California Games II is an incredible sequel to the original. The graphics are much better, though still very old-fashioned, and the events are highly entertaining. I first played California Games II in Germany about 12 years ago on an old Atari system, and I’ve been looking for it ever since. If you’re looking for an old school game to keep you entertained for hours, this is the one of them.
California Games II has five different events that you can choose to either practice or compete in.
The first event is snowboarding, in which you control a helicopter that carries a surfer to the top of a snowy mountain, where he (you) jumps out and parachutes to the slopes. But you have to be careful and jump at the right time, otherwise your parachute won’t have time to open, and you’ll have to start over. After landing, you begin to snowboard down the mountain, avoiding obstacles along the way, and doing tricks to gain points.
In the next event, boogie boarding, you jump from a pier, catch a wave, and maneuver right and left to avoid the numerous obstacles in the water, so as to not wipe out and get washed up on shore. In another event, hang-gliding, you jump from a cliff,
then maneuver left, right, up, and down, and acquire points by doing spins, dives, stalls, and smooth landings. In the skateboarding event, you find yourself in a seemingly never-ending half pipe. You can do board slides, hand plants, and other tricks to get points and have fun. In the last event, jet-skiing, you ride around on a wave-runner and try to stay in a ring to maximize your points. This event is unique because it is the only of the five which is three-dimensional as opposed to two-dimensional.
I need to admit, however, that the graphics are nothing like what you see in 3D games today, but in my opinion that’s what makes it so fun. It’s like going back in time, and remembering what used to be cool. Honestly, I’d rather play this game than any game made this millennium.
I highly recommend this game.
