Comments on: Ski Sunday

By: MacBeth

MacBeth — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 10:44:14 +0000

With the Rossignol name, Jim should be all over this…

Or is he the black sheep of the family, refusing to take the reins of the family ski-equipment business and running away to be a games journalist?

By: Saul

Saul — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 04:53:49 +0000

The last skiing game I remember playing was “Ski or Die!”. Anyone remember that gem?

By: Dave

Dave — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 04:48:04 +0000

Knowing nothing about skiing — I was born in Florida, and now live in St. Louis — I thought this was pretty nifty. But I want to somehow mash up downhill skiing with Mount & Blade.

By: monchberter

monchberter — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 23:19:57 +0000

“Cello case”. Hmm, someone’s been watching ‘The Living Daylights’.

By: caesarbear

caesarbear — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 22:59:09 +0000

You guys are late to the party. You can also get Ski Challenge from the principle website: http://www.ski-challenge.com/index.php?lang=en

Tim left out the most notable part of this game; You can compete on-line in time trials, and there are “official” race days you can participate in. It has a nice race sim ghost feature where you can select any of the recorded times and watch how they did it in a replay.

By: Tim Stone

Tim Stone — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 20:40:14 +0000

Arienette, Yes, the challenge would be coordinating each set of controls, and fighting against the physics and the bumps to keep everything tight. Obviously there’d need to be some sort of ski position graphic to work off.

By: Mickiscoole

Mickiscoole — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 20:24:33 +0000

I thought this article would be about “Ski Free”, as it is the only decent skiing game that has ever been or will ever be made.

By: Arienette

Arienette — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 18:30:14 +0000

The thing with a dual-leg-control thing is that when skiing, unless you’re doing a cross country/walking thing, your legs do typically act as a single unit. So there isn’t much wrong with depicting it like that.

By: Gotem

Gotem — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 18:02:49 +0000

have some friends who have been downloading these games for a few years now.

They should really get a faster internet connection.

By: Player1

Player1 — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 17:17:19 +0000

Writing from Zurich in Switzerland. Swiss TV now got trouble because of the IGA in the game and because they are advertising it on their page, which is payed by the taxpayer (e.g. me…). The game is good though, even if the 2007 edition was alot better. And yes, it’s about a load of cash…

By: Dinger

Dinger — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 16:55:57 +0000

French and Swiss television also sponsor this (and probably some others). It’s actually a bigger deal than you’d think. You can register online, and compete online, and get ranked on a leaderboard. The courses are unlocked across the ski season (so, a week before the pros race at Bormio, they unlock the course), and there are TV-publicized competitions, and prize winners.

When I moved into this office a few years ago, not only did it have the spectacular view of the Alps out the window, but it also had a rather intense office Ski Challenge rivalry.

So no, it ain’t a hardcore sim, but it has a huge and hardcore following. Don’t be like Mr. Rossignol and underestimate the social power of video games!

By: Pags

Pags — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 15:37:11 +0000

You might as well be on a sledge or a cello case.

That actually sounds awesome. The cello case sim that is.