Some would say MAT YEO deserves a medal simply for sporting such a horrendous pudding bowl haircut!

I have to admit that when I got this one, I was a tad worried whether the Game Gear could do it justice but, never fear, the MS version’s been perfectly converted to my little handheld friend! The picture quality’s amazing, with all the sprites well-defined and once again, the Game Gear proves what a smart games machine it is!

Like the MD and MS, you can compete in various events, Mini Olympics, Full Olympics or go for Olympic records. Yep! Try your hand at beating the world’s high scores and setting records of your own!

The events are just like the other formats and ifs best to practise before trying them for real! The Game Gear version’s a lot easier to handle (pun intended!); the controls respond well.

Hammer time

Choose your event and go! Sprinting’s a doddle. Wait for the starting gun and run like the clappers! The same applies to the hurdles. Get off to a quick start, press up to leap the hurdles and dip at the line to clip your time down.

Next up is the hammer throw. There’re two power bars in the top right-hand comer. Start spinning by pressing button and build up speed with both. After three spins the hammer flies like a bird.

Archery’s fairly easy. Press any button to go to ‘strength mode’, pull back the bowstring, aim for the target and let ‘er rip! You have six shots to fire in one minute.

The pole vault takes a fair bit of practice. Press any button to start, run like hell, then press Down to stick your pole int’ ‘ole, lad! Use the controls to fly through the air gracefully, release the pole and roll over the bar - no cinch!

Head first!

After all that, try your hand at the water sports. Swimming’s just like sprinting, only you must keep an eye on your stamina bar.Try to keep an even pace or you’ll knacker yourself!

Last but not least is springboard diving. Perform a series of twists and turns to get high marks. The judges can be a bit stingey so try some complicated moves to impress them! As in other events, see how the pros (!) do it by selecting the ‘eye’ icon.

This version of Olympic Gold’s great! With loads of events to compete in and even the Full Olympics to try, it’s a sports fan’s dream! I was hooked on it as soon as it arrived. Not only is it a real challenge, it’s fun too!

I can’t recommend this enough. It’s cheaper than a ticket to Barcelona and there are no Germans to pinch your seat by the pool!

MAT

Producer

US Gold

MD

Out

MS

Out

Memory

K

Players

1-4

Price

£24.99

SF Rating

Presentation

82% - Comprehensive options and menus

Visuals

92% - Crystal clear sprites and movements

Sonics

80% - Good music and use of sound effects

Playability

88% - Some events are difficult to master

Lastability

94% - Play it till the cows come home!

92%

The perfect portable sports sim!

Rating

92

Reviewer

Sega Force magazine

Region

UK

Scans

Sega Force - Issue 08

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