Epyx
Sentient Software
£8.99/£12.99

Drink up your ginseng tea and prepare yourself for eight gruelling events. Summertime is here again, so get your swimming cossie on and dive off that there bendy plank. Do a few turns and twists in the air (by jiggling the joystick) and enter the water, straight as a nail. Cor, the judges go crazy: tens all round - eat your heart out, Greg Louganis!

No sooner than you've dried off and you're on bike, ready to hurtle round a 3-D, banked track. There are four laps, but the time is only taken for the last one. You can go as slow as possible to get behind the other rider (either the computer or another player) so you can slipstream him to save energy.

Back in the gym, the uneven bars await while you change sex! Donning a leotard, you do loadsa tricks as you swing from either bar. But the judges are strict - any 'uncharacteristic moves' (like a double bottom bounce!) lose you marks. Changing back to a man, you can then test your strength on the rings. Much joystick waggling is needed to hold torturous positions.

Back outside, more joystick waggling is required to throw the hammer. Round and round you go, building up speed until you chuck the hammer up the field. But things can go wrong: apart from falling over, you can get wound up in the hammer wire! Hurdling is only slightly safer - you can easily fall flat on your face and be disqualified. And if you're not completely knackered, you can now attempt the pole vault. It's just as well there's a relaxing event to finish: archery.

I just love these multi-event sports sims - they're definitely what Epyx do best, and The Games - Summer Edition is no exception. All the events are well-presented with colourful backgrounds and excellent animation of the large sprites. Gameplay is equally good, especially when you gather a few friends around (up to eight people can play). And it's not all mindless joystick waggling either - the events require skill as well as stamina. Great stuff.

PHIL [90%]

The Games - Summer Edition doesn't have any event that hasn't been seen before but the ways they're implemented are original. The graphics vary from event to event with the most detailed and colourful in the hammer throwing and archery. Sound again is not up to much - the tunes sound as if they have been well and truly BEEPed! Nevertheless this has to be the best Epyx sports sim yet and is well worth checking out.
NICK [86%]

The Games Summer Edition is a really enjoyable sports simulation. Unlike the old days of wibble till that stick dies', we've now got a more strategic approach, and the balance between careful timing and all out stick shakin' is what makes it such good fun to play. The graphics are very good: the gymnastic sports have absolutely brilliant animation, and the graphical standard is generally high throughout. The possibilities for addictiveness are huge - two (plus) player games are excellent, and saving world records (on disk) gives an incentive to keep playing. Unfortunately, the various national anthems are a bit of an aural pain, but Epyx deserve considerable credit for getting them all in in a recognisable form! Overall, a really pleasurable game, well worth the asking price - though much better on disk, without the muttiload hassle.
MIKE [88%]

US Gold
£8.99
Reviewer: Matt Bielby

Dont'cha just love these multiload sports sims? I'm absolutely crazy about them myself. You can make a nice cup of tea between games, and perhaps a bit of toast and jam. Then it's back to being a couch potato again, and playing all these luverly sports without having to strain so much as a finger.

And what a selection of sports they are! Hurdles, cycling, archery - all indisputably played during the Summer Olympics. At least there'lll be loads left for 'Summer Edition2'! But let's take a look at the various events in this in more detail, shall we? if they appeal to you, all's fine and dandy. Most of them are pretty respectably done, and offer a choice of practice sessions or competition. For my money though, most of them are quite limited - there's not that much to on any particular one and the multiloading makes playing the lot a pretty stilted experience.

I did like the opening sequence though, which shows tou some of the people and places of Korea as a setting for the events. I learned oodles from it - I mean, who would have dreamed that the seesaw plays such an important part in Korean popular culture? That's what I call educational software!

Diving
A grey figure bounces on the board, twiddles about in the air and flops off the bottom of the screen. Sadly, no splash, but next thing you'll see he's floating there in the water awaiting his score. What's this Ten from one scorer, 1.7 from another? bit fickle aren't they? For me this simulation was marred by the fact that - try as I might - I couldn't get my diver to hit his head on the springboard in true Olympic style.

