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Oh, the sun. The sand. The surf. California is still certainly the place to be. It's ideal for lying around and watching the beautiful people and weirdos parade past. Why anyone should want to indulge in exhausting sports there is beyond me. Nevertheless, people do.

California Games is a decathlon-style compilation of six trendy West-Coast sports. You and four like-minded pals can participate in a competition comprising of skateboarding in a half-tube, Hacky-sack foot-bagging, BMX stunting, surfing, roller skating and Frisbeeing. These are loading in one by one, and the four players take it in turns to achieve greatness at them.

Typically, each player will have three lives, and must gain points for stunts, style and skill. In some games you take the form of a female, in others you're male. Typically Californian equality.

In all the games there is a serious amount of joystick waggling, with many of the stunts requiring a lot of practice. Don't expect them to be easy. Some, like the BMX and skateboarding, are wickedly hard. Frustration may build and tempers may fray!

The graphics are large and bright with very sunny, California-type colours. Unfortunately, the scrolling is jerky and the gameplay slow.

But overall this is a decent selection of simple games to play, all with a common theme. You will need good timing for a few, and will probably need a deal of luck as well. It will be a great compilation to play when winter is here and it's raining outside.

Quite nice because it reminds you of summer, but the games themselves aren't a lot of cop. Not bad for the money as a compilation, though.

Beat all yer mates!

Graphics 63%
P. Sun, sand, surf and sex [Eh? - Ed]

Sonics 48%
N. Sounds like a typical Californian summer.

Grab Factor 64%
N. Lots to see and do.

Staying Power 59%
N. Does require practice and skill.

Overall 67%
N. Challenging set of multi-player games.