Video Olympics was developed and published by Atari for the Atari 2600 in 1977.
GAME DESCRIPTION
Video Olympics is one of the launch titles for the Atari 2600 in 1977. It is game along with Street Racer that can allow up to four players at the same time. Both games also use the paddles controllers.
Video Olympics is the earliest known game compilation. It features many pong games from earlier dedicated system made by Atari as well as those that appeared in the arcade. Thus, it is divided into sub-games.
In all cases, a game and when 21 points are scored by one player or a team in case of 4-player game.
The original pong game is the only sub-game where it is possible to play against a CPU. Speed and Whammy can also be applied. Pong 4 is the four-player version of pong. 2 teams of 2 players are against each other and each team shares the score. Speed and Whammy effect can also be applied. Another variant of the four-player pong is Pong-4 I, one team controls the paddle at the net and the other try to covers the back court. Speed and Whammy effect can also be applied.
Soccer is a variant of the traditional pong game. Each goal is now set up like a soccer net. Later variation allows more paddle to be controlled in each team, either in a 2 our 4-player setup. Speed and Whammy effect can also be applied and in the Soccer 4-II mode, the option of catching the ball can also be activated.
Foozpong use the same field as Soccer, but play more like table football as each player control rows of paddles. There is a 2 players variant and a four players variant. Speed and Catch effect can also be applied.
Hockey put actual hockey goal as the target to bring the ball into. It is possible for the puck to go behind it as well. It includes similar variation to Soccer (such as multiple paddle controls) as well as 2 and 4-player action. Speed, Whammy and Catch can also be applied.
Quadrapong is a four-player variant of Pong, unlike Pong-4, each player defends their zone, but it is still a team-based game. Speed and Catch can be applied.
Handball is a variation of pong that consists of hitting the wall once. Then, the other player or team must hit before the first player can again. If the first player hit the ball again, then the point goes to the other player/team. Otherwise, if it leaves the screen to the right, the player/team that should have hit the ball loose and the other player/team get a point. Speed and Whammy effect can also be applied.
Volleyball is one of the more unique variations of pong. Each paddle is in a horizontal position and the ball bounce on them. If jumps are enabled, it is possible to lift the paddle up in order to strongly push the ball on the side. Like in volleyball, the player scores a point if it falls on the other side.
Basketball is the final sub-game. It uses the same engine as volleyball but there are 2 key differences. The ball can touch the ground and the side and the basket is represented by rectangles. Touching them from the top will give one point the player.
Video Olympics Playthrough
The goal of the playthrough is to play each sub-game once. Each sub-games were played by two human players and no attempt was made to make a perfect run. The difficulty switch wasn’t set to A to make the game more enjoyable for both players.
TAS tools were used in this playthrough.