Playman Pack 1

Two-for-one offers are a dangerous thing.

There you are, walking down the supermarket aisle, knowing full well that the cupboard at home only fits a limited supply of Monster Munch Flaming Hot crisps.

An hour later you have four packets in your hands for the price of two, and a false sense of having saved money.

Unlike fatty, overly-salted corn snacks, Playman Pack 1 is a two-for-one offer you won’t regret buying when you get home.

Playman Pack 1 comes with two titles – Playman Summer Games 2 and Playman Winter Games – and each of these games comes with four disciplines in their respective fields.

For Summer Games, these come in the form of the 100 metre sprint, Javelin, Triple Jump, and Hammer Throw. Winter has the Biathlon, Slalom, Ski Jump, and Bobsleigh.

The games in the Summer variant hark back to the classic button-mashing sports games of the past, focusing on pressing ‘4’ and ‘6’ to sprint, while using the ‘5’ key to perform some special timed move, like throwing the hammer or triple-jumping.

Winter Games is a little more varied, with events like Biathlon adding in a fun QTE shooting section, and both Slalom and Bobsleigh taking the form of a behind-and-above 3D race.

While both games have since been eclipsed by later editions, they still have that addictive, record-breaking gameplay that the Playman series thrives on.

This addictive quality comes from the fact that each event is as much about skill and co-ordination as it is about pure speed – there’s no moment where you’ll find yourself hammering the same button as fast as possible.

It’s just as enjoyable to play with others, as well, thanks to an excellent pass-the-handset mode that layers the other players’ efforts as ghost competitors in a majority of the events.

The lack of online leaderboards found in Summer Games 3 is a blow to solo gamers, and the odd way in which every other competitor in the event is a clone of your own does look strange when they’re sprinting to the finish.

However, excellent graphical flourishes like the slo-mo finishing shot on the 100m dash or the strangled cry from your man as he chucks the javelin into the sky make up for some of these shortcomings.

If you already own Summer Games 3 or Vancouver 2010, then these two older titles will naturally feel like a step back, but for those mobile athletes out there who are yet to sample Playman’s charms, Playman Pack 1 is an offer you can’t refuse.