Producer: Electric Dreams
Retail Price: £7.95
Author: Software Images

Electric Dreams have joined the Snowy Sports compilation market with Winter Sports, a collection of eight games on one cassette. The first part of the program to load presents a main menu screen listing the events. Pressing a number key puts the Spectrum into LOAD mode and the computer searches the tape until your chosen event is located and loaded. The menu screen also allows you to view the highscore tables. Record breaking scores give a readout of your speed and indicate how sharply the skier is turning, while a scoring area above the windows indicates how many gates have been passed or failed and times the whole run.

In all three events the object is to belt down the course as fast as possible without missing gates. In the Slalom the skier has to weave between the gates, passing to the right of the first gate, to the left of the second and so on, and any gates missed lead to penalty points. The Downhill is similar to the Slalom, except the skier has to pass between gates made from two poles, while the Giant Slalom is a mixture of the two events. Once the skier is through the finishing posts any time faults are added to the time taken to ski the course and an overall score is given.

Ice Hockey can be played as a two player game or against the computer. Most of the display is occupied by a 3D scrolling panoramic view of the pitch, and a scanner at the top of the screen shows the position of all the players on the full pitch. The player nearest the puck is automatically under your control and can be moved in four directions with the fire button used to shoot the puck. To tackle a player with the puck, just run into him. The match is played over four quarters lasting five minutes apiece with a change of end after each period.

In the Ski jump the screen is split into two displays once again, with the left window showing the view from the top of the slope and the other giving a close up of the skier's profile in the air. The skier begins by sliding backwards and forwards at the top of the ramp - pressing Go when the skier is moving forwards begins the run and the player then has to guide the skier down the middle of the slope to gain maximum speed. If the skier deviates too much from the middle of the ramp then a sever loss of speed results. At the end of the slope another press of the fire button launches the skier into space. During flight the skier's balance must be maintained, using the skier Up and Down keys to avoid a tumble on landing. Marks are given for the length of the jump and for style while in the air.

Next comes a whizz around an icy track - the Speed Skating. Another split-screen game with two views of the skaters: the window on the left gives the view from behind the skaters while the right hand window gives a side view of the track. Essentially it's a Decathlon type event where the onus is on bashing the left/right keys alternately gain speed, indicated by a bar display at the foot of the screen. Up and down keys are used to keep the skater in the designated lane since he has a tendency to stray off course slightly. At the start of the game the length of the race can be specified.

After whizzing around a track, why not zoom down one? The Bobsled event allows you to do just that. Yet again the event features two displays, a 3D view from the sled and a plan view of the track with a line plotting your course as you go down. The Bob has four controls: speed up; slow down; left and right. If you go into corners too fast, a crash is likely and the sled has to be banked on bends. Once again, bar graph readouts display speed and orientation of the sled.

The final event on the cassette is the Biathlon, a gruelling cross country test of stamina and shooting ability. The main display shows the skier and the landscape and a smaller screen above shows a map of the whole course and your position on it. Readouts at the bottom of the screen indicate your speed and stamina, and it is important to pace the event so that your skier doesn't run out of stamina before the course has been completed.

Rapid presses of the left/right keys sends the skier along until he reaches a shooting range. Here the screen switches to a 3D display of the four targets. A cross hair moves rapidly over each target in turn and the player has to press the fire button at the right moment to score a hit. The skier only has one shot at each and a miss constitutes a time penalty, so careful shooting is the key to this event. Once all four shots have been fired it's back to the cross country and more Decathlon stuff.

COMMENTS

Control keys: definable
Joystick: Kempston, Interface 2, Cursor
Keyboard play: a bit sticky
Use of colour: very poor; dull
Graphics: just about average
Sound: squelchy
Skill levels: one
Screens: eight events

Sports games are not what I really like, and this game hasn't changed my mind at all. As I played it I realised that this has some of the most basic graphics I've seen for a while, and some of the games move really slowly from screen to screen. Colour is used well in places, but there's very little sound. Overall a game I wouldn't recommend you buy unless you've had a good look first.

I was really looking forward to this new title from Electric Dreams as I imagined that they would have done a good job, but I was to be disappointed. Winter Sports has to be about the worst sports simulation that I have seen over the last six months. The graphics on all the events are large but undetailed. The sound, where there is any, is mainly unrealistic spot effects. The main fault of this game is its speed: with most of the events I was bored half way through my first go. Monotony set in quickly. Generally I wouldn't recommend this game as it is unplayable and monotonous.

