Olympics Thrills and Chills

It’s hard work to make an armchair athlete feel the rush of speed necessary to win the luge or bobsled event.

It’s probably even harder work to make a couch potato feel the strain and bursting lungs of a speed skater or cross-country skier in competition.

Agony and thrills aside, the Winter Olympics have a special allure and excitement. For those of us who haven’t dedicated our lives to becoming a winter athlete, Accolade has created “The Games: Winter Challenge.”

Eight Olympic style events have been grouped together in this entertaining sports simulation. Downhill skiing, the giant slalom, ski jump, bobsled, luge, biathlon, cross-country skiing and speed skating are available in both training and competition modes.

Becoming an athlete is possible as you create and select a competitive team. Equal opportunities are provided for both male and female athletes. The training mode is an excellent opportunity to compete against yourself.

Once confident of your abilities, the tournament allows you to compete against a broader range of computer-generated phantom athletes. You don’t have to watch their performances, but their time and rank can sure throw a wrench into your gold medal plans.

“The Games” gives a good performance. The athletes represented on the screen have the body language of realistic competitors. The landscape has a wintry enough feel.

But some of the art and colors which make it so subtle also make it difficult to keep track of your course as you move at speeds up to 80 miles an hour.

The Games

Rating: ***

IBM & compatibles, Tandy, Amiga; 640K RAM. List: $54.95.

Computer games are rated on a five-star system, from one star for poor to five for excellent.