Pros:
Unique Two Player Game
Cons:
Insane Difficulty/ UG-UG-UG-LY!
X Games, Here I Come!
Overview: Water Ski was the fourth to last title that I needed for my collection, and when it arrived it felt like Christmas. Though I remembered how terrible Froggo games were for the 2600, somewhat favorable reviews across the internet made me excited to think that this game could be a hidden 7800 gem.
But, as I feared, Water Ski is a game that kinda makes you scratch your head and wonder, "What possessed them to make this game?" In the vein of the Atari 2600's Sky Jinks, and Street Racer, Water Ski returns us to the vertical scrolling obstacle dodging fun of yesteryear. You basically are a driver of a boat and a crazed water skier on an incredibly difficult course to navigate. Though Water Ski has a surprise here and there, the overall feel of the game combines two chemicals that when mixed together kill a video game's life span: extreme difficulty and non-addictive gameplay.
Graphics: Another "chemical" that can kill a video game's life span is poor graphics. And sadly, the graphics in this game are ugly with a capital "UG!" Even for an 8-bit game, the graphics have a real fake look to them, and the color schemes clash like a bad suit. The game's main colors of blue, green, and beige clash together so badly, this may induce vomiting. Items like ramps, huge green alligators, green sharks, rocks, and buoys have a fake look to them. Instead of appearing like they come out of the water, they look like cardboard pasted on cardboard. Let's not even mention the water skier himself. This guy is so ugly he must be the cousin of Scrapyard Dog's Louie. He has an eerie "rotting flesh" green skin tone to him. No wonder this guy doesn't fear death....he's already dead!!!
Sounds: Besides the insipid title screen music, the main annoying sound in the game is a grinding motor noise, much like Ace of Aces. Silly sound effects are included when your skier jumps ramps, and when there is a collision, a somewhat appropriate noise is there too. This game needed something better than this to help out the weak graphics. But alas...
Gameplay: Though the game is terribly difficult and non addictive, there are a few glimpses of greatness that shine in the gameplay department. Up accelerates the boat, which is worthless because you cannot go very fast on this game unless you memorize the level you are on. Even then, this is a tall task. Down slows the boat, making this my favorite control of the game. However, not only do you have to control the boat, you must simultaneously control the skier. The boat is controlled by the joystick, while the skier is controlled by the left and right buttons. This gives the game a "pat your head, rub your belly" type feel to it, but it is actually kind of fun. This makes avoiding an obstacle twice as hard as normal video games. Water Ski's best feature is the ability for two players to play at once: One drives the boat, the other controls the skier. This is pretty cool, and its maybe the best multi-player feature for the Atari 7800. Though gameplay is different and unique, it is also insanely hard. Once I cleared the first level, I was happy until the game automatically made the boat speed up! So once I figured out how to navigate through the game crawling like a baby, Water Ski kicked me in the butt and told me to "Grow Up!" This made me lose all desire to play the game. Heck, the first level wasn't all that fun, so what makes me want to memorize a more difficult board at a higher speed?
Originality: Water Ski will receive a mixed score from me on this. First, the game is just a bunch of obstacle dodging and board memorization, which kinda makes the game feel like an early 80's 2600 title with somewhat better graphics. There's nothing really fresh to warrant the high price that this cart demands. If the skier could perform tricks on the ramps for extra bonuses, or there was a likeable character skier (like Jo Jo the Idiot Boy!), or if there was some sort of mission to the game, the originality score would zoom through the roof. Alas, this game is at first glance is about as interesting as a Test Screen. The two player option is really cool though, and for the 7800, it's very innovative. Like I said before, that feature alone might make Water Ski the best multi-player game on the system.
Value: This score depends all on one thing...whether or not you like the game. Water Ski is tough enough to make you scratch your head for hours, memorizing the boards and trying to hit as many jumps as you can. If you hit all of the ramps on a level, you will earn a cool 1,000,000 point bonus. If you like the game, this could drive you insane for hours. If you don't, you might tell Water Ski to stick that 1,000,000 point bonus up it's jet propelled engine.
Overall: Overall, I think Water Ski is a yawn-a-thon, but it isn't all bad. Trying to control both the boat and the skier is kind of a neat challenge, but once I finally defeated the first board, all of my care went out the window when I realized all this game was gonna do was screw me. But I will give Froggo credit for one thing...this is a heck of a lot better than anything they put out for the 2600. Yeesh! Those were some bad games!!!
Other Reviews:
Digital Press: 6 out of 10
CV's Atari 7800 Panoramic Froo-Froo: 2.5 out of 5.0 (Weak)
Additional Info: I would like to take this time to thank Mitch Orman, owner of The Atari 7800 Page for allowing the use of his screenshots for this review.