After playing Winter Games last month I thought that perhaps we were in for another wintry bonanza. Unfortunately it's not the case. Just about every event is incredibly slow to play and boredom set in about half way through each one. The multiloading is a complete pain in the backside and I found that I spent more time loading in each event than playing. Really, none of the events stand out as being any good and the tacky graphics, unimaginative sound and dull gameplay all add up to this being a complete waste of money.

Get your skates on for Electric Dreams' gaggle of games that came in from the cold. Our own Highland games expert Dougie Bern flexes his frost bitten fingers to report on Winter Sports.

Game: Winter Sports
Publisher: Electric Dreams
Price: £9.95
Joystick: Kempston
Keys: Define your own

A compendium of eight games for Damart wearers, Winter Sports comprises of Slalom, Giant Slalom and Downhill Skiing, Ice Hockey, Bobsled, Biathlon, Ski jump and Speed Skating. All will test you at the various skills, either against a mate or the computer through individual to team skills. So if you thought ski gear was just for breakdancing, think again. Settle down with a hot toddy and let's get on the piste.

SKI-ING EVENTS

This part of the game gives you a trio of trips down the snowy sward. All the events, Slalom, Giant Slalom and the Downhill are basically the same. Different degrees of difficulty and slight variations in objective sort out one slope from another. Essentially, though, they're all downhill obstacle courses with poles and gates to be threaded with skill, speed and style. You're going against the clock to get into the Highscore Hall Of Fame - so keep your turns as tight as those ski-pants! Alternative views are provided of your progress. There's also a control indicator - used with the speed indicator you can plan your shortest route.

BIATHLON

This is all about cross country cruisin' on slippery snow with the added delight of shooting targets. Basically you have to cover the kilometres against the clock - but to be a winner, speed and accuracy of shot are necessary. And you can't fire your rifle unless it's loaded - but a quick flick of the fingers will immediately re-arm you. The other variation to this game is that stamina, rather than adrenaline and bravery, is the key resource. One for slow-blooded Swedes!

SPEED SKATING

If all these Jean-Paul Killys give you the willys and the power surge of pumping things is more your scene then this section could be the one for you. It's against the clock, and you've got to skate - either against the computer or a slippery pal. Simultaneous views give you front and back elevations - but as the track is virtually circular with no obstacles or slopes then you could play this with one hand behind your back! The racers on the screen manage to skate like that. You can choose between five race distances ranging from 500 to 10,000 metres - each thigh sapping click is ticked off on the screen alongside the clock.

ICE HOCKEY

You can ping the puck against the computer or a friend. Try and find a friend - the computer plays a tough game! Each game is split over three five minute periods. The player graphics aren't hot - about ice temperature in fact. The teams come out more like a chorus from Holiday on Ice than a bunch of Paul Newmans in Slapshot. The pace is fairly genteel, but a basic simulation is provided - passing, rebounds and interceptions - but no bust-ups! Funny, that's what I remember ice hockey for!

BOBSLED

Try this wall of death and you'll soon be out of breath! Like other elements in this package simultaneous screens give you different perspectives on your best game tactics. A combination of speed and control is your best bet. Now load up and bob's your uncle!

SKI-JUMP

Hardly a giant leap for mankind or computer games. But this one's not as easy as it looks. Speed and control are what you need to score those winning points for distance and style. To fly through the air with the greatest of ease ain't the simplest thing on a pair of skis. Get it wrong and the graphics tell a gruesome tale.

Publisher: Electric Dreams
Price: £9.95
Memory: 48K
Joystick: Kempston, Cursor, Sinclair

Electric Dreams has stuffed eight events from the world of the winter Olympics onto a single cassette, hoping no doubt to score with an icy version of Daley's Decathlon. Unfortunately the games themselves are not of remarkable quality, and some are really rather dire.

The first three games are all skiing variants, and loaded in one part. The screen splits into two halves - the left side shows the skier's view, the right side an aerial view of the course, which scrolls upwards as you descend, and on which your course is drawn as a thin line.

The skier's view is pretty, with the Alps in the background, but you won't spend much time admiring it as it's much more sensible to use the plan view to plot your course. You can move left and right, and increase or decrease your speed, and the trick, as ever, is to get the correct angle as you come around a gate, so as to be lined up properly for the next gate.

The three events are Downhill skiing, Slalom and Giant Slalom, and they all work much the same way, and you've probably seen such games many times as program listings in magazines.

On, then, to Ice Hockey, which is perhaps the most interesting of the games. You have a six-man team, and play four five-minute periods. The player nearest the puck is the one you move, and tackling is done simply by moving into an opposing player.

Although the colour clash is pretty gruesome, this is a simple, fast implementation which does play well. Although the controls are kept to a minimum, that is an advantage here, as you can concentrate on passing and positioning, and not have to worry about which of 15 key options you should be using.

