Loading ...
The Best and Worst of Winter Gaming
Winter. What is it good for? Absolutely nothing. Unless blistering cold temperatures, skin drier than sandpaper, and fat piles of snow happen to tickle your fancy, you probably harbor some resentful feelings toward this annual trial known as winter. Interestingly enough, developers in video game history weren’t bothered by this common hatred and decided that winter-themed games would be fun for everyone.
As it turns out, they were on to something.
Some people like winter. Freshly fallen snow is pretty and can be fun to play in, if you don’t mind a nip of frostbite. Children traditionally enjoy sledding down hills, throwing snowballs at each other, and building snow people. But since most of us aren’t professional skiers or Olympic athletes, for the everyday Joe or Jane, snow is just pretty okay.
And these games are pretty okay, too. Even if you despise the freezing cold of winter, at least in the world of video games, you don’t have to deal with it.
Most Creative: Mutant League Hockey (1994)
Mutant League Hockey (Electronic Arts) emerged on the Sega Genesis as a spin-off to its football counterpart, Mutant League Football. Now hockey has become a merciless showdown between robots, skeletons, and trolls who tear up the ice with exploding pucks and land mines.
The crowd in this game craves violence, tossing weapons and power-ups onto the rink. Even the goalies are demonic. Players who fall leave corpses behind for fellow and opposing team members to trip over, and eventually a giant slug crawls onto the screen and chows down on the debris. It’s gross, but one of the more entertaining winter sports games out there.
Up to two players can play, and the game scores with a fantastic animation style. My only complaint is the voice acting: Troll language isn’t easy on the ears.
Most Unplayable: Winter Games (1986)
The Most Unplayable Winter Game award goes to, ironically, Winter Games, a mid-eighties sports title developed by Epyx that appeared on a number of computer platforms and consoles, including the NES. I remember giving this a try when I was a kid … and then I remember switching over to Super Mario Bros. 3. You can mash all the buttons you want, but your best guess as to how to play this game is as good as mine.
The NES version allows up to two players and features four different Olympic events, each made frightfully boring: the ski jump, speed and figure skating, and bobsledding. Glory in this game is short-lived (about five minutes of playtime should do it).
Most Extreme: Ski or Die (1990)
From Electronic Arts and Ultra Games comes a nail-biting premise: Ski or die!
Available for the Amiga, NES, MS-DOS, and Commodore 64, the sequel to the 1987 Skate or Die features skier punks with radically-colored hair. The game is equipped with multiplayer capabilities and consists of various mini-games: the Snowboard Halfpipe, Snowball Blast, Innertube Thrash, Downhill Blitz, and Acro Aerials.
Like Winter Games, it suffers from poor controls, but how much more extreme can you get than “Innertube Thrash”?
Most Bizarre: Winter (unreleased)
In 2009, reports hit the web regarding a survival horror game called Winter. Stuck without a publisher, the Wii game had little chance of escaping its own snowstorm alive, but the premise, comparable to the likes of Silent Hill and Parasite Eve, is still an intriguing one.
A devastating snowstorm has settled over the Midwest, and players must help an amnesiac named Mia to survive the unnatural conditions. Finding (or creating) sources of warmth, rerouting through the ice and snow, and uncovering the connection between Mia and the monsters she encounters are all priorities. For developer n-Space, syncing in-game actions with the Wii Remote and Nunchuk was a crucial undertaking; they wanted to ensure a seamless gameplay experience. To prevent their flashlight from flickering, for instance, players would need to tap the controller against their hands to keep it working properly.
Although virtually every publisher n-Space met with was impressed with what they saw, the game’s mature content dissuaded them from backing the property fully.
Most Wanted: Waku Waku Ski Wonder Spur (1995)
This Japan-only game for the Super Famicom was developed by Human Club and published by Human Entertainment. Waku Waku Ski Wonder Spur (or Waku Waku Ski Wonder Shoot) is a colorful and wacky take on snowboarding that includes a robot, banana, bunny, and yellow star as part of its character select group. Players can choose from four main tracks: snow-blanketed plains, mountains, a futuristic city landscape, and an ice cream dreamland.
The happy-go-lucky theme makes this game a desirable North American release.
Most Practical: We Ski and Snowboard (2009)
The follow-up to We Ski (2008), We Ski and Snowboard is the more pragmatic and budget-friendly of the two Wii winter sports games. Both utilize the Wii balance board, but the peripheral isn’t required for the sequel. Players can execute tricks while skiing freestyle, competing in races, or participating in any additional single or multiplayer mode, such as the School, Slalom Challenge, Moguls, and Enjoy the Resort.
