Developer: Action Graphics Publisher: Acclaim Release: 09/87 Genre: Sports
To this day I still remember my crushing disappointment with Winter Games. Fresh off of the NES port of Track and Field and the wild Summer I spent playing it with friends I thought Winter Games would be the icy equivalent. What I got instead is a game so fundamentally broken I question anyone who says they genuinely like the game, at least this version. The Nintendo version of Winter Games is truly awful and one of the worst games for the system.
A little bit of history. Winter Games was originally released on the Commodore 64 and to this day is a beloved title fondly remembered by its fans for its fun events and great controls. Something went wrong when porting it to the NES as it only has half the content and the controls are completely busted. I would love to learn just what the hell happened someday. For now it is my job to tell you to stay the hell away from this game.
The game consists of four events: Hot dog aerials (freestyle skiing), the bobsled, figure skating, and speed skating. This is down from the eight in the Commodore original. Even the Atari 2600 version had eight! There is no tournament of any kind as the game only allows you to compete in all events sequentially, a single event, or practice. I advise everyone unfortunate enough to have bought this game to immediately go to practice as the controls are an event unto themselves.
The controls differ for each event and only make use of the D-pad and A button. Outside of one event they are all unresponsive and make little sense no matter how many times you read the manual. The ski jump is the only one that I have been able to consistently perform well in. Here you descend a slope and jump and have a limited amount of time while airborne to perform tricks. Executing tricks is simple as they use a combination of the d-pad and A to perform different spllits and splits. The judges grade on how many tricks you execute, how soon you start the trick, and the landing. It Is fairly easy to get a high score here with a minute of practice but any sense of accomplishment will vanish quickly with the following events.
Speed skating. How do you mess up speed skating? This should have been the easiest one. The only controls are using left and right to increase your speed to beat your opponent. There is a rhythm to rocking back and forth in order to build and preserve your momentum but I’ll be god damned if I have ever figured it out. This was impenetrable when I was young and remains so as an experienced gamer. It is hell on your left hand and simply not fun. The bobsled is almost as bad. You can manipulate the speed to better navigate the various turns and such but it still feels as though it comes down to random chance. Additionally there is definite input lag that also makes it worse. To tell the truth even if it worked as it should this event would still be boring.
This ends horribly every time.
There is a special place in hell for figure skating. This event is an utter mess from its controls to its design. You have one minute to perform six elements to achieve a perfect score of six. These are the standard skating maneuvers like the pirouette, double axel, lutz, etc. But the implementation of the mechanics is where it falls apart. You must build up speed before attempting any move lest you fall over and suffer a deduction of points. Not only must you nail the move you also have to stick the landing or properly transition otherwise you fall again. Despite far more attempts than I would like to admit I always fail. I have tried, so, so many times to come to grips with this event and still to this day, over thirty years later, I have not. If someone has mastered this event I salute them.
Beyond the game’s missing events as a package it feels incomplete. Competing in all four events sequentially does not matter. While you receive a score whether you pass or fail does not matter. Upon completing everything the game unceremoniously dumps you back at the menu. Even multiplayer cannot save this one. Two players, sitting in frustration at the game’s busted mechanics does not make for a fun evening.
In Closing
Winter Games is bad. This is among the worst games on the NES in my opinion. There is nothing good I can say about it. Playing this game is a complete waste of your time.
