Game Review: Winter Games
 | Winter Games |  |
Publisher: Acclaim
Developer: Epyx/Pony Canyon
Released: September 1987
Game Type: Sports
Players: 1 or 2 Simultaneous
Product Number: NES-??-USA
Rarity: B- (Borderline Rare)
| Box Scan |
 |
One of the best winter sports titles is the Epyx classic Winter Games, which everyobody played on their Commodore 64 computers (myself included). In the fall of 1987, just before the Winter Olympics in Calgary, Alberta, Winter Games was ported to the Atari 2600 and 7800 and was also brought to the NES, courtesy of Acclaim and Pony Co. Saldy a LOT was lost in the translation, and the final effort is as un-Olympic as can be.
Once the torch is lit, it's time to get ready for the games. One or two players can compete in up to four event. You enter your name (up to four letters) and pick one of seven countries to reperesent. After you and your opponent get that squared away the games begin. The first event is speed skating, where you try to beat your opponent to the finish line with rhythm and speed. Next it's the hot dog aerials. You fly off a small ski jump and show your stuff in the air for style points. Then it's figure skaing, giving you a chance to dazzle the judges on the ice with spins and jumps. Finally there's the bobsled. You have to guide your sled down the twisting tunnel to hopefully reach the finish line. If you can place first in an event, you get a gold medal, and the object is to try to win all four gold medals.
The graphics and sounds are less than average. The backgrounds look very plain and the animation of the sprites is choppy and stiff, especially in the Figure Skating event. The music is unmemorable and the sounds consist of a lot of beeps that get annoying very quickly. The song in the Figure Skating event is especially painful to listen to and will make your ears bleed.
The controls are a mixed bag. The Bobsled controls fine, the Hot Dog and Speed Skating are a little stiff but still workable. Again the Figure Skating has the most problems; it's frustrating trying to get the skater to do anything other than fall to the ice.
There's no challenge here becuase when you play the one player mode, you're the only entrant in three of the events, meaning you're going to get the gold no matter what you do. You only face the computer in the Speed Skating event, and with a little practice you'll have no trouble getting first place. The two player mode does add a little excitement, but not much. The main problem is this game just doesn't do the original game justice. The original Commodore 64 version and the Atari ports each let eight players compete, and the 2600 and C64 ports had seven events to play through. The NES port is left with only four events and two players, offering little in gameplay, resulting in a port that's half the original game. As you may imagine from this review the Figure Skating is the worst part of this cart and the other three events are mearly average. Plus there's no sense of accomplishment in the end. Should you go through all four events, it just goes right back to the main menu. You don't even get a closing ceremony for your efforts.
Overall Pony Canyon butchers another classic like they did with Super Pitfall and the result is a very poor title. Acclaim could have done a much better job bringing Winter Games to the NES, as evidenced by Milton Bradley's ports of California Games and World Games. Instead we have a stripped down version of the Commodore 64 hit that just pales in comparison. Even if you never played the C64 version, you’ll still find the NES Winter Games to be a very disappointing sports game that doesn't even deserve the bronze. Fans of Epyx games will want to stay far away from this one. Play the C64 and Atari versions instead and put this failure on ice.
- Review posted on November 4, 2005