Velodrome (cycling to you)
Not one of the best bits to be honest. The right of the screen shows where you are on the course, the left is split in two and shows the two racers from behind. There's no real impression of speed, and I got a bit bored of it. Time for a cup of tea I think. Next!

Hurdles
Almost a split screen effect with the two runners on top of each other (Oo-er) and lots of waggling to be done. You can make false starts, trip over the hurdles and all sorts. Coo!

Pole Vault
There's a waggling animated running bit, then WALLOP! straight into the cross bar or, if you're skill like me, right over the top of it. Your little chappy doesn't seem to need much time to regain his composure before he's on his feet agin ('cos there's only one frame of animation between him falling and him standing up again).

Uneven Parallel Bars
Now this is fun! It's quite fast and smooth and you can send your female sprite into all sorts of painful looking un-aerodynamic dismounts. Ouch! There's a vast(ish) range of moves you can master and points to be list and earned for everything from 'uncharacteristic moves' to 'too few bar changes' Bonza!

Rings
Another funny. Nicely animated and you can do some hilarious falls, but ever so limited, and what, oh what are those funny flower things in the background? The public should be told!

Hammer Throw
The hammer rope wrapping around your neck and stars spinning 'round you head if you fail to let go in time. Come on, we're being just a teensy bit silly now, aren't we programmers? Still, it looks and plays quite nicely, and is the sort of field even I expected to see more of.

REPLAY

Old games never die. They just sit around for years doing nothing, then come back in a smaller box. JON PILLAR inspects...

Kixx
£3.99
Reviewer: Jon Pillar

This sports sim is way above average, with eight events that are well worth multiloading. Alongside the usual joystick-busters like Hurdling, Velodrome Cycling Hammer Throwing and Pole Vaulting, there are some nifty variations in gameplay. Archery is a bit like those barg darts game (only more dangerous to passers-by), while Diving, the Rings, and the Uneven Parallel Bars have you putting manoeuvres into medal-winning combinations. The graphics vary from the not so hot intro screens and backgrounds to the sizzling animation. The diver and the girl on the bars are particularly realistic, and the muscle-straining antics of the guy on the rings is almost too painful to watch! The variety of 'camera angles' is another plus. With up to eight competitors you could hold your own tournament, but even taking on the Speccy alone, it's good fun. Don't be put off by the wad of instructions - everything's easy to pick up and very playable. I doubt you'll still be playing come the autumn, but in the short term at least, the games of The Games are spanky, um, games.

Label: Epyx
Author: In-house
Price: £9.99
Memory: 48K/128K
Joystick: various
Reviewer: Tony Dillon

Before I sink into the perilous task of reviewing this, there is just one question we need to ask ourselves. Do we need another in the games series? Let's face it, no. Evidently this hasn't occurred to Epyx, who assail the market yet again with the seventh in the Games series, The Games - Summer Edition.

To be fair, though not all the events are spanking brand new and original, they are all covered in a new way, or are just, in theory, executed a whole lot better.

In this little seven event bundle you get, and in no particular order or significance of rank: Diving; viewed as a side on (when isn't it?) you are given a lot more moves to choose from this time around. You can dive forward, you can drive backwards, you can change the springiness of the diving board. Hammer throwing; I thought Epyx had opted out of the joystickbusting events. Wrong. Waggle the joystick very fast, press fire, and then waggle the joystick very fast again. Nice graphics though.

Velodrome Cycling; boring. Watch two guys nailed to bicycles made from plates racing round and round on the inside of a bowl. Even more joystick waggling. Uneven parallel bars, swing gracefully. Glide smoothly. Slam your pelvis painfully into the opposite bar. Fall clumsily to the floor. Get laughed at. The rings; ouch. Try to perform flips and things while suspending yourself six foot above the floor by the use of two parallel rings. You won't do it.

Hurdles; this is more or less as everybody else portrays it, only this time, fall once and you're out of the running.

Pole vault; this is unusual. The camera is strategically placed on the end of your pole during the run up, but then changes to a side during the vault itself.

The game uses the usual Epyx system of playing all or some of the games, and comes complete with an eight player facility, full opening and closing sequence and (disk only) the option to save world records to disk.

