''ESPN Extreme Games'' (later renamed ''1Xtreme'' due to the

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...

license expiring for Sony) is a game released for the PlayStation in 1995. A version was released for

MS-DOS MS-DOS ( ; acronym for Microsoft Disk Operating System, also known as Microsoft DOS) is an operating system for x86-based personal computers mostly developed by Microsoft. Collectively, MS-DOS, its rebranding as IBM PC DOS, and a few ope ...

a short time later. The game featured all the sports included in the Summer

X-Games The X Games are an annual extreme sports event organized, produced and broadcast by ESPN. Coverage is also shown on ESPN's sister network, ABC. The inaugural X Games were held during the summer of 1995 in Providence and Newport, Rhode Island ...

of 1995, but it did not feature events such as the

half pipe A half-pipe is a structure used in gravity extreme sports such as snowboarding, skateboarding, skiing, freestyle BMX, skating, and scooter riding. Overview The structure resembles a cross-section of a swimming pool, essentially two concave ram ...

in skateboarding. It was similar to ''

Road Rash Road rash is a colloquial term for skin injury caused by abrasion with road surfaces, often as a consequence of cycling and motorcycling accidents. It may also result from running, inline skating, roller skating, skateboarding, and longboardi ...

'', which was a game published by Electronic Arts. The game was followed by two sequels, ''

2Xtreme ''2Xtreme'' is a racing game released for the PlayStation in 1996 and a sequel to ''ESPN Extreme Games''. Unlike the original, the game does not bear ESPN licensing. In it, the player races against others in various events around the world using ...

'' and '' 3Xtreme''. Like other titles released during the console's early life, the game was available in a large CD jewel case, like the ones used for the

Sega CD The Sega CD, released as the in most regions outside North America and Brazil, is a CD-ROM accessory for the Sega Genesis produced by Sega as part of the fourth generation of video game consoles. It was released on December 12, 1991, in Japan ...

and Sega Saturn games. The game was subsequently renamed ''1Xtreme'' (as a way of indicating it's a predecessor to 2Xtreme) when it was released in the

Greatest Hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be crea ...

line, as the ESPN license had expired. The ESPN logo and company name were removed from its title, and game content referring to ESPN was removed as well.

Gameplay

The game featured many different sports, including skateboarding, roller blading,

street luge Street luge is an extreme gravity-powered activity that involves riding a street luge board (sometimes referred to as a sled) down a paved road or course. Street luge is also known as land luge or road luge. Like skateboarding, street luge is o ...

and mountain biking. The tracks start at one end of a city, and progress along a linear path to another point of the city. Players kick and punch opponents while trying to obtain cash, attaining first place. The tracks are located in various parts of the world (i.e. including Tahoe and

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

). Video clips of broadcaster

Suzy Kolber Suzy Kolber (; born ) is an American football sideline reporter, co- producer, and sportscaster for ESPN. She was one of the original anchors of ESPN2 when it launched in 1993. Three years later, she left ESPN2 to join Fox Sports, and rejoined ...

are displayed after each race, in which she offers words of encouragement or pointed criticism of your performance.

Reception

Roughly a year after the game's release, ''

Electronic Gaming Monthly ''Electronic Gaming Monthly'' (often abbreviated to ''EGM'') is a monthly American video game magazine. It offers video game news, coverage of industry events, interviews with gaming figures, editorial content and product reviews. History The m ...

'' reported that ''ESPN Extreme Games'' was the biggest selling Sony-published PlayStation game worldwide. Reviewing the PlayStation version, Air Hendrix of '' GamePro'' said ''ESPN Extreme Games'' "doesn't push the limits of 32-bit graphics and gameplay, but it does take you on a thrilling ride." He elaborated that the game suffers from "rocky"

scrolling In computer displays, filmmaking, television production, and other kinetic displays, scrolling is sliding text, images or video across a monitor or display, vertically or horizontally. "Scrolling," as such, does not change the layout of the text ...

and overly

pixel In digital imaging, a pixel (abbreviated px), pel, or picture element is the smallest addressable element in a raster image, or the smallest point in an all points addressable display device. In most digital display devices, pixels are the ...

ated graphics and has few tracks compared to the similar ''

'', but that details in the graphics "keep the action realistic" and the racing is sufficiently intense. ''Maximum'' gave it four out of five stars, remarking that "being able to kick the stuffing out of anyone who dares to try and pass you (especially those racing bikes) makes it a wholly fulfilling experience." They also praised the texture mapping and graphical details, though they criticized the small number of tracks and said the game does not measure up to ''

Ridge Racer is a racing video game series developed and published for arcade systems and home game consoles by Bandai Namco Entertainment, formerly Namco. The first game, '' Ridge Racer'' (1993), was originally released in arcades for the Namco System 22 ...

'' or '' Wipeout'', both already released on the PlayStation. A brief review in '' Next Generation'' said it was "not bad" and scored it three out of five stars. ''

Computer Game Review ''Computer Game Review'' was a print monthly magazine covering both computer gaming and video gaming. The magazine was started in 1991. Also known as ''Computer Game Review and 16-Bit Entertainment'', and then later as ''Computer Game Review and C ...

'' described the computer

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as H ...

as a "good conversion from the Sony PlayStation that's worth checking out."

References

{{reflist

External links

''ESPN Extreme Games''
at MobyGames 1995 video games DOS games Extreme Games Extreme sports video games PlayStation (console) games Racing video games Sony Interactive Entertainment games Multiple-sport video games Video games developed in the United States Video games set in California X Games Xtreme (video game series)

Gameplay

Reception

See also

References

External links