careful though as I came across a bug where I got distracted from the computer for a couple of minutes and when I came back, the caber had been dropped next to my legs and it was stopping me from completing the event.
Sumo Wrestling: This one has a graphically detailed ring and suitably sized wrestlers. It's a bit sluggish, but I'm guessing that's intentional since sumo wrestlers don't exactly move like lightning. The key is to grab your opponent's belt and effectively grapple him out of the ring.
So overall, this game contains a lot in a single title, with most of the events being great fun. Back in the day, it would've been regarded as good value for money. The graphics in some of the events use a "stippling" checkerboard effect to increase the effective number of colours. This doesn't always look great on a modern LCD screen although I'm sure it would've looked suitably softened on a RF TV set.
Certainly I can recommend this one as one of the better "olympic" type multi-event games, with good scope for player improvement over a variety of diverse skills. Just make sure you also grab the instructions which are not only essential, but also interesting to read and full of useful tips and hints.
1987 US Gold (UK)
Another sports games from Epyx for the 128K, this time featuring events from all over the world, you get Russia, Canada , Mexico, etc, hence the name. The events seem traditional of some countries, like for instance Caber Toss from Scotland, or the Japanese Sumo Wrestling. Some events are very well depicted and are a real treat to play if you like this sort of games. I'm not a fan of this type of graphics, which my the way were done by F.D.Thorpe the mythic loading screen artist, but I must admit the animation is very clever in some events. Because Digital Prawn as already written a very complete review, I'm not gonna prolong mine, I'll just finalize by recommending this game to an sports fan .
