3rd August 1984
Olympic Skier
A whisker late for last winter's Olympics, but this sparky simulation of ski slope bravado is a fresh-faced, cleverly paced game that keeps one steering digit from getting too good and another itching on the replay key.
It comes in three stages - slalom circuit, ski jump and downhill - and your begoggled Olympiast has to negotiate each punishing test with scarcely a pause to dust down his irons. The slalom is a comparative pushover, the jump difficult to garner the big scores on - and the downhill is plain murder. What really lifts this game is the wealth of detail: the sound of approaching skis on the jump followed by the deathly silence when your screen-size Steiner leaps is beautifully done, and the graphics are an all-round classic.
When the skier comes to an untimely halt in going for gold, a helicopter breezes on to scoop up the shattered casualty.
In one sense this is an almost perfect game for the micro user, for the lonely dedication of the Slopes Superman makes an apposite heroism for the hacker to aspire to. You won't be piste off with this one too fast.
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