The other feature, which all Epyx products sadly have, is multiload. Oh no! This could have been a disastrous fault, if only there was a brilliant game for it to ruin. Sadly there isn't.

The Games - Summer Edition has suffered two great blows in its transition from other eight-bit formats. It looks poor and it plays badly. A lot of the sprites are very badly designed, and the background can cause a lot of problems, attribute-wise.

As for the playability, there just isn't any fun involved at all. Either the programming team at Epyx haven't fully realised the Spectrum's capabilities, or the humble Speccy just isn't built for Epyx Games.

Oh Well, maybe The Games - Sunday Afternoon Edition will be good.

Label: Kixx
Memory: 48K/128K
Tape: £3.99
DISK: n/a
Reviewer: Steve Keen

Now here's one that's guaranteed to lessen the life of your joystick. Eight events of wrist wrenching action set in sweltering Korea. The Games is a fine adaptation of such joystick wrenching, button bashing arcade hits as Track and Field and Hydro Sports in so far as that it makes use of big sprites, appropriately detailed backdrops and a rich sound that off sets every event very nicely indeed.

You can take part in archery, diving, hurdles and a whole host of athletic disciplines as diverse as hammer throwing and the uneven parallel bars! Very nice to look at they maybe, with split screens and animation that switches between the decorative and the functional, but trying to control the sprites in some of the more complex events, such as the rings, is a different story. The instructions don't provide much help, only minimal information the form of flow charts! The only course of action left is to waggle your joystick until the rivets fall out or your hand falls off - whatever comes first!

Once loaded, there's a great intro with fab music depicting scenes from Korea that add special atmosphere and give the feeling of actual world competition including the "get on with it" factor as there is another long load before the actual game starts. In fact, every event has to be loaded in separately which is a real drag (hey mahhn! - Ed) as some games will take you only 30 secs to complete followed by a wait of up to three mins for the next competition.

Taken on face value, The Games is very impressive, but it's best played in practise mode, missing out on competition but offering the chance to play your event again and again before loading the next one. A great opportunity has been missed.

MATT:
Taking the plunge in the high dive is quite fun and the archery section will make you a merry man, but I've not patience to find out what's next.

GARTH:
Summer Games was a fab product when it first came out and still is - it's just a pity that we've all got a little impatient with multi loads since...

Epyx/US Gold
Spectrum, Amstrad
Spectrum £8.99, Amstrad £9.99

I've always been a fa of this kind of game, especially the Epyx variety. It's with a teeny tear of nostalgia I recall my first experiences of C64 gaming with the original Epyx multiloading sports simulations, so I had something of a soft spot waiting for this before I even opened the box.

The game follows similar lines to its illustrious ancestors, with opening ceremonies, world records, medals and all that, plus the option of competing in every event, practice all events (oddly enough no option for practicing ONE event this time!). For similar reasons, ie the lack of random access on tape, the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, and Compete in Some Events options only work on disk versions of the game, which means not on the +2 Speccy cassette that I reviewed.

The game itself is crisp and fruity, as you'd expect, with plenty of events to sink your teeth into, and as with all Epyx sport sims the minimum of those stupid joystick waggling endurance games, with the emphasis on skill rather than just elbow grease. On the new package there is Archery, Velodrome Cycling, Diving, Hammer Throw, Hurdles, Pole Vault, Rings and Uneven Parallel Bars. Now I've seen archery, diving, cycling, hurdling and hammer throw games before, but the rings and parallel bar jobs caught me by surprise.

The presentation of the games is a little bit more 3D than usual in this type of game, and each individual event seems to be trying harder than ever to look less like a video game and more like TV coverage. The sense of being there is heightened on versions with good sound (the roar of the crowd, f'rinstance), but the Spectrum version, as usual, has all the gameplay.

Spectrum 48/128 Cassette: £8.99, Diskette: £12.99
Amstrad CPC Cassette: £9.99, Diskette: £14.99

On both formats the game is very playable, the Amstrad version is the most colourful of the two (though the Speccy isn't all monochromatic). The list of sports games that have appeared over the years is almost too long to read, but Epyx are still producing them, and very well too.