Multi-venued games have been a staple of the computer
game industry for many years. The best multi-venued
games have usually involved Olympic events (Epyx'
celebrated licensed products of the mid-1980s and Electronic
Arts' parody of the "Games," Caveman Ugh-lympics, immediately
come to mind). Accolade's The Games: Winter Challenge
uses today's faster frame rates, VGA graphics capability and
digitized sound capacity to allow players to experience competitive
skiing, sledding and skating to a more exciting degree than
in any of its distinguished predecessors. All told, there are eight
different events in the package. Add to these features the
capability for running the game under Windows 3.0 (with at
least 1 MB of RAM) and one might well expect more computer
skiers flying down the slopes in adrenaline-filled downhill runs
than ever before.
The Games: Winter Challenge uses a third-person perspective
to present the action. The player follows along right behind the
on-screen competitor and the
suspended disbelief is sometimes vivid
enough to cause him/her to duck
under the spray of simulated snow.
The action is fast and furious with
downhill events reminiscent of the
smooth-flowing Downhill Challenge,
published in the U.S. by Broderbund.
The latter was not as successful on
the IBM as it was on the Atari ST because
of the CGA color palette and
the necessity of slowing down faster
processors with a separate software
patch in order to compete on 286s
and above. Veterans of the earlier
game might also be interested in the
fact that the ski jumping in The
Games: Winter Challenge is much more forgiving than the
event was in Downhill Challenge, however.
The Agony of Defeat
Readers who are part of the television generation will probably
never forget the film footage which always accompanied the line
"agony of defeat" during the opening credits of ABC's Wide
World of Sports. The out-of-control ski jumper crashing off the
end of the jump and tumbling to a stop reminded viewers on a
weekly basis that sports competition is no picnic. In the Accolade
version of the ski jumping competition, the player's athlete
must fly off the ramp, keep his/her skis in a parallel position
(in order to maintain lift) and then,
land. The key is, of course, to do all of
this without eating snow. If one wipes
out on the ramp, the would-be jumper
may slide down the ramp and make
the ABC Wide World of Sports
jumper look graceful.
Garners looking for more fast-paced
challenges can opt for the luge or
bobsled competitions. In both events,
one's athletes scream down a snakelike
course of ice-covered, polygonfilled
walls. The goal is to get maximum
speed as quickly as possible
and to keep the vehicles in the groove
so that the time keeps getting shaved
with every run. These events are not
particularly difficult when compared to others in the game.
Another fast-paced event is the giant slalom competition. The
challenge in this event requires the player to maneuver the onscreen
skier through the gates of a progressively more difficult
course. As in real life, excess speed tends to make one's
digitized athlete go unnecessarily wide in certain turns and eventually
adds unwelcome seconds to the player's final time.
Those who like to test their coordination may choose the giant
slalom, but those who like to "flat out" go for it will opt for the
challenge of downhill skiing. In fact, the downhill simulation is so
exhilarating that fast skiers may achieve as much air time during
this competition as they do in the ski
jump! This competition has obviously
been crafted by fans of this sport.
Ski Shooting
The biathlon event combines the
leisurely pace of cross-country skiing,
the slowest of the events depicted,
with the challenge of target shooting.
Both the cross-country skiing event
and the skiing in the biathlon require
more emphasis on timing than on
quick reflexes. The major benefit of
these events is to allow the programming
team to show off their ability to
create bitmapped scenery. The biathlon
simply allows the on-screen skier
to ski to a target area and then, enter the shooting mode. One is
given five targets to shoot at and penalized 15 seconds for each
miss. Shooting is done standing or prone.
One of the more graceful events is speed skating. The player
has the digitized skater compete against the clock by performing
laps around the 400-meter track. This is the only event where
one must wait for the starting gun. One false start is allowed, so
that the player does not become totally frustrated.
The Judges Are Ready
The user interface is a cool blue bitmapped menu system
which not only allows players to
navigate about the game with ease,
but also allows the painless use of the
installation program. The virtual world
is a clever blend of bitmapped mountains
matted in over polygon-filled
slopes and courses. There are bitmapped
grandstands, trees and even
a polygon-filled moving ski lift. Also,
the animations of video-digitized athletes
add to the realism. In addition,
there is a video feature which allows
the saving of one's finest events to
disk-based film clips for future viewing.
In fact, about the only disturbing factor
concerning the "look" of the game
is that during the events, there is a
map window which covers some of the left-hand portion of the
screen. While this is useful in order to see where one is located
on a particular course, it is somewhat obtrusive. An option for a
full-screen, and less distracting, view would have been most welcome.