The game provides two courses, Jamboree Snow Resort and Mt. Angrio, with unique daytime and nighttime looks and the convenience of an adjustable difficulty scale.
Most Disappointing: Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games (2009)
Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games pits iconic Nintendo and Sega characters against each other. There’s a lot of room for potential with this Wii/DS game, an expansion on its predecessor Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games. Unfortunately, not only does the sequel title lack imagination, but many critics considered the same of its gameplay. However mediocre, the party game offers a myriad of events (twenty-seven to be exact), from skiing to snowboarding, skating, hockey, and curling. Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games was most praised for its fun and brightly colored Dream Events, but frowned upon for its inconsistent controls and problematic game design.
Most Prolific: Snowboard Supercross series (2000-present)
Regarded as one of the best PlayStation 2 launch games, SSX debuted at the dawn of the millennium courtesy of EA Sports BIG. In the series known for its crazy snowboarding and skiing stunts, players pick their character and course and duke it out for points. The phattest trickster wins. The game spawned an impressive number of sequels: SSX Tricky (2001), SSX 3 (2003), SSX on Tour (2005), and SSX Blur (2007). A future title, Deadly Descent, was recently announced and is slated for next winter.
Runner-up — Most Influential: Cool Boarders series (1996-2000)
Cool Boarders was born as a collaboration between Sony Computer Entertainment and UEP Systems, and its success brought a total of six sequels and a place in the PlayStation Greatest Hits library. The popular snowboarding game paved the way for other, more extreme sports titles.
Developer Idol Minds took over for Cool Boarders 3 (1998), returned the series to UEP for Cool Boarders Pocket (unreleased in North America), and stole it back for Cool Boarders 2001 (2000). The final game in the series to date, Cool Boarders: Code Alien (2000), was sold in Japan only.
Most Lighthearted: Snowboard Kids series (1998-2005)
Snowboard Kids, developed by Racdym and published by Atlus, is often dubbed the Mario Kart of snowboarding games. The game stars characters with humongous noses as well as outrageous courses, like an amusement park and a Japanese village dotted with cherry blossoms. Think of it as the more accessible Waku Waku Ski Wonder Spur.
Snowboard Kids Plus expanded on the original, hitting shelves in Japan just a few months before the full-on sequel reached the hands of gamers in North America. Its story continued the playful style, taking the characters to such imaginative locations as a haunted house and even outer space.
SBK: Snowboard Kids for the Nintendo DS treats the series to an anime makeover.
Most Unexpected Twist: SkiFree (1991)
For the PC and Mac (and later the GameBoy Color) came SkiFree, a simple but devious little game. The goal is straightforward enough. Players ski down the hill while avoiding obstacles like trees and dogs. After reaching the 2000 mark, however, a hungry and very abominable snowman gives chase. The game also features freestyle and slalom modes, but let’s face it: That yeti is the real challenge.
Memorable Winter Levels
Just in case you’re feeling the winter blues, here are five fun tributes to the season.
Super Mario 64 — Cool, Cool Mountain
Who can forget the snowman, penguin races, and frosty slides of Cool, Cool Mountain?
Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back — Un-Bearable
Riding an adorable polar bear pup was loads of fun. Jumping on his head to snag an extra life was even better. Being chased by a toothy, super-sized version of the little guy? Not so nice.
Tomb Raider II — Tibet
Who can forget when globe-trotter Lara visited Tibet? Not only did players get to plow through enemies and traverse treacherous mountain gaps on a snowmobile, but they also got to slay a bunch of angry yetis in the Catacombs of the Talion and Ice Palace.
Secret of Mana — Todo Village
Todo Village in Ice Country is a quaint town populated by talking walruses. The beautiful stain glass windows, glittering frozen pond, and tiny snowmen outside the houses make this a spectacular area to behold.
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves — Heart of Ice
Nathan Drake and Lara Croft have a lot in common. They’re both treasure hunters and gun-toting action heroes, and both have seen the wintry landscape of Tibet. Chapter 18 of Uncharted 2 shows us some truly breathtaking heights (and even more yetis).
How many of these have you played? Is there a game that should have been included on my list? Share your two cents in the comments below!
Crash had some great winter levels!
And I believe Ski Free was the most unplayable. That freaking Yeti, man.