Summer Games for Atari 8-bit computers | Review

January 18, 2025 • Updated: Mar 08, 2025 - 04:03 PM

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Developed by Epyx in 1984, “Summer Games” is a tribute to the Summer Olympics for the Atari 800/XL/XE computers. It offers a multiplayer experience for one to eight athletes, who can represent countries such as the United States, France, Great Britain, Russia, Canada, Mexico, Japan, Germany, Australia, Italy, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, Austria, Ireland, Brazil, Spain, and Epyx.

Players can choose to take part in all events, focus on just one, practice a discipline or check out world records (a feature present in some versions), all while seeking to excel in eight key Olympic events in a bid to claim the ultimate honour: the coveted gold medal.

An unforgettable introduction

The game begins with a spectacular opening ceremony: an athlete runs up the stands to light the Olympic cauldron, followed by the flight of white doves as a symbol of peace. During the selection of the country, the respective anthem can be heard by pressing the keyS. To access the complete list of the 18 countries, you must press the keySELECTIf the fictional country Epyx is chosen, its "anthem" is a snippet of the Jumpman Jr. theme tune, a fun, nostalgic touch.

Challenges for all tastes

Summer Games features eight sporting events that combine skill, precision and strategy, where players compete in turns or simultaneously using two joysticks, depending on the event.

1. Pole vault

This event requires agility and precise timing. Players select a grip (high, medium or low) on the pole before attempting to clear the highest possible height, starting at four metres. They have three attempts per bar and are eliminated after three consecutive failures, increasing the tension as the heights become more challenging.

2. Diving from a platform

From a 30-foot platform, competitors perform four types of dives: forward, backward, reverse and inward. Each dive is evaluated by seven judges, who rate technique, execution and entry from 0 to 10, taking into account the complexity of the dive with a difficulty factor of 1.0 to 4.1. The athletes, who vary in skin color and shorts, provide a distinctive visual touch; while the back dives add an additional challenge and showmanship.

3. 4x400 meter relay race

This exciting event demands speed, timing and strategy. The four relay runners have different endurance levels, which means that the pace must be adjusted between sprints and rests. A correct baton pass is essential to avoid losing time, while false starts are penalized: two failures disqualify the team. Interestingly, the crowd only cheers for "USA", even if there are no competitors from that country.

Pole vaulting requires clearing increasing heights with precision.

4. Gymnastics (vaulting)

The jumps require perfect timing and combine difficulty and precision. If the athlete fails to reach the push-off board twice, he is disqualified. An ideal jump includes a 180-degree turn, maximum height from the vaulting horse, aerial maneuvers and a triple somersault, which is awarded the highest score. Perfect landings, without additional steps, receive the highest scores; while faulty landings penalize the execution. This event is exclusively performed by women, all dressed in black.

5. Freestyle relay (swimming)

Each team competes to complete the relay in the fastest time possible, coordinating strokes and turns at each end of the pool to maximize speed. False starts are penalized: three failures disqualify the team. This event allows for four swimmers to be controlled and, interestingly, lacks water sound effects, creating an unusually quiet atmosphere. All swimmers look identical.

6 and 7. 100 meters flat and 100 meters freestyle

Both events, the 100-meter dash and the 100-meter freestyle, are intense sprints where the speed of the joystick determines the outcome. In these competitions, two players can compete simultaneously.

8. Skeet Shooting

One of the most entertaining events is the event where aim is paramount. Players must shoot at 25 clay pigeons thrown in a specific sequence, with one shot for a single clay pigeon and two shots for double clay pigeons, constantly adjusting their aim to counteract the effect of gravity. Accuracy and speed are essential, and the winner is the one who hits the most targets.

Honors for merit

Medals are awarded as follows: gold (5 points), silver (3 points) and bronze (1 point). At the end of the events, the player with the most points is crowned Grand Champion. World records achieved are recorded and displayed on a special screen, a motivating feature to beat personal bests.

Curious details

If chosen to represent the fictional country Epyx, the "anthem" is a snippet of the Jumpman Jr. (1983) theme tune, a fun, nostalgic touch.
In diving, athletes vary in skin color and shorts.
In relay races, the crowd only cheers for "USA," even if there are no competitors from that country.
Gymnastics is performed exclusively by women, all dressed in black.
Swimming is completely devoid of ambient sounds.
Some players have reported random issues with the medal table on real Atari hardware, where gold is mistakenly awarded to third place.

Visual and sound aesthetics

Visually, Summer Games is notable for the fluid movements of the athletes, especially within the technical limitations of the time. However, all the competitors look virtually identical for most of the game.

As for sound, the music is functional but limited, and the cheers of the audience are one of the few sound effects present. This is particularly evident in the swimming event, which leaves a feeling of a somewhat empty atmosphere.

The design of the events also has its ups and downs. In disciplines with multiple competitors, such as swimming or clay pigeon shooting, the pace can become tedious due to the number of turns each player takes. Although the variety of events seeks to balance this slowness, downtimes do affect the experience, especially in sessions with more than three competitors.

Different versions, different fun

The original version for Atari computers used a double-sided floppy disk, forcing the player to flip it over several times depending on the selected event. While this practice was common in the 1980s, it is now an awkward mechanic that disrupts the flow of the game.

Anecdotally, at least two variants of this version exist in ATR format, with pre-recorded world records under the names "Nir Darey" and "Mark". "Nir Darey's" records feature notable scores, while "Mark's" include corrupted data that makes such scores unattainable. Fortunately, user "Marius" (Netherlands) on AtariAge corrected these errors and shared a cleaned-up version for the community.

On the other hand, the cartridge version for the Atari XEGS console - compatible with XL/XE series computers - simplifies the experience by eliminating the need to change disks, although it introduces certain limitations. Only three players can compete, and the function of recording Olympic records is omitted, which reduces replayability for those looking to beat their marks. There is also a special edition for the Atarimax cartridge, based on the original Epyx version, which offers a more modern alternative to the classic floppy disk format.

Finally, there is the version adapted by Jorge "Iljor" Cwik from Argentina, designed for cassette. This variant, aimed at a single player, includes only five of the eight original events, eliminating pole vault, gymnastics and clay pigeon shooting.

Conclusion

Summer Games is a classic that combines competition, strategy and spectacle, with epic moments like its opening ceremony. However, it suffers from certain technical and design problems that, while understandable for its time, can be frustrating for the modern player. Despite these limitations, its diversity of events and the possibility of competing with friends make it an unforgettable experience for lovers of retro video games.

While preparing this article, we found this version of the game for adisc only, developed by Guillermo "WillySoft" Fuenzalida (Chile).