The Game: Take to the slopes, in a digital sort of way. Choose between the slalom, giant slalom and downhill events, get a partner on the other joystick, and plow through that white stuff like it’s gonna melt tomorrow. And try not to hit any of the obstacles – before you can even say “I want my two dollars!”*, a collision can send you into a tumble that’ll just carry you right into the next one…and the one after that…and the one after that… (Magnavox, 1979)
Memories: Athough rather simple video skiing fare, Alpine Skiing! can be good for some laughs with a good second player. The lack of a one-player option limits it a bit, but it’s on par with Activision’s Atari VCS skiing game.
* A reference to the bizarre cult comedy Better Off Dead, starring an exceedingly young John Cusack, whose character is terrorized throughout the movie by a persistent and somewhat creepy paperboy who continually demands the “two dollars!” Cusack’s dad (played by David Odgen Stiers) owes him. The paperboy even chases Cusack down a ski slope at the end of the movie, only to wipe out magnificently with a pitiful cry of “two dollars…” from somewhere beneath the snow.