''Skiing'' (released as ''U. S. Ski Team Skiing'') is a sports
video game
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
produced by
Mattel
Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company founded in January 1945 and headquartered in El Segundo, California. The company has presence in 35 countries and territories and sells products in more ...
and released for its
Intellivision video game system in 1980. Up to six players compete individually on either a
downhill
Downhill may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Downhill'' (1927 film), a British film by Alfred Hitchcock
* ''Downhill'' (2014 film), a British comedy directed by James Rouse
* ''Downhill'' (2016 film), a Chilean thriller directed by Patrici ...
or
slalom course to see who can complete the course the fastest. For the game's initial release, Mattel obtained a license from the
U. S. Ski Team and used its name and logo in the game's box art. In 1988, INTV Corporation released an enhanced version of the game entitled ''Mountain Madness: Super Pro Skiing''.
During its initial release, ''U. S. Ski Team Skiing'' was sold by
Sears
Sears, Roebuck and Co. ( ), commonly known as Sears, is an American chain of department stores founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosenwald, with what began a ...
for its private-label version of the Intellivision console, the "Super Video Arcade," without the U. S. Ski Team name or logo. Subsequent re-releases, such as on the ''Intellivision Lives'' collection, have also left the game name simply as ''Skiing''.
Gameplay
The object of ''Skiing'' is to complete the chosen course, either downhill or slalom, in the fastest time possible. Play begins by selecting the number of players for the game. Each player will have three heats in which to post their fastest time for the course. With multiple players, players take turns in the same order for each heat. Next, the players choose from one of 15 levels of steepness for the course, with higher numbers representing steeper (and thus, faster) courses. Lastly, the players select either the downhill or the slalom course for their race.
Players control their skiers by using the controller to turn them until they reach the desired direction. The skiers will accelerate down the hill automatically, based on the steepness of the course. Players may take turns gradually, or by pushing an action button they may take a turn more sharply. Pushing another action button will cause the skier to jump over obstacles on the course, such as
moguls.
On both courses, players must successfully pass through a number of gates on their way down the course, with gates on the downhill course spaced farther apart than those on the slalom course. Missing a gate adds a five-second penalty to a player's race time. As each player begins their race, the current fastest time is displayed at the starting line, with their final time displayed after the player crosses the finish line.
Reception
''Skiing'' was reviewed by ''
Video
Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) syst ...
'' magazine in its "Arcade Alley" column where it received little praise but only minor criticism as well. It was described as "nothing breathtakingly new", and as offering "an acceptable range of
ameplayvariations, although there is only one basic trail for each event". The reviewers found that multiplayer tournament mode is "equally entertaining" as the solo-play mode, but they concluded that the game "packs an amazing amount of detail into an easy-to-learn contest".
In 1997, ''
GameSpot
''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. In addition ...
'' alluded to ''Skiing'' as the best skiing video game of the past 17 years.
Legacy
After Mattel Electronics shut down in 1984, INTV Corporation obtained the assets to the Intellivision system and continued producing games for the console. In 1988, INTV released an enhanced version of the original ''Skiing'' game called ''Mountain Madness: Super Pro Skiing''.
It increased the number of available courses from one downhill and one slalom to 32 courses, each playable as a downhill course, a slalom course or with no gates at all. Options were also added to allow the computer to randomly generate a course (to simulate
helicopter skiing) or for players to design courses of their own, although no provisions were included for players to save their designs.
While the basic gameplay remains the same between the two titles, including support for up to six players and three heats of racing, ''Mountain Madness'' made additional changes. Players are able to preview the desired course prior to selecting it. Each player can choose their own steepness level, instead of a single setting being used for all players. More surface features were added to the original's trees and moguls, such as ice,
powder
A powder is a dry, bulk solid composed of many very fine particles that may flow freely when shaken or tilted. Powders are a special sub-class of granular materials, although the terms ''powder'' and '' granular'' are sometimes used to distin ...
and bare patches of ground. Also, the penalty for missing a gate was decreased from five seconds to two seconds.
''Mountain Madness: Super Pro Skiing'' appears alongside the original ''Skiing'' on the ''Intellivision Lives'' collection, and the ''Mountain Madness'' version was one of the launch titles for
Microsoft's
Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation, multinational technology company, technology corporation producing Software, computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at th ...
''
Game Room
Game Room was a social gaming service for the Xbox 360 video game system, Microsoft Windows PCs, and Windows Phone 7. Launched on March 24, 2010, Game Room let players download classic video games and compete against each other for high scores. ...
'' service on its
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generati ...
console and on
Games for Windows Live
A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (suc ...
.
An updated version of ''Skiing'' of the same name has been announced for release on the
Intellivision Amico
The Intellivision Amico is an upcoming home video game console that is being developed and marketed by Intellivision Entertainment. It was originally slated to be released in October 2020, but repeated delays followed, leaving the console with ...
video game console. It is one of the six games that will be included with the console.
References
{{Reflist
External links
''Skiing''at Intellivision Lives
''Skiing''at GameFAQs
''Mountain Madness: Super Pro Skiing''at Intellivision Lives
''Mountain Madness: Super Pro Skiing''at GameFAQs
1980 video games
Intellivision games
Intellivision-only games
Mattel video games
North America-exclusive video games
Skiing video games
INTV Corporation games
Realtime Associates games
Multiplayer and single-player video games
Video games developed in the United States