Unfortunately, our copy appeared to have trouble keeping time, and the screen clock jammed on the first quarter, making it impossible to actually finish a game. We also found sections of the score table degenerating. According to Electric Dreams, this is a bug which will have to be removed from all copies on sale in the shops. Alas, we did not receive a corrected version in time to include the result in this review.

Ski-jumping is fun but slight - the animation of the jumper is very good, especially when he falls over. First you have to launch him down the slope, then keep him on a straight track, jump at the end, keep his body held correctly in the air, and land without falling over. This all happens in about six or seven seconds, making it by far the fastest event.

Speed skating gives you a choice of five races up to the gruelling 10,000 metres. The skater is propelled by left-to-right joystick pumping, but the graphics of skaters are not particularly interesting and the computer is a weak opponent.

More difficult is the Bobsled, which works rather like the slalom events but with left and right control being determined by the curved banking of the track. Take the corners too fast and you crash - it's more fun than the ski-run games and a lot faster.

Finally there's the Biathlon, a weird cross-country skiing event where you have to stop every so often to shoot at targets. The instructions are rather muddled as regards loading the gun and moving the gun bolt, and the firing sequence is just a question of pressing a button when the moving sights are on target. The endurance skiing is handled again by pumping the joystick, and this time the important thing is not to waste your energy. The graphics show a cycle of screens depicting alpine chalets and countryside together with the firing range itself.

The collection as a whole, bugs or no, is really only likely to gain solid approval from winter sports enthusiasts. As each game is loaded separately, you do get a lot of code for your money, but also the aggravation of finding the right place on the tape and waiting for the game to load. A hi-score table is carried across from game to game, which is fine, but other sports compilations - Hypersports, Daley Thompson's Supertest, and Decathlon are but three examples - offer much more excitement and better presentation.

Winter Sports is only moderate value for money but the implementation of the events is usually so minimal as to render the whole thing one of the weaker compilations we've seen.

MACHINE: Spectrum/Amstrad
SUPPLIER: Electric Dreams
PRICE: £8.95

Can Winter Games on the Spectrum be as good as the C64 version? And what's this - another contender in the computer Winter Olympics called Winter Sports? C+VG's reviewers waxed their skis, watched a couple of Ski Sundays on BBC2, and prepared to go on the piste for a battle royal between these two snowbound sports simulations!

First let's take a look at the events you get in both packages.

Winter Games gives you Figure Skating, Free Skating, Speed Skating, Hot Dog acrobatic stunt ski-ing, Ski-Jumping, Biathlon and Bobsled.

Winter Sports gives you three sorts of ski-ing, Slalom, Giant Slalom and Downhill, plus Ice Hockey, Speed Skating, Ski-Jumping, Bobsled and the Biathlon.

First we have to say that the figure and free skating events in Winter Games are pretty pathetic on the Spectrum version reviewed. The skating figure is simplistic and the backgrounds boring. The good news is that you don't have to bother with these two events unless you want to compete in everything for an overall score.

The quality of the games improve by leaps and bounds once you've got over the skating. The ski-jump, hot dog, biathlon, bobsled and speed skating events have similar graphics to the C64.

My favourite event is the Biathlon - a combination of cross country ski-ing and rifle-shooting. The idea is to complete a cross country course in the quickest time - at the same time hitting as many targets as possible along the way. The Winter Games version has a "pulse" feature which measures how tired your skier is getting.

You must wait until you pulse rate has dropped to around 80 before attempting to shoot at targets. Otherwise the cross hair sight governed by your pulse rate will be jumping up and down across the target at an impossible speed! You can make sure your pulse isn't racing by ensuring your ski-ing action between rifle shooting sections is as smooth and controlled as possible.

Next best event is the Bobsled - extremely difficult to do right and featuring some excellent graphics. You see a plan view of the course with a marker showing your position on - or off - it.

Hot Dog ski-ing is, to say the least, different and challenging. Speed skating is a bit like those bike racing events in other sports simulations. You've got to get the rhythm right to be any good. Ski-jumping is fun too.

If the figure and free skating are a disappointment in Winter Games then the Ice Hockey feature in Winter Sports is equally unattractive. The teams are matchstick men and the game itself is too simplistic to be challenging. Much too easy to score goals against a computer opponent.

Up to four players can compete in Winter Games, two in Winter Sports. Both games give you high score tables, but only Winter Games has the useful practice mode for events.

So which package gets the gold? For our money the Winter Games conversion just has the edge on presentation and playability - despite the naff skating bits.

Winter Sports comes a close second, however, because it features straight ski-ing games.

How can you have winter sports without downhill ski-ing? Excuse me while I go back to waxing my skis...