Don'tcha just love those multiload sports sims? I'm absolutely crazy about them myself. You can make a nice cup of tea between games, and perhaps a bit of toast and jam. Then it's back to being a couch potato again, and playing all these luverly sports without having to strain so much as a finger.
    And what a selection of sports they are! Hurdles, cycling, archery - all indisputably played during the Summer Olympics. At least there'll be loads left for 'Summer Edition 2'! But let's take a look at the various events in this in more detail, shall we? If they appeal to you, all's fine and dandy. Most of them are pretty respectably done, and offer a choice of practice sessions or competition. For my money though most of them are quite limited - there's not that much to do on any particular one and the multiloading makes playing the lot a pretty stilted experience.
    I did like the opening sequence though, which shows you some of the people and places of Korea as a setting for the events. I learned oodles from it - I mean, who would have dreamed that the seesaw plays such an important part in Korean popular culture? That's what I call educational software!
    
Diving
A grey figure bounces on the board, twiddles about in the air and flops off the bottom of the screen. Sadly no splash, but next thing you see he's floating there in the water awaiting his score. What's this? Ten from one scorer, 1.7 from another? Bit fickle aren't they? For me this simulation was marred by the fact that - try as I might - I couldn't get my diver to hit his head on the springboard in true Olympic style.
    
Velodrome (cycling to you)
Not one of the best bits to be honest. The right of the screen shows where you are on the course, the left is split in two and shows the two racers from behind. There's no real impression of speed, and I got a bit bored of it. Time for a cup of tea I think.
    Next!
    
Hurdles
Almost a split screen effect with the two runners on top of each other (Oo-er) and lots of waggling to be done. You can make false starts, trip over the hurdles and all sods. Coo!
    
Pole Vault
There's a waggling animated running bit, then WALLOP! straight into the cross bar or, if you're skill like me, right over the top of it. Your little chappy doesn't seem to need much time to regain his composure before he's on his feet again ('cos there's only one frame of animation between him falling and him standing up again).
    
Archery
Quite smart this one. You aim then fire, so it's not too tricky (a bit like the Golden Shot if you remember that). However, the graphics are nice and you can try and let your bolt slip early (Oo-er) and hit one of the crowd. You can't succeed mind you, but it's worth the try.
    
Uneven Parallel Bars
Now this is fun! It's quite fast and smooth and you can send your female sprite into all sorts of painful looking un-aerodynamic dismounts. Ouch! There's a vast(ish) range of moves you can master and points to be lost and earned for everything from 'uncharacteristic moves' to 'too few bar changes.' Bonza!
    
Rings
Another funny. Nicely animated and you can do some hilarious falls, but ever so limited, and what, oh what are those funny flower things in the background? The public should be told!
    
Hammer Throw
The hammer rope wrapping around your neck and stars spinning 'round your head if you fail to let go in time? Come on, we're being just a teensy bit silly now, aren't we programmers? Still, it looks and plays quite nicely, and is the sort of field event I expected to see more of.

Ratings given by other magazines

8/10      6/10

Info supplied by the SPOT*ON database

YS Cross-references
		The Games: Summer Edition/US Gold	YS38	FUT
		The Games: Summer Edition/Kixx	YS69	80
		The Games: Summer Edition (in Mega Sports)	YS81
Some info from Sinclair Infoseek+SPOT*ON