''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%). The ...

license expiring for Sony) is a game released for the

PlayStation is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divisi ...

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 sport Action sports, adventure sports or extreme sports are activities perceived as involving a high degree of risk. These activities often involve speed, height, a high level of physical ...

skateboarding Skateboarding is an extreme sport, action sport originating in the United States that involves riding and performing tricks using a skateboard, as well as a recreational activity, an art form, an entertainment industry Profession, job, and a ...

. 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'' and ''

3Xtreme ''3Xtreme'' is a racing game released for the PlayStation in 1999. As with '' 2Xtreme'', ''3Xtreme'' contains skateboarding, skating, and cycling options to reach the goal before opponent players. Gameplay In ''3Xtreme'', the players take part in ...

''. 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 The is a home video game console developed by Sega and released on November 22, 1994, in Japan, May 11, 1995, in North America, and July 8, 1995, in Europe. Part of the fifth generation of video game consoles, it was the successor to the succ ...

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 Mountain biking is a sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, usually using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and pe ...

. 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 language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, 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 List of Ca ...

). 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 Gamepro.com is an international multiplatform video game magazine media company that covers the video game industry, video game hardware and video game software in countries such as Germany and France. The publication, GamePro, was originally la ...

'' said ''ESPN Extreme Games'' "doesn't push the limits of

32-bit In computer architecture, 32-bit computing refers to computer systems with a processor, memory, and other major system components that operate on data in 32-bit units. Compared to smaller bit widths, 32-bit computers can perform large calculation ...

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 smal ...

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 game, 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 video game), Ridge Racer'' (1993), was originally rel ...

'' 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 Ham ...

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

References

{{reflist

External links

''ESPN Extreme Games''
at

MobyGames MobyGames is a commercial website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes nearly 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms. The site is supported by banner ads and a small ...

1995 video games DOS games

Extreme 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, ESPN on ABC, ABC. The inaugural X Games were held during the summer of 1995 in Providence, Rhode Island, ...

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