Video Olympics (Atari)

Entry posted by DoctorSpuds July 13, 2019

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It is very rare, in fact I daresay it has only happened once, where a game comes out that entirely kills the previous generation of games/consoles. In fact it only could happen once, and only in a market dominated by a single game… Pong. 1972-1977 was the age of Pong and Atari and Magnavox were, of course, at the forefront of it with oodles of copycats trailing behind. As 1977 rolled around though the public’s interest in Pong had no doubt waned considerably and as console manufacturers dumped their stock the market simply filled with obsolete hardware that nobody wanted since they already had a Pong console. Enter Atari stage left with their revolutionary VCS with interchangeable cartridges and new super powerful hardware (citation needed) that revitalized the games market for another couple of years until the same thing happened again. But among the initial lineup of the VCS there was a game that paid homage to Atari’s roots whilst blowing everything Pong that came previously out of the water. Video Olympics is the quintessential Pong game and the only one that anybody will ever need since everything contained in the tiny 2K cartridge meets and surpasses the abilities of even the most advanced Pong consoles from the 70’s.

Alright so I’m going to do what I usually do when I review the Launch titles: Review the graphics and sounds and then do a quick write-up of all the different game modes. Graphics are Pong and the sounds are Pong, let’s get the game modes.

Games 1-8: Pong®

This is your standard game of Pong® with a few additions, since the Paddle® controllers have an action button on them Atari decided to capitalize by implementing a speed-up and Whammy® (there are going to be a lot of ®’s) feature. The speed is self explanatory but Whammy® simply gives your return shot a sharper angle. Sadly the default mode of Pong® is the only version that has single player even though the other versions could have easily had it implemented as well. Four player versions are available with the additional players either playing in the center of the playfield or on the same line as players one and two. It’s Pong® you really can’t go wrong.

Games 9-12: Super Pong®

It’s basically just Pong® again but each player controls two paddles instead of one. It’s not very super and really just feels like filler to add more game variations to the cartridge.

Games 13-18: Soccer

This is a staple of many Pong® consoles from the 70’s. Basically they just added some walls to the edges of the screen and left a hole in the center to score through; it’s primitive but very effective as you now have to focus on aiming towards the goal rather than just getting the ball past your opponent. All the same variations are here, two and four player with speed and Whammy® variations available with the final variation, game 18, introducing the catch mechanic. The catch mechanic injects even more strategy to the game as you can now hold on to the ball to aim your shot by hitting the action button when the ball hits the paddle, a very neat original idea to be sure.

Games 19-22: Foozpong®

Imagine the soccer mode but you have a crap ton of paddles on the screen and you have Foozpong®, if you though two player looked busy then wait till you see four player. If you want frantic then look no further, also if you want an unmitigated clusterfuck of not knowing what is going on and then eventually someone scores then this is the right mode for you. Atari decided to ditch the Whammy® variations for this on and vied to only include speed and catch, which is fair enough.

Games 23-32: Hockey

Oh yeah, this is some good stuff. Instead of guarding the edges of the screen like in every Pong® game ever, in hockey you protect a goal a small ways into the screen that is guarded on three sides. This is probably the first Pong® game where the ball can go behind the paddle and not score. With the added protection of horizontal bits to keep you from dunking the ball above or below your opponent you must now perfect your aim more than ever. This game has the most variations but they are mostly just more paddles in more places to make things even more hectic and when you throw four player in there things do tend to get a bit wild. Personally I’d stick with the standard two player, two paddle variation.

Games 33-34: Quadrapong®

It is as the name says; four players only and each of you are protecting your side of the screen, up, down, left, and right. It is simply madness and is probably the most creative version of Pong® to date.

Games 35-38: Handball

This is another staple from the old Pong® consoles. You and your opponent alternately bounce the ball off of a wall for eternity until someone misses, but unlike with the old Pong® consoles you can now do it with four players. I find this game mode to be boring no matter what I play it on, it lacks the fun of a normal game of Pong® and it lacks the strategy of the game modes that have come previously, I would recommend skipping this one.

Games 39-42: Volleyball

Behold… Physics. Instead of bouncing around in a straight line, in Volleyball the ball bounces in an arc, something never before seen in Pong®. Basically you and your opponent bounce the ball over a central wall/net and when you miss your opponent gets a point. The four player in this mode is rather lacking as the third and fourth player are just small paddles at the top of the net and don’t really add a whole lot to the overall game. Also with this introduction of physics a new mechanic has been added, jumping®. By pressing the action button your paddle will teleport to the top of the net to spike the ball, this is presumably meant to take your opponent off guard and increase your likelihood of scoring. Overall this is a very fun mode even if the ball physics, or lack thereof, take a little bit of time to get used to.

Games 43-50: Basketball

Imagine the same physics as Volleyball but instead of making the ball hit the ground you have to get it into a goal near the top of the screen. In this game you can allow the ball to bounce around freely and all you have to do is bounce it into the net, it will register as a point if you hit the top or sides, not the bottom. Honestly the game is just a big free-for-all as you just bounce the ball around hoping to score and things aren’t helped with each player’s paddle being relegated to one half of the screen. Overall this isn’t as fun as Volleyball as much of it is spent waiting for the ball to decide to bounce high enough to get into the net otherwise you have very little control over the situation. You do have access to the speed Whammy® and Jump functions though so things won’t get will stay fairly fresh even if you’re just watching a square bounce around the screen.

Overall Video Olympics is a wildly varied Pong® based experience that is full of old classics and original ideas, and is most definitely worth picking up. Prices vary wildly depending on which version you’re trying to buy as there are several to choose from. If you want the 1977 gatefold release it will cost you around 8.50 for a loose cart and as much as 80 dollars (!!!) for a boxed copy, I got lucky and bought mine for a reasonable (?) 35, which considering the other prices isn’t all that bad. The standard release, both text and picture label, got for at least 5 dollars loose and between 8 and 80 dollars for boxed copies of varying quality. The Sears version Pong® Sports is slightly rarer than either of the Atari versions but the prices are astronomically higher, the cheapest loose copy is 13 dollars and the cheapest boxed copy is 28.50. There is also a picture label variant for Pong Sports but it is rather uncommon and there are none listed on Ebay with none sold either so I can’t give you a solid price. If you love Pong® then you owe it to yourself to buy and play this game, there is nothing quite like it.

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jaybird3rd 12,461

Posted July 13, 2019

Thanks for the review! It's still amazing to me that so many game variations could fit into a 2K ROM. Thanks also for pointing out what a big deal games like Video Olympics were to the history of video games: it's easy to forget today, but it was quite a tour de force to have a programmable console, with interchangeable program cartridges and controllers, that could play games which previously required dedicated hardware.

It's nice to see some of the lesser-known variations of Video Olympics getting their due attention. I always wish that there were more games on classic consoles that groups of four players could play together, and the next time I have the chance, I'll have to remember to give Quadrapong a try; I can see it being a fun diversion, at least in short bursts.