''ESPN Extreme Games'' (released in Japan as ''ESPN Street Games'') is a game released for the

PlayStation is a video gaming brand owned and produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), a division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. Its flagship products consists of a series of home video game consoles produced under the brand; it also consists ...

in 1995. A version was released for

MS-DOS MS-DOS ( ; acronym for Microsoft Disk Operating System, also known as Microsoft DOS) is an operating system for x86-based personal computers mostly developed by Microsoft. Collectively, MS-DOS, its rebranding as IBM PC DOS, and a few op ...

a short time later. The game featured all the sports included in the Summer

X-Games The X Games are a series of action sports events founded by ESPN Inc. and aired on ESPN networks and ABC. In late 2022, ESPN sold the long-running property to MSP Sports Capital, a private equity firm co-founded by Jahm Najafi and Jeff Moor ...

of 1995, but it did not feature events such as the

half pipe A half-pipe is a structure used in gravity extreme sports such as skateboarding, snowboarding, skiing, freestyle BMX, skating, and scooter riding. Overview The structure resembles a cross-section of a swimming pool, essentially two concave ramps ...

skateboarding Skateboarding is an extreme sport, action sport that involves riding and Skateboarding trick, performing tricks using a skateboard, as well as a recreational activity, an art form, an entertainment industry Profession, job, and a method of tr ...

. It was similar to ''

Road Rash Road rash is a colloquial term for skin injury caused by abrasion with road surfaces, often as a consequence of cycling and motorcycling accidents. It may also result from running, inline skating, roller skating, skateboarding, and longboardin ...

'', which was a game published by Electronic Arts. The game was followed by two sequels, '' 2Xtreme'' and ''

3Xtreme ''3Xtreme'' is a 1999 racing video game developed and published by 989 Sports for the PlayStation. As with '' 2Xtreme'', ''3Xtreme'' contains skateboarding, skating, and cycling options to reach the goal before opponent players. Gameplay In ''3 ...

''. Like other titles released during the console's early life, the game was available in a large CD jewel case, like the ones used for the

Sega CD The Sega CD, known as in most regions outside North America and Brazil, is a CD-ROM accessory and format for the Sega Genesis produced by Sega as part of the fourth generation of video game consoles. Originally released in November 1991, it ca ...

and

Sega Saturn The is a home video game console developed by Sega and released on November 22, 1994, in Japan, May 11, 1995, in North America, and July 8, 1995, in Europe. Part of the fifth generation of video game consoles, it is the successor to the succes ...

games. The game was subsequently re-released under the title of ''1Xtreme'' (as a way of indicating it's a predecessor to 2Xtreme) under the

Greatest Hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...

line, as the ESPN license had expired. The ESPN logo and company name were removed from its title, and game content referring to ESPN was removed as well.

Gameplay

The game featured many different sports, including skateboarding, roller blading,

street luge Street luge is an extreme gravity-powered activity that involves riding a street luge board (sometimes referred to as a sled) down a paved road or course. Street luge is also known as land luge or road luge. Like skateboarding, street luge is o ...

and

mountain biking Mountain biking (MTB) is a sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, usually using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes but incorporate features designed to enhance durability ...

. The tracks start at one end of a city, and progress along a linear path to another point of the city. Players kick and punch opponents while trying to obtain cash, attaining first place. The tracks are located in various parts of the world (i.e. including Tahoe and

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

). Video clips of broadcaster

Suzy Kolber Suzy Kolber (; born ) is an American football sideline reporter, co- producer, and a former ESPN sports anchor and reporter. She was one of the original anchors of ESPN2 when it launched in 1993. Three years later, she left ESPN2 to join Fox Sp ...

are displayed after each race, in which she offers words of encouragement or pointed criticism of your performance.

Reception

Roughly a year after the game's release, ''

Electronic Gaming Monthly ''Electronic Gaming Monthly'' (''EGM'') is a monthly American video game magazine. It offers video game news, coverage of industry events, interviews with gaming figures, editorial content and product reviews. History The magazine was fou ...

'' reported that ''ESPN Extreme Games'' was the biggest selling Sony-published PlayStation game worldwide. Reviewing the PlayStation version, Air Hendrix of ''

GamePro ''GamePro'' was an American multiplatform video game magazine media company that published online and print content covering the video game industry, video game hardware and video game software. The magazine featured content on various video ...

'' said ''ESPN Extreme Games'' "doesn't push the limits of

32-bit In computer architecture, 32-bit computing refers to computer systems with a processor, memory, and other major system components that operate on data in a maximum of 32- bit units. Compared to smaller bit widths, 32-bit computers can perform la ...

graphics and gameplay, but it does take you on a thrilling ride." He elaborated that the game suffers from "rocky"

scrolling In computer displays, filmmaking, television production, video games and other kinetic displays, scrolling is sliding text, images or video across a monitor or display, vertically or horizontally. "Scrolling," as such, does not change the layout ...

and overly

pixel In digital imaging, a pixel (abbreviated px), pel, or picture element is the smallest addressable element in a Raster graphics, raster image, or the smallest addressable element in a dot matrix display device. In most digital display devices, p ...

ated graphics and has few tracks compared to the similar ''

'', but that details in the graphics "keep the action realistic" and the racing is sufficiently intense. ''Maximum'' gave it four out of five stars, remarking that "being able to kick the stuffing out of anyone who dares to try and pass you (especially those racing bikes) makes it a wholly fulfilling experience." They also praised the texture mapping and graphical details, though they criticized the small number of tracks and said the game does not measure up to ''

Ridge Racer is a series of racing video games created by Namco and owned by Bandai Namco Entertainment. The first game, ''Ridge Racer (1993 video game), Ridge Racer'' (1993), was originally released in arcades for the Namco System 22 hardware, later ported ...

'' or '' Wipeout'', both already released on the PlayStation. A brief review in '' Next Generation'' said it was "not bad" and scored it three out of five stars. ''

Computer Game Review ''Computer Game Review'' was a print monthly magazine covering both computer gaming and video gaming. The magazine was started in 1991. Also known as ''Computer Game Review and 16-Bit Entertainment'', and then later as ''Computer Game Review and ...