WORLD GAMES
Epyx Software/U.S. Gold
£24.95
Not another sports simulation from Epyx? Yes, we now have World
Games which is the fourth and most recent in the Epyx 'Games'
series, and is the second to be made available on the Atari ST.
There are eight events altogether, each requiring a strong and
sturdy joystick and quick reactions. To become a World Games
champion, you must wrestle with a four hundred pound Japanese Sumo
wrestler, toss a caber in bonnie Scotland, fly over a row of barrels
on ice in Germany, throw yourself off a cliff in Acapulco, Mexico,
hurtle down a snow covered mountain through a slalom course in
Chamonix, France, lift an enormous lump of iron above your head in
the Soviet Union and roll a log in the middle of a lake in Canada.
Good mixture eh? Each event is a completely different concept, so
I'll take you through them one by one.
The Sumo wrestling loads with an excellent oriental tune playing in
the background. You the find yourself in a Sumo wrestling ring, with
lanterns hanging from the ceiling and a pretty mean looking human
blubber ball standing a few feet away from you! The graphics in this
event are extremely good. They are very clear, and the wrestlers
have an almost cartoon quality about them. The colours are very
realistic, as is the animation. You have twelve moves to choose
from, including an Utchari (what the heck is an Utchari?).
The caber
tossing is also quite impressive, if a little difficult. Whilst the
event is loading the tune which plays along in the background sounds
very much like bagpipes, but more like Northumbrian pipes than
Scottish.
However the effect is still good. Basically, all you have to do is
to throw a telegraph pole further than anyone else (all you have to
do!!?) If that sounds difficult, I can assure you that it is!!!
The barrel
jumping involves high speed skating on a frozen lake, and jumping
over a row of barrels. The event is highly playable, and the
graphics and sound are very good. There are many nice touches in
this event, such as if you fail and fall through the ice, your face
turns blue!
The cliff diving has you leaping off the 'La Quebrada' cliff in
Acapulco, Mexico. As a courageous diver, you must launch yourself
from a craggy ledge towards the crashing surf below. The graphics
are very good, although the scrolling as you plummet towards the
shallow waters is a little flickery.
Bull riding, the most dangerous event in rodeo, has you riding a
violent, angry bull bareback, with only a puny bit of rope to hang
on to! The graphics and animation are (again) very, very good, and
the playability is high. The controls, however, are a little
difficult to master, but once you get used to them you'll be riding
the mighty 'Earthquake' within a few goes!
The slalom ski-ing is a straightforward 'get through the gates as
fast as you can' type game which you used to get on the Atari VCS
machines years ago. What makes the World Games version different are
the marvellous graphics and ultra smooth scrolling. In fact it has
some of the smoothest I have ever seen on an ST.
The weight lifting takes you to the Soviet Union, home of the best
Olympic lifters in the world. You have to complete two different
kinds of lift. The 'snatch' and the 'clean and jerk' both require
crucial timing and skill. The graphics yet again (I'm getting fed up
of saying this) are great. The animation is first class, as are the
sound effects, as your lifter breathes deeply before lifting the
weight. These sounds add greatly to the realism of the event.
Finally the Log Rolling, in Canada. This is a very amusing event
which plays Monty Pythons 'I'm a Lumberjack' as it is loading. You
and your opponent must balance on a large log floating in the middle
of a lake. Your aim is to roll the log with your feet in such a way
that your opponent is thrown off balance and off the log. He, of
course, is trying to do the same to you. However, there is a slight
problem when playing against the computer. It would appear that he
is an expert log roller, and to start with he will always beat you.
Also, are there really sharks swimming about in Canadian lakes???
When loading an event you can choose whether or not to have the
'Travelogue' feature activated. This feature tells you all about the
event before it loads. It is a nice touch, but I found myself
turning it off after a few goes, as it 'gets in the way'.
World Games is done in the standard Epyx sport simulation format,
allowing up to eight people to play, representing any of eighteen
countries, and; as with the other 'Games' you can choose whether to
compete or practice in an event. The graphics, right through from
the title screen to the backdrops on each event, are excellent, and
the animation, in all the events, is superb, with music and sound
effects of equal quality. This is yet another classic game from
Epyx, and I can confidently recommend it to anyone.
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