Let's see, both bands love 60's British Invasion rock and they like to wear vintage three-piece suits whenever they play live (the heat and perspiration must be unbearable). Regardless of their similar influences and appearance, one can still tell the difference between Vancouver's Smugglers and California's Hi-Fives; and no it's not the accents. Take the Smugglers for example, who have more of a clean cut rocking, approach to the catchy pop-punk hooks. They even manage to cover a Brett TV's song -whom a couple members of the Hi-Fives used to be in. Speaking of which, the flip side remains in that Hi-Fives style of bouncy, energized 60's pop that's so remarkable cheesy, one can't help but eat up and ask for seconds. All that's missing from "Summer Games" are the rhythmic handclaps. ~ Mike DaRonco, All Music Guide
Up to eight players can enter this international contest of seven Olympic events, which include hurdles, swimming, skeet shooting, the 100-yard dash, swimming relay, gymnastics and rowing.
The object is to lead your country to victory by winning the most number of events. An event is won either by scoring the fastest time or by piling up more points than your opponent. The nation that wins the most events takes home the gold medal.
The left difficulty switch is used to indicate the number of joysticks that will be used. For head-to-head competition, you must select the 'A' position to indicate you will use two joysticks. After each player chooses a country to compete for, the competition begins.
The select switch is used to enter practice mode. Each of the events can be cycled through with the joystick. To return to competition, use the select switch again.
~ Michael Schwartz/Joan Dykman, All Game Guide
Roots & Influences
The first modern Olympics were held in Athens, Greece in 1896.
The game was presented as a virtual multi-sport carnival called the "Epyx Games" (there was no official IOC licensing in place) with up to 8 players each choosing a country to represent, and then taking turns competing in various events to try for a medal. On most versions, world records could be saved to the floppy disk.
The Commodore 64 version allowed players to link Summer Games and Summer Games II to engage in one large Olympics, accumulating medals in a tournament from both games.
Events
The events available vary slightly depending on the platform, and may include:
