Epyx programmed this 1988 conversion of California Games themselves, and – to be honest – it’s actually not that bad, considering the Atari 2600‘s limitations.
Tag Archives: Sport
Winter Games, Atari 2600
This 1987 conversion of the classic Winter Games is about as basic as it gets, in terms of Winter Games conversions (and there are quite a few of them).
World Games, Commodore 64
Programmed by K-Byte for Epyx and published in 1986, World Games is an eclectic mix of eight different sports events, inspired by various unusual sports from around the world.
Masterblazer, Amiga
Masterblazer is a 1990 conversion of the classic LucasFilm Games game, Ballblazer, but with faster, smoother graphics than the 8-bit versions, and a couple of extra play modes.
That said: the 8-bit versions were all pretty much fast and smooth enough, so is this Amiga update good enough?
Match Day II, ZX Spectrum
Match Day II is the 1987 sequel to Match Day. It was again coded by Jon Ritman and published by Ocean Software.
The graphics in Match Day II were created by Bernie Drummond (who famously made Batman with Ritman in 1986), and could be described as “more characterful” than in the previous game. One thing is certain, though: the players in Match Day II definitely have Eighties haircuts!
Match Day, ZX Spectrum
Although it’s pretty laughable now, Jon Ritman and Chris Clarke‘s 1984 football game, Match Day, was a groundbreaking Spectrum game for the time.
Match Day wasn’t the first football video game ever made, but it was one of the first to at least make a reasonable attempt to translate the sport into something playable.
Windjammers, Neo Geo
Windjammers is a legendary two-player sports game from Data East, published on the Neo Geo in 1994. It can of course be played single-player, against the AI, too.
It is kind of a cross between tennis and Frisbee-throwing. Or maybe even table hockey and Frisbee-throwing… The intro screen describes itself as “the flying disc game“. It’s weird but fun, and instantly playable, whatever it is.
Archer Maclean’s Pool, Atari ST
Following on from Jimmy White’s Whirlwind Snooker, Archer Maclean’s Pool was published in 1992 by Virgin Games. It was of course designed and programmed by Archer MacLean.
And, because pool is much more simple to play than snooker, and because this game uses the same engine as the previous game, Pool is arguably more immediately playable and more fun overall than its predecessor.
Mario Golf: Advance Tour, Game Boy Advance
Mario Golf: Advance Tour was released in 2004 and was developed by Camelot Software Planning for Nintendo.
It is similar in many ways to Mario Tennis: Power Tour – it’s like an RPG with golfing elements – and it is a lot of fun to play.
Everybody’s Golf Portable 2, PSP
Known as “Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee 2” in North America and Everybody’s Golf Portable 2 everywhere else, this superb golf game is arguably the stand-out sports title on the PSP.
It’s the eighth game in the Everybody’s Golf series and first came out in 2007.
