When I think of Olympics-themed video-games, the various 80’s multi-sport efforts by Epyx are the first games that come to mind. They released a string of event-based games, including Summer Games I & II, Winter Games and World Games, all within a few years in the mid-eighties. All of those games involved side-on action, and a heap of button mashing and excessive joystick waggling was required for success. I was intrigued to see how a launch game on the Atari 2600 could possibly represent all the sports you would expect to find in an Olympic-themed game, especially given the technology’s limitations. I was even more intrigued when I discovered that Video Olympics would be played with the Atari paddles and not the joystick. How could they possibly pull that off? There is only one word required to answer that question. Pong.
Everyone was sick of Pong by the time the Atari 2600 came out. Someone obviously thought it would be funny to trick them all into playing it all over again…and again…and again…
Image Credit: The original Pong arcade game via Gamezebo
Video Olympics should really have been called 50 Variations of Pong (or perhaps 50 Shades of Pong?), because that’s all it is. Atari was never going to get into trouble for so blatantly lifting from the early seventies classic though, since it was their creation to begin with. It should be noted that it was never their intention to release Pong on the Atari 2600, let alone as one of the launch titles. It only came about when one of the engineers behind the console itself, Joe Decuir, programmed a demo to prove it was possible. It played so well that Decuir was asked to create a bunch of variations, resulting in the Video Olympics cartridge. The box will tell you that he managed to come up with 50 separate games, but as with most early 2600 releases, that stat is really pushing the truth.
I can’t help thinking of Jason Vorhees every time I see a hockey mask. We don’t have ice hockey in Australia, so he’s my only real reference point.
Image Credit: Atari Age
Video Olympics includes ten different “sports”. They are Robot Pong, Pong, Super Pong, Soccer, Foozpong, Hockey, Quadrapong, Handball, Volleyball and Basketball. Each of these sports have small variations in play (Speed, Whammy, Catch and Jump) as well as different player options (one player, two player and four player). Robot Pong is one player only, and Quadrapong is four player only, but the other eight sports have two player and four player options available. On discovering all this, it was apparent that I was going to have to rope in another player if I was to truly experience Video Olympics. So it was that my very understanding wife and I sat down one evening with an Atari paddle controller in one hand and a glass of red wine in the other, preparing to compete on the world’s biggest sporting stage. You can read about each variant and sport below, or you can just jump to the bottom and witness a video that displays the high level of play we achieved while giggling, half-intoxicated and shouting about our general ineptitude.
All 50 Video Olympic variants. My wife and I played all the ones with a 2 in the Number of Players row.
Image Credit: Atari Age
Variants
Before I discuss the sports, I need to explain the variants that appear throughout them:
Speed – The speed variants give each player the opportunity to add more speed to the ball by having their paddle controller button compressed when contact is made. After about four increases the ball is flying around at very high speed, demanding some serious reflexes.
Whammy – The whammy variants give each player the opportunity to make the ball move at strange angles by pressing the paddle controller button (only the player that just hit it can affect its trajectory). Pressing it and releasing it repeatedly can make the ball behave very erratically. This creates some hilarious moments, but it also makes it pretty much impossible to defend against at higher speed (as you’ll see in the video).
Catch – The catch variants give each player the opportunity to stop the ball on their paddle by pressing and holding the paddle controller button. Once they let go, the ball is released. I found this more of a hindrance at times, giving the opponent time to get their bearings, and rarely resulting in the angle I was going for.
Jump – The jump variants give the player the opportunity to move their on-screen paddle “upwards” by pressing and holding the paddle controller button. This feature is available in Volleyball and Basketball so that the player can position their paddle closer to the net and ring respectively.
Does this artist continue after the launch games? I really think I could draw this stuff as well if not better, and I’m no artist!
Image Credit: Atari Age
Sports
Pong
Game 03 – Speed, Game 04 – Whammy
Pong is just as you would expect. Both players control a paddle on either side of the screen, deflecting a ball toward their opponent. If the ball passes your opponent’s paddle, you score a point. First to reach 21 points wins. Robot Pong allows a single player to play the game against the computer, but two player Pong is where it’s really at. Pong is a game that demonstrates how the simplest of concepts can still draw the competitive spirit out of even the most indifferent individual. Thankfully, the Atari paddles are the perfect controllers to smoothly move your on-screen paddle up and down with the speed and control required. This is gaming in its most purist form, and always fun for…well, a good ten to fifteen minutes or so anyway.
Pong: The simplest of games, but still playable.
