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Opening with the Kingsmen’s ‘Louie, Louie’ backing the credits, the Amiga update of the 64 blockbuster is as Californian as a year round sun tan. It may not be the best of the hundred and fifty so versions of the song recorded, but it is the thought that counts.

No new sports have been added to the original eight bit format, so the gameplay remains virtually untouched. You can skate in the half-pipe, juggle with the foot bag, ‘shred the tube’ (which is surfing, to all us pasty faced Brits), roller skate, BMX race and (whoopee) play flying disc – better known as Frisbee. You can take them on individually, or you can submit yourself the strains of a sun drenched sexthalon (that means six events, by the way).

Some of the events are as completely trivial as only the Americans could possibly manage. Frisbee involves you in launching the disc and then trying to position your catcher underneath it. A bit bleeding easy if I do so myself…
Foot bag is, surprisingly, more fun. All sorts of combinations of tricks are possible. Wonderfully exotic stunts like the Horseshoe and the half axle, which basically consists of booting the bag up in the air a couple for times with different feet. If I really wanted to play foot bag I would stagger out in my spacious garden, not spend £25 on a simulation.

By far the best sports here are the BMX racing and the surfing. The BMX track effortlessly scrolls over a variety of different jumps and obstacles and each time you crash your rider lets out a painful little squeal – especially the time he got impaled on a cactus – and a comforting message appears like, “Chill Out” or “You Ate It!” which winds me up no end. Likewise on a surf wipe-out, a little shark sometimes appears to the strains of the Jaws’ theme.
The stunts you can perform here, if you are sufficiently adept, are moderately satisfying, but there is still not a lot to sustain interest. There is only so much your imagination can do with a dirt track.

As you would expect, the graphics on this Amiga version are considerably improved, but all you seem to be paying for is a bit of improved resolution and a couple of extra stunts listed as Footbag. I managed an Axle Foley, but I cannot tell you what it is because the instruction guide is not kind enough.

California Games is a good laugh, it was ideally suited to the 64 but the Amiga cannot make much more of it. To buy this sports sim you would either have to be a relative of The Beach Boys, or just simply very rich.

Mark Heley

Title California Games
Publisher Epyx (US Gold MegaSports compilation)
Game Type Sport
Players 1-8
Compatibility Not AGA
HD Installable No
Submission Seppo Typpö (groucho@pp.inet.fi) Profiled Reviewer

Review
After successful Summer, Winter and World Games series Epyx decided to
produce a 'different' sports sim. Using the tried and tested 'Games'
formula they put together six sport events more akin to Venice Beach than
Olympic stadium. California Games was born.

The exotic events in this game include half pipe skateboarding, foot bag,
roller skating, BMX bike racing, flying disk (frisbee) and surfing. I am
not going to explain what kind of events these are, let's just say most of
them revolve around making various cool stunts and tricks instead of pure
head2head challenges. As such they are hard to master and provide
considerable challenge to even a seasoned player.

The usual Epyx features are present in California Games; single and
multiplayer modes, the complex control methods for various events which
rely more on exact timing than brute joystick waggling, and humorous
animations appearing from time to time to surprise the player.

The graphics in CG are propably the best Epyx ever made in 'Games' series
and the music is not that dreadful stuff either. The gameplay excels in
multiplayer mode but even single player can have lots of fun while trying
to master the events.

Open-minded players will find California Games a fresh change from the
normal sports sims. The more narrow-minded will probably sneer at the
light-hearted, laid-back Californian atmosphere the games oozes and will
continue playing the more traditional 'Games' series. Still, California
Games is an excellent addition to classic Epyx sports games and is a good
conversion from the Commodore 64 original.