Winter Olympics: Lillehammer '94

Winter Olympics: Lillehammer '94 offers a computer recreation of the famous Norwegian Winter Games, letting players tackle a collection of snowy events from the comfort of a keyboard. The events require varying amounts of timing, coordination, and practice, so success depends on learning the peculiarities of each discipline rather than relying on one universal trick. The presentation is firmly rooted in the early 1990s, but the atmosphere of competition comes through nicely. There is something satisfying about shaving a fraction of a second from a previous time, even if the athlete on screen is represented by fewer pixels than your modern desktop icon. The game is particularly suited to competitive sessions, where friends can take turns trying to beat each other's scores. Winter Olympics: Lillehammer '94 captures the appeal of sports games from its period: simple rules, immediate competition, and enough frustration to make a second attempt seem absolutely necessary.