Ski Run

When you turn on Ski Run you're bombarded by an obnoxious jumble of noise. Not the best first impression! Your goal is to ski down a rigidly-defined mountain course lined with orange trees, rocks, and snow men. Your skier is colorfully rendered and even uses his poles to turn from side-to-side. I also like how the mountains in the distance slowly rise and fall. You can adjust your speed as you glide down the vertically-scrolling screen while avoiding trees, rocks, frolicing deer, bobcats, and dancing bears. Your score is constantly racking up depending on your velocity. Adding challenge are jumps you need to perform over extended sections of gray muck. You'll know a jump is about to happen when you reach a large batch of yellow snow. I have to admit it feels satisfying when you nail a jump. But much like Ski Hunt (Home Vision, 1983), Ski Run relies too much on luck. There's virtually no time to react to oncoming obstacles, even when you try to control your speed. Heck, just trying to stay within the confines of the course is a challenge. You get 25 (!) lives but you'll be surprised how fast you blow through them. Audio quality notwithstanding, Ski Run's pleasant visuals and non-stop action might be worth a try if you're looking for some winter-related fun.

Search gameplay videos on YouTube (opens in a new tab)