Previous Next

"And the tears of emotion fall from the audience's eyes as they watch Ferdy 'The Wizard' Hamilton collect his fifth gold medal of this year's Olymp" ... "Get on with the review," shouts the Ed as his superstar-cum-athlete's ego drops down to its normal level, and he wakes up with a violent jerk.

What's doing this to me, you may ask? Well, me and my wallet are just plain chuffed about Americana's latest Go For Gold.

Look at it and you think, "B-o-r-i-n-g - not another joystick basher." Play it or just read the instructions and you'll see what's so special. There's just so much you can do - there are so many options.

On loading you are presented with a scoreboard asking you to enter your name and country. If you actually have any friends [Pretty unlikely for a CU reviewer - Ed] another five of you can play.

You can always chance the name of the competition to whatever you prefer. We had lots of laughs in the CU office competing in the first ever Screen Scene Games. Of course the Ed won, mainly through a technique which he called gamesmanship - which consisted of reminding us how insecure our jobs were. [Just 'cos you lost! - Ed]

Next of the endless options is "Change Kit". Being patriotic I chose a red vest, white shorts, and blue socks. Now for the events. Off to a flying start with the...

1. 100 Metres
   No innovative gameplay here, just plain old-fashioned joystick bashing - you know left, right, left, right.
   
   Graphics are a little drab - the runners looked very blocky with poor use of colour. The game includes some nice speech enhancements. But the real fun starts when you finish the event. If you notch up a good time (or even if you don't) you can see an action replay of your performance.
   
   If you are in a record-breaking mood, you can even race against your best time with the computer-controlled player in the next lane doing your exact record-breaking movements. These last two options are possible in most events - though not in all.
2. 110 Metre Hurdles
   After saving my 110 Metre Hurdles record, it was down to the Ed Moses in me to do the rest. And I did, crossing the line in a spectacular 10.9 seconds, Now I just had to see a replay of that, wouldn't you?
   
   The control method is the same as in the 100 metre except when taking the hurdles. But take care - hit one and you are in for a nasty trip.
3. Springboard Diving
   I can't say this is my favourite event. It's a bit too tricky, and again the graphics could have been improved. Still, I can't gripe just because none of the judges liked me. Well, not all of them, just the Russian. The instructions tell you to impress him by "wearing red trunks".
4. Long Jump
   Another event guaranteed to wear out your joystick. Shake it from left to right like crazy, push up to jump, and then to the right so that you don't land on your bum! Not a bad event really, but it can all get a bit too easy if you are as good as me.
5. Archery
   An uncanny aim, fierce concentration, a steady grip, and relentless consistency are some of the qualities you are told you'll need for this event. Knowing I had all these in abundance, in I went. Eat your heart out, William Tell.
6. Weight Lifting
   There are two weightlifting events: the Clean and Jerk, and the Two Hand Snatch. Both are pretty similar though Clean and Jerk is the most difficult. In my view - this is the worst event on the tape and after a few goes I was bored to tears. And I didn't even get a hernia.

Go For Gold is an essential purchase at £2.99 for any sports sim fan. It's not quite in the Epyx league - lacking the gameplay and quality graphics of Winter Games and Summer Games II. But for £2.99 there is nothing to compare with it at this price. Go out and get it.