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I've always been a fan of this kind of game, especially the Epyx variety. It's with a teeny tear of nostalgia I recall my first experiences of C64 gaming with the original Epyx multi-loading sports simulations, so I had something of a soft spot waiting for this before I even opened the box.

The game follows similar lines to its illustrious ancestors, with opening ceremonies, world records, medals and all that, plus the option of competing in every event, practice all events (oddly enough no option for practising one event this time!). For similar reasons, i.e. the lack of random access on tape, the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, and Compete In Some Events options only work on disk versions of the game, which means not on the +2 Speccy cassette that I reviewed.

The game itself is crisp and fruity, as you'd expect, with plenty of events to sink your teeth into, and as with all Epyx sport sims the minimum of those stupid joystick waggling endurance games, with the emphasis on skill rather than just elbow grease. On the new package there is Archery, Velodrome Cycling, Diving, Hammer Throw, Hurdles, Pole Vault, Rings and Uneven Parallel Bars. Now I've seen archery, diving, cycling, hurdling and hammer throw games before, but the rings and parallel bar jobs caught me by surprise.

The presentation of the games is a little bit more 3D than usual in this type of game, and each individual event seems to be trying harder than ever to look less like a video game and more like TV coverage. The sense of being there is heightened on versions with good sound (the roar of the crowd, f'r instance), but the Spectrum version, as usual, has all the gameplay.

An enjoyable sports simulation that offers a fair amount of playability. The multi-load is a pain though.

Benefits from extra colour, but otherwise virtually identical to the Spectrum version.