Perhaps the nicest fact about the game is that an average fullscale
Olympic competition with all eight events (depending upon
the number of participants) may be completed during a lunch
hour or during the half-time of an NFL football game. The action
is well simulated and can be very addicting. If the potential
player is the least bit interested in downhill skiing, he/she is likely
to find this game to be most playable and entertaining.
game industry for many years. The best multi-venued
games have usually involved Olympic events (Epyx'
celebrated licensed products of the mid-1980s and Electronic
Arts' parody of the "Games," Caveman Ugh-lympics, immediately
come to mind). Accolade's The Games: Winter Challenge
uses today's faster frame rates, VGA graphics capability and
digitized sound capacity to allow players to experience competitive
skiing, sledding and skating to a more exciting degree than
in any of its distinguished predecessors. All told, there are eight
different events in the package. Add to these features the
capability for running the game under Windows 3.0 (with at
least 1 MB of RAM) and one might well expect more computer
skiers flying down the slopes in adrenaline-filled downhill runs
than ever before.
The Games: Winter Challenge uses a third-person perspective
to present the action. The player follows along right behind the
on-screen competitor and the
suspended disbelief is sometimes vivid
under the spray of simulated snow.
The action is fast and furious with
downhill events reminiscent of the
smooth-flowing Downhill Challenge,
published in the U.S. by Broderbund.
The latter was not as successful on
the IBM as it was on the Atari ST because
of the CGA color palette and
the necessity of slowing down faster
processors with a separate software
patch in order to compete on 286s
and above. Veterans of the earlier
game might also be interested in the
fact that the ski jumping in The
Games: Winter Challenge is much more forgiving than the
event was in Downhill Challenge, however.
The Agony of Defeat
Readers who are part of the television generation will probably
never forget the film footage which always accompanied the line
"agony of defeat" during the opening credits of ABC's Wide
World of Sports. The out-of-control ski jumper crashing off the
end of the jump and tumbling to a stop reminded viewers on a
weekly basis that sports competition is no picnic. In the Accolade
version of the ski jumping competition, the player's athlete
must fly off the ramp, keep his/her skis in a parallel position
(in order to maintain lift) and then,
land. The key is, of course, to do all of
this without eating snow. If one wipes
out on the ramp, the would-be jumper
may slide down the ramp and make
the ABC Wide World of Sports
jumper look graceful.
Garners looking for more fast-paced
challenges can opt for the luge or
bobsled competitions. In both events,
one's athletes scream down a snakelike
course of ice-covered, polygonfilled
walls. The goal is to get maximum
speed as quickly as possible
and to keep the vehicles in the groove
so that the time keeps getting shaved
with every run. These events are not
particularly difficult when compared to others in the game.
Another fast-paced event is the giant slalom competition. The
challenge in this event requires the player to maneuver the onscreen
skier through the gates of a progressively more difficult
course. As in real life, excess speed tends to make one's
digitized athlete go unnecessarily wide in certain turns and eventually
adds unwelcome seconds to the player's final time.
Those who like to test their coordination may choose the giant
slalom, but those who like to "flat out" go for it will opt for the
challenge of downhill skiing. In fact, the downhill simulation is so
exhilarating that fast skiers may achieve as much air time during
this competition as they do in the ski
jump! This competition has obviously
been crafted by fans of this sport.
Ski Shooting
The biathlon event combines the
leisurely pace of cross-country skiing,
the slowest of the events depicted,
with the challenge of target shooting.
Both the cross-country skiing event
and the skiing in the biathlon require
more emphasis on timing than on
quick reflexes. The major benefit of
these events is to allow the programming
team to show off their ability to
create bitmapped scenery. The biathlon
simply allows the on-screen skier
to ski to a target area and then, enter the shooting mode. One is
given five targets to shoot at and penalized 15 seconds for each
miss. Shooting is done standing or prone.
One of the more graceful events is speed skating. The player
has the digitized skater compete against the clock by performing
laps around the 400-meter track. This is the only event where
one must wait for the starting gun. One false start is allowed, so
that the player does not become totally frustrated.
The Judges Are Ready
The user interface is a cool blue bitmapped menu system
which not only allows players to
navigate about the game with ease,
but also allows the painless use of the
installation program. The virtual world
is a clever blend of bitmapped mountains
matted in over polygon-filled
slopes and courses. There are bitmapped
grandstands, trees and even
a polygon-filled moving ski lift. Also,
the animations of video-digitized athletes
add to the realism. In addition,
there is a video feature which allows
the saving of one's finest events to
disk-based film clips for future viewing.
In fact, about the only disturbing factor
concerning the "look" of the game
is that during the events, there is a
map window which covers some of the left-hand portion of the
screen. While this is useful in order to see where one is located
on a particular course, it is somewhat obtrusive. An option for a
full-screen, and less distracting, view would have been most welcome.
Perhaps the nicest fact about the game is that an average fullscale
Olympic competition with all eight events (depending upon
the number of participants) may be completed during a lunch
hour or during the half-time of an NFL football game. The action
is well simulated and can be very addicting. If the potential
player is the least bit interested in downhill skiing, he/she is likely
to find this game to be most playable and entertaining.
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