The maple in my backyard is starting to show orange leaves, and I’m thinking about curling. But the club doesn’t open for almost two months! No matter, I will curl in silico. If I only knew which curling video game was the best. . .

Nagano Winter Olympics ‘98 for the Nintendo 64 is a compilation of several winter sports. It includes curling, and though simple, is quite enjoyable.

Review continues after the jump. . .

A game is four ends, with each team throwing four rocks per end. While throwing a rock, initially the perspective is from the hack. Line and weight are indicated by a green arrow projecting from the hack, and are set with the joystick. While lining up the shot, the “B” button toggles between in turn and out turn, and the directional buttons control the camera. This is a particularly useful feature, and allows the line and weight to be set while looking directly over the house. Once you have the line and weight where you want them, a press of the “A” button starts the delivery.

After the delivery, the perspective follows the rock down the sheet. Two sweepers follow along, and can be called on by tapping the “A” button. The developers did a nice job simulating the rock physics in this game. Although the graphics are rudimentary by today’s standards, the stones behave realistically. For example, curl is diminished by sweeping. The artificial intelligence employed by the computer opponent is pretty good, although there seems to be a little randomness to it. The computer will throw guards, take outs, and attempt to outdraw you depending on the situation. Sometimes, when faced with a guarded house, the computer will essentially give up the shot and throw a corner guard, rather than go for a more difficult take out or raise.

The best part of Nagano curling though, is the ability to play not against a computer, but against a friend sitting next to you on the couch. This is an inherrent strength of console platforms compared to PCs.

The sound quality is mixed. The sounds of the crowd are good, and there is enough echo in the sweepers’ grunts to make it feel like a big curling arena. The sound of the rocks, though, is not impressive: they neither roar down the ice nor crack when they collide. The music played before and after matches is completely inoffensive and forgettable.

Nagano is not a curling simulation, it is a curling video game. It lives up to this limited expectation. The game is nearly a decade old, yet remains entertaining for solo or group play. If you’ve got a neglected N64 console stashed in your closet, head down to All Game on 1st street and drop $7 on a copy of Nagano Winter Olympics ‘98. You won’t be disappointed. Overall, I give this game a B+.