Alternative World Games

Copyright : Gremlin Graphics | Reviewed by : Malc Jennings

A hell of a lot of olympic style games hit the market back in the 80s and 90s, most of which ended up being the same thing with a new name and maybe (if you?re lucky) new or improved graphics. Gremlin figured they would get in on the action but rather than copy the old run and jump style games featured in Daley Thompsons Decathlon, do something different, something wacky, something alternate (I guess).

The result was the aptly named Alternative World Games and this, is the review.

Graphics

Given the variety of game styles in this genre its often difficult to judge the game properly on its graphical abilities. What I can say for sure is that the game does look nice, apart from the introduction screen which just smacks of a late night rush job in the office. If you compare the colours and level of detail against the Commodore 64 release you really wont notice much of a difference, C64 owners will probably tell you it looks far better but it really doesn?t.

The game plays quite well, no serious signs of graphical glitches and it plays at a nice speed too.

Sound

We are treated to a very nice olympic style anthem from the moment the loading screen is displayed that does help to set the mood for the game ahead quite nicely. After this you?re asked to enter your name and select your country, the little animated parrot picks up a vinyl record from his collection box and your national anthem is played, again very well done indeed. After this though it stops, the various events have little to no sound at all, which after all the hype before you got to this point, does make you feel a little let down.

Gameplay

As with all olympic games there?s certainly a wide selection of gaming choices: Sack Race, Pile of Plates, Boot Throwing, River Jump, Pole Climbing, Run up the Wall, Pillow Fight and Pogo Stick. You really dont get much more alternate than that do you?

Some of the events are more fun than others and all of them have that cute quality to them, such as the sack falling down when you jump too hard in the sack jump event. It plays very nicely and the events aren?t too difficult, you can even have a practice on each event before competing against the computer or another player.

If you?re a serious gamer then maybe you wont like this one too much, but if you enjoy a laugh and have rapidly found yourself tired of Daley Thompson then this is certainly one to check out.