Genre: Arcade / Action
Release: 1982
Publisher: Sinclair Research Ltd
I’ve always wondered what exactly Horace was. An icon of the 8-bit microcomputing era Horace became utterly iconic but his torso was baffling, were those holes supposed to be eyes? Whatever he was meant to be he was the Spectrum’s hero. Throughout his adventures he battled spiders and ate a lot and then he went on a skiing holiday.
Of course as this is a Horace adventure its not all fun on the piste. In order to glide gracefully down the slopes, the player must guide our hapless hero across a busy road to get to the Ski Hut. This is done in a manner similar to Frogger. This is a game of two parts and the element of trying to get our almost featureless blob across the road to his goal can be incredibly frustrating.
Cars, Ambulances and motorcycles fly across the screen in a manner which made it almost impossible to discern a pattern to guide Horace safely across. Once you do, Horace is charged the princely sum of USD 10 for the privilege of two skis. You must then guide Horace all the way across the road to the piste and begin your snowy descent.
The skiing part is a lot more fun, still challenging mind but controlling Horace down the track, avoiding trees and aiming to slide between the coloured flags. Each successful run gains you more money and score and at the end of the course… you go back and do it all again.
Despite its difficulties and limited gameplay, Horace goes Skiing has acquired classic status due to its addictive qualities. It also features the most elusive element of gaming and perhaps the most important – fun. This game is a lot of fun and will keep you playing and coming back to its slopes time and time again.
8-Bit / 16-Bit Heaven : 