Every four years the fastest, the world's greatest and strongest athletes go for gold (without the aid of Henry Kelly) in the Summer Games, five events to test athletes' skill and endurance beyond belief.

The Linford Christies of this world make their way straight to the 100m track, where (unsurprising really) their aim is simply to sprint down it as fast as their legs will carry them! Sega owners can join in by beating the hell out of their joypad buttons.

The complete and utter show-offs usually end up at the diving pool, where their general objective is to impress the judges by pulling off particularly impressive moves like triple back flips and reverse inward dives. Other water lovers get their kicks (and their points) in the 100m freestyle. A steady rhythm must be built up in order to keep your little swimming character on course for a gold (or eternal humiliation).

After the water-based antics, why not take the role of a gymnast and perform all manner of seemingly impossible bodily contortions around the apparatus in the gym? Rounding up the Summer Games is the pole vault event, where the participants have to jump over bars starting at four metres high (cor!) with only a bendy pole for assistance.

So, grab your isotonic Lucozade Sport and take your national team to the Games Village Who knows? It could be YOUR squad that walks away with a fistful of medals!

SEGA £29.99

It looks as though the Epyx Games series has Just gone downhill all the way after the opening brilliance of California Games. It's not as if Summer Games had that much to live up to - the C64 version wasn't that technically accomplished. The original's graphics and gameplay were brilliant for their time, though, and since the Sega out-specs the C64 in the visual stakes I was expecting something better than the hobbling, retarded sprites and poorly defined backdrops that we've got here. The sound fits the bill adequately with plenty of tunes but there isn't that much in the way of sound effects. As for the gameplay... Well, where's it gone? Events like pole vaulting and gymnastics seem more down to luck than anything else. What skill is required in events such as the diving won't keep you at the Sega for long. The smoothness and polish of the C64 events seem to have deserted this conversion, and I find it hard to recommend this lacking effort at all.

RICHARD LEADBETTER

GRAPHICS

47%

SOUND

65%

VALUE

45%

PLAYABILITY

44%

OVERALL

47%

Rating

47

Reviewer

CVG magazine

Region

UK

Scans

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