Olympic Gold: Barcelona '92

"Compete with famous Olympians... without leaving your couch!"

/////////OLYMPIC GOLD/////////

INTRODUCTION:
What can I say? I'm a sucker for these Olympic games. I just can't help but be drawn to the challenge of beating other Olympic heroes.

Olympic Gold is a Olympic game based upon the 1992 Barcelona Summer Olympics. It really surprises me that this game is practically unknown; I haven't seen anyone else who has owned, or let alone played Olympic Gold before. It certainly deserves more recognition... I love this game!

GAMEPLAY: (9/10)
Olympic Gold is virtually similar to all those ''other'' Summer Olympic games, but the gaming quality puts it into a league of its own. There are seven different events: Running, Hammer Throw, Archery, Hurdles, Pole-Vault, Diving, and Swimming.

Running is straight-forward. While avoiding accidentally ''jump-starting,'' your runner must spring to his feet as soon as the referee shoots the gun. The controls are simple: while alternately pressing A and B, your runner picks up speed. Although this may seem tiring, the race seems to end just before your fingers become exhausted. If you run well, you may just pick up that gold medal!

The Hammer Throw is a rare event that I've only seen in Olympic Gold. To initiate your athlete’s rotation, simply press C, and hurriedly after, alternate A and B to gain momentum. When you think he's ready to throw the hammer, press C again while continually alternating A and B. To release the hammer, press C again. This seems a bit complicated, but it's relatively easy once you get used to it.

Archery is the only event that I despise. Your archer must hold up his bow, pull back his arm, and release to shoot the arrow. This is repeated until you run out of arrows. Unfortunately, it is extremely difficult to get a bulls-eye because of the never-ending wind, which causes your archer's bow to constantly wobble around; an element of the archery event that I loathe.

Hurdles is essentially similar to Running, only with hurdles. Alternating A and B will increase your runner's speed, and C will make him leap over the hurdles.

Pole-Vault is one event that I mastered awhile ago, but now I would be lucky to even jump over the lowest setting (4.00m) without falling flat on my face, unfortunately. Timing is everything in this event. Just before the mat lays a black and white square, and you should aim for the exact center of it with your pole, which is definetly not the simplest task to do. As soon as you've pressed down to plant your pole, press up and left as soon as you're sure you've cleared the bar. Sound easy? I don't think so. ^_^

Diving is by far my favorite event in Olympic Gold. Diving consists of five rounds: two front-dives, two back-dives, and one choice. There are endless combinations to choose from, and it's usually best to pick the hardest dive to earn the most multiplication points. It took me several thousand tries to master my favorite dive, but it turned out to be worth it. When I tried it out during competition, I'd beaten Greg Louganis' record by at least one-hundred points!

Swimming is the most stressful event. Alternating A and B is again the button combination used to swim free-style. Two full laps (to the end of the pool and back) of pressing A and B are extremely tiring; I often find myself lazily pressing the buttons after the first lap.

Olympic Gold has three modes of play: Training Session, Mini-Olympics, and Full-Olympics. Up to four people can play simultaneously in the Mini and Full-Olympics.

Training session is just what you'd assume it would be: training. This is an essential feature of this game. Without it, you'd be as helpless as an elephant attempting to play a piano concerto.

Before you start the Olympics, you are asked to choose either a famous athlete, or you may type in a different name and choose a country to represent. When you have chosen your name, you are asked to pick a skill level. The three skill-levels are Club, National, and Olympic (from easiest to hardest,) making Olympic Gold's challenge great for gamers of any age.

Mini-Olympics is a nice little feature which gives you the ability to play only the events you select. I frequently choose this option in order to avoid the events I loathe.

The Full-Olympics forces you to play all seven events, yet this is a good option to choose when other people are going to be playing with you.

AUDIO/GRAPHICS: (9/10)
Although Olympic Gold's music is not the aspect of the game that makes it excel, it is satisfactory enough so that you are not bothered as you continually put your Olympic skills to the test.

The melodies seem to fit the event you are competing in, except you won't be humming them while you play because you'll be too busy frantically pressing buttons.

The sound effects could use some enhancing; they are limited and scattered throughout the events. Only one or two effects can be heard in a single event. Maybe they could have added some more into Olympic Gold.

The graphics and animation are excellent for a 16-bit game. US Gold (the manufacturer) couldn't have done a better job...although it would have been nice to have different looking people; in some events, like archery, all the athletes look exactly the same!

FUN FACTOR: (10/10)
Of course you'd expect an Olympic game to be fun, but this game is enchanting! I sat in front of my TV for hours playing this game when I'd first bought it!

CHALLENGE: (10/10)
It really depends on the skill level you set the Olympics for to determine the challenge level. Club is simple, National is mediocre, and Olympic is IMPOSSIBLE.

Choose whichever you feel is right for you.

CONCLUSION:
Hopefully, Olympic Gold will intrigue people enough so that it receives its deserved recognition eventually... It really elevates the Genesis name!

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PROS:
~ Entertaining gameplay.
~ 4 people can compete against each other, as well as famous athletes!

CONS:
~ Lack of sound effects.
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~ and that's the opinion of a female gamer!
by Steph

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 08/10/00, Updated 08/10/00