Super Pong
Game 09 – Speed, Game 10 – Whammy
Super Pong is the same as Pong, but with each player controlling two paddles. It doesn’t add a lot really, but moving your centre paddle while the ball passes through it does create unexpected angles for your opponent. That move combined with the speed variant can be deadly.
Super Pong: It’s pong…but super.
Soccer
Game 13 – Speed, Game 14 – Whammy
Soccer plays pretty well really, with the smaller goal creating a bigger challenge. It does offer a big advantage to the player that scored most recently though, as when the ball relaunches from the middle of the “field” towards the opponents end after you score, you have an immediate opportunity to use your “striker” to score again. I could do this repeatedly if I wanted to, but it wouldn’t have felt very sporting, and my wife may have simply walked away.
Soccer: This was definitely one of the more satisfying sports in Video Olympics.
Foozpong
Game 19 – Speed, Game 20 – Catch
Just as with real foozball, there’s something frustrating about not being able to move your paddle as far as you urgently need to, since each individual paddle has limited movement. Both my wife and I agreed that this wasn’t much fun, and while the catch feature seemed neat at first, your opponent can generally figure out exactly where the ball is going to go when released.
Foozpong: You know that moment where you try to get to the ball in foozball, only to find you just can’t get to it? Well this is that moment played over and over again.
Hockey
Game 23 – One Paddle Speed, Game 24 – One Paddle Whammy
Game 25 – Two Paddles Speed, Game 26 – Two Paddles Whammy
Game 27 – Three Paddles Speed, Game 28 – Three Paddles Catch
There are a lot of hockey variants in Video Olympics, so it’s just as well that it’s one of the more enjoyable sports on the cartridge. The small goal once again makes for a real challenge, and once there are six paddles on screen, it becomes a real test of reflexes. The same advantage-issue I mentioned for the soccer games applies to the multiple paddle variants of hockey though, allowing players to get on an almost unstoppable roll. Just click the button to relaunch the ball towards the opponent’s goal, and click again as it passes through your striker paddle at the desired angle…gooooooaaaaalllll!!!!!!!
Hockey 1…
Hockey 2…
Hockey 3!
Handball
Game 35 – Speed, Game 36 – Whammy
I saw this more as squash than handball, since I’ve played the former in real life and not the latter. It looked like it was going to be quite fun, but the two paddles overlapping was a bit confusing at times, despite the non-active paddle flashing. If the non-active player accidentally hits the ball, a point is automatically added to the opponent’s score. The whammy variant is ridiculous here too, being pretty much impossible to defend against.
Handball: Would have been better if the non-active player’s paddle wasn’t visible. I could confuse my wife by moving my cursor all around hers while she tried to hit the ball (I didn’t of course…well…not much anyway).
Volleyball
Game 39 – Jump, Game 40 – Normal
This is basically Pong with gravity, and it’s fairly well implemented. Just as in real volleyball, you can’t allow the ball to hit the ground, and making contact with the net gives your opponent a point too. I imagine two good players could have some long, intense rallies, but my wife struggled with this one. I realised too late that the video segment I included for the jump variant didn’t actually include either of us jumping. This is mostly due to it not being particularly helpful. You have to time it extremely well or the ball just passes straight down to the ground, giving your opponent a point.
Volleyball: Very tough if the ball only just makes it over the net.
Basketball
Game 43 – Normal, Game 44 – Whammy
Game 45 – Jump, Game 46 – Catch
Basketball is, along with Foozpong, the worst that Video Olympics has to offer. Deflecting the ball towards your opponent’s ring takes a little bit of luck, but also making it go high enough to go in is just random. Probably the only variant that makes any real sense is jump, and given the sport, it probably should have been the only variant included. Once again, whammy is just stupid in this sport, and catch completely useless.
Basketball: This was a bad idea, and it plays like it.
Video Olympics, like Pong, offers a bit of fun for multiple players. The majority of the variants work quite well (especially soccer and hockey), and I’m sure there would be a lot of people out there that nostalgically recall some tense battles with family and friends back in the day. The cartridge certainly didn’t need 50 variations, particularly as some of them really don’t work well in practice, but finding and sticking to a couple of favourites is a choice anyone could make. Speaking of favourites, I think I’ll go and play Arkanoid on the Amiga. Now that’s a challenging Pong clone!
This is a summary video I made for the game. I’ve accompanied it with Ashra’s Ocean of Tenderness track from their New Age of Earth album (also released in 1977). In case you’re wondering, I’m on the left and my wife’s on the right.
The Video Olympics (1977) RetroCard has now been added to the RetroCard Shop. It’s a common card, so therefore costs 10 smacks and has a limited release of 120.
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