Olympic Gold
Encyclopedia
Olympic Gold is the official video game of the XXV Olympic Summer Games
, hosted by Barcelona
, Spain
in 1992. It was released for the Sega
console
s, Mega Drive/Genesis and Master System
, and Sega's handheld, Game Gear
.
Developed internally by U.S. Gold
, the game was the first to have an official license from the IOC; it also was sponsored by Coca-Cola
, and the game featured both the company logo on a zeppelin
above the scoreboard, but also the company jingle
.
The game uses button mashing as the main part of gameplay, but in three events it isn't used (archery, diving) or is slow-paced (swimming).
Each computer athlete has a fictional name and nationality (choosing from UK
, France
, Germany
, Italy
, Spain
, USA, Japan
and the Unified Team
, everyone with its own anthem snippet) and actual strengths and weaknesses: J. Balen, for instance, is a frequent 100 m and 110 m hurdles record breaker but only an average hammer thrower. Also, each computer controlled player seems better in a particular event depending on his country: Germans usually take the top spots in archery, Italians on swimming, Russians on pole vault, Americans on sprinting and so on.
Scoring in the Olympic modes follow the results table by position, the gold medal giving 24 points, and then reducing one point for each competitor behind until the 12th and last receives 13 points. The game is easy for experienced players, except for the sprinting and hurdles events and the hammer, as the computer is able to break records quite easily in Olympic, and they also rely on a fair share or luck and random.
Diving, unlike more recent titles where the player simply has to "click-a-long" a predifined sequence of buttons actually gives the player to control their own jumps. This means that one could indicate a jump and make one completely different, resulting in 0.0 notes. However, with practice it's perfectly possible to reach marks above 9.0 even for jumps rated 3.5. The same happens with pole vault, as an experienced player is able to clear 6.35 m easily.
1992 Summer Olympics
The 1992 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event celebrated in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, in 1992. The International Olympic Committee voted in 1986 to separate the Summer and Winter Games, which had been held in the same...
, hosted by Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
in 1992. It was released for the Sega
Sega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
console
Video game console
A video game console is an interactive entertainment computer or customized computer system that produces a video display signal which can be used with a display device to display a video game...
s, Mega Drive/Genesis and Master System
Sega Master System
The is a third-generation video game console that was manufactured and released by Sega in 1985 in Japan , 1986 in North America and 1987 in Europe....
, and Sega's handheld, Game Gear
Sega Game Gear
The was Sega's first handheld game console. It was the third commercially available color handheld console, after the Atari Lynx and the TurboExpress....
.
Developed internally by U.S. Gold
U.S. Gold
U.S. Gold was a British video game publisher and developer from the early 1980s through the mid-1990s, producing numerous titles on a variety of 8-bit, 16-bit and 32-bit platforms.-History:...
, the game was the first to have an official license from the IOC; it also was sponsored by Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines in more than 200 countries. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke...
, and the game featured both the company logo on a zeppelin
Zeppelin
A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship pioneered by the German Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin in the early 20th century. It was based on designs he had outlined in 1874 and detailed in 1893. His plans were reviewed by committee in 1894 and patented in the United States on 14 March 1899...
above the scoreboard, but also the company jingle
Jingle
A jingle is a short tune used in advertising and for other commercial uses. The jingle contains one or more hooks and lyrics that explicitly promote the product being advertised, usually through the use of one or more advertising slogans. Ad buyers use jingles in radio and television...
.
The game uses button mashing as the main part of gameplay, but in three events it isn't used (archery, diving) or is slow-paced (swimming).
Each computer athlete has a fictional name and nationality (choosing from UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, USA, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and the Unified Team
Unified Team
The Unified Team was the name used for the sports team of the former Soviet Union at the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville and the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. The IOC country code was EUN, after the French name, Équipe Unifiée...
, everyone with its own anthem snippet) and actual strengths and weaknesses: J. Balen, for instance, is a frequent 100 m and 110 m hurdles record breaker but only an average hammer thrower. Also, each computer controlled player seems better in a particular event depending on his country: Germans usually take the top spots in archery, Italians on swimming, Russians on pole vault, Americans on sprinting and so on.
Events
- 100 m
- Hammer throwHammer throwThe modern or Olympic hammer throw is an athletic throwing event where the object is to throw a heavy metal ball attached to a wire and handle. The name "hammer throw" is derived from older competitions where an actual sledge hammer was thrown...
- ArcheryArcheryArchery is the art, practice, or skill of propelling arrows with the use of a bow, from Latin arcus. Archery has historically been used for hunting and combat; in modern times, however, its main use is that of a recreational activity...
- 110 m hurdlesHurdlingHurdling is a type of track and field race.- Distances :There are sprint hurdle races and long hurdle races. The standard sprint hurdle race is 110 meters for men and 100 meters for women. The standard long hurdle race is 400 meters for both men and women...
- Pole vaultPole vaultPole vaulting is a track and field event in which a person uses a long, flexible pole as an aid to leap over a bar. Pole jumping competitions were known to the ancient Greeks, as well as the Cretans and Celts...
- 200 m freestyle swimmingFreestyle swimmingFreestyle is an unregulated swimming style used in swimming competitions according to the rules of FINA. The front crawl stroke is almost universally used during a freestyle race, as this style is generally the fastest...
- 3 m springboard diving
Competition
The game allows the player to practice, play mini-Olympics (where some events can be turned off) or full Olympics. There are three difficulty levels (club, national and Olympic) with noticeable differences from each other: computer controlled athletes are actually capable of breaking world and Olympic records at the higher levels, while achieving only mediocre results on lower levels.Scoring in the Olympic modes follow the results table by position, the gold medal giving 24 points, and then reducing one point for each competitor behind until the 12th and last receives 13 points. The game is easy for experienced players, except for the sprinting and hurdles events and the hammer, as the computer is able to break records quite easily in Olympic, and they also rely on a fair share or luck and random.
Diving, unlike more recent titles where the player simply has to "click-a-long" a predifined sequence of buttons actually gives the player to control their own jumps. This means that one could indicate a jump and make one completely different, resulting in 0.0 notes. However, with practice it's perfectly possible to reach marks above 9.0 even for jumps rated 3.5. The same happens with pole vault, as an experienced player is able to clear 6.35 m easily.