C&VG
1st February 1987Indoor Sports
Here's a game for all those people who are always saying "I am going to take up some kind of sport - tomorrow!" Being one of these people myself, I couldn't believe my luck when Indoor Sports landed on my desk. The answer to my prayers. I can play Darts, Air Hockey and Ten-Pin Bowling without leaving the comfort of my armchair.
I have an obsession for Ten-Pin Bowling, so I settled down to read the manual.
You have to decide on the weight of your ball and the alley slickness - rather the computer will decide on the slickness for you. It changes every time, so keep an eye on your ball's weight and adjust accordingly.
After living up for the first shot, I had to decide where on the alley I wanted my ball to land once I had taken my swing. Fixing the curve on the ball, I approached the foul line and let go - wow, look at that ball curve and... yesss! A strike!
This is great, no problem at all. Until the next shot. Obviously, it was only beginner's luck, because after that it was downhill all the way - or I should say down the gutter!!
After each shot you will see your bowler's face light up at the top of the screen and from his facial expression you can tell what kind of shot you threw. At the bottom of the screen you will notice a frame by frame tally of the score.
Set in what looks like a typical darts room in any pub, Darts is a game you can either play by yourself or with one other player. Before starting the game you have to decide whether you want to have a "Double On" or "Double Off" - this means either throwing a double to start or to finish.
Your next choice is the game length, 301, 501 or 701 - you will also have a game timer counting against you.
When you start the game, your first screen is a close-up of the dart board. This is where you have to take your aim - by moving the joystick to the right or left - and then make your choice of angle and decide how much power should be behind the throw.
And so onto Air Hockey, which I am told has been voted number one game in American bars. Once again you have a choice as to the number of players, skill level, alternate sides and overall game speed.
While I was playing against one of the guys in the office, we discovered that if you are the opponent on the far side of the table and just sit in front of the goal there is no way a shot can go past you, whereas if the other player tries this, the shots go flying past into goal.
Is this a bug, or have the programmers got their perspectives wrong? All in all, it was a fast moving game. Just make sure you have your best joystick handy.
On the Amstrad and Spectrum versions of Indoor Sports you will find a fourth game - namely Superstar Ping Pong. The game will not be included on the Commodore version as it has already been released by US Gold. Read last month's issue to hear our reviewer's comments.
Indoor Sports is not in the same league as Summer and Winter Games, but you will probably find yourself coming back to it when you get tired of your arcade games.