...and now, the whole game, minus commentary! Enjoy!
Winter Olympics is a multi-event sports game much like Winter Games by Epyx for the BBC Micro. You play through six events in order to get the highest score that you can.
There are six events, and you can practice them all before playing them for real to get points. I'll explain how to play them, as well as my experiences with them.
Event 1: Speed Skating
In this game, you'll need to quickly alternate between the Z and X keys in order to get to the finish line as quickly as possible. This is the easiest event of the six to play through, and I had no problem beating the Olympic record more than once to get 1,000 points for each time I did it.
Event 2: Ski Jump
In this game, you'll need to quickly alternate between the Z and X keys to build up speed, then press the Space Bar near the end of the slope for a successful jump. You'll need to time the jump just right, or else the jump will either be too short or end with the worst landing ever. Since I can't get the timing of this down, I usually end up doing the latter.
Event 3: Ski Slalom
Z moves left, while X moves right. Space Bar is supposed to start the run, but the run starts automatically. If you fail to get between gates, you'll get a ten second penalty, and if you hit a tree, the run ends. You'd think this would be easy, but unfortunately, the responsiveness of the controls is even worse than Robo Swamp, and that's saying a lot. You have to hold the buttons down to actually move, and you never start or stop at the exact moment that you hold down or let go of Z or X. Because of this, I constantly miss gates and run into trees. It gets to the point that I sometimes don't hit a tree when I know I will, and always hit the tree when I don't want to. I rarely, if ever, make it to the finish, and if I do, I incur a bunch of penalties on the way there. This could have been better.
Event 4: Ski Downhill
Z moves left, while X moves right. Space Bar is supposed to start the run, but the run starts automatically. Same controls, except you have nothing but trees to avoid. Since this is the exact same game as Event 3 except without the gates, I'm just going to cut to the chase and tell you that I'd rather play Mogul Maniac for Atari 2600. That game did it right.
Event 5: Cresta Run
Anybody else find it interesting that when the skiing games are done, the game starts being playable again?
Anyway, this is basically the bobsled event. The Space Bar will start your run, and you'll need to use Z and X to turn left and right respectively. This is true when you're taking turns and your bobsled goes off center. While being at the edges will give you a faster speed, being on the edges for too long will cause you to fall off the course and end your run. You'll need to mix both speed and safety in order to get the most points and even beat the Olympic Record for an extra 1,000 points. Playable, but there's a bit of a strategy and a secret to playing this event that I find alluring, which makes it my second-favorite event below Speed Skating.
Event 6: Curling
Z and X moves your player left and right respectively, while Return throws the curling stone. Your goal is to throw your five curling stones as close as you can to the center pin, which is indicated by the black circle. If you can get it directly there, you'll get six points, and you'll get fewer points the further and further away your stones get to the center pin when they stop. You have three ends - or periods - in which to outscore your opponent, and whoever has more points after three ends is the winner. You can also gain or lose points from your opponent's stones - or your own - knocking your stones away, and the same can happen to your opponent. Holding down the Return button dictates how powerful your throw will be when you let go, and it's a bit tricky to get the throwing strength that you want. Because of that, I usually end up losing to the computer opponent by one point, and it always ends up being pretty close. Still a fun game, though.
All in all, Winter Olympics is still a fun game for the BBC Micro. It's not Winter Games, but it doesn't need to be. The graphics are bright, colorful and identifiable, and the sound is there exactly when it needs to be. My only real gripe is that I wish the skiing games were easier to play, and that Ski Slalom and Ski Downhill didn't have the wretched unresponsiveness that they do. Nevertheless, the other three games are a blast to play. There are better games, but you can do worse than this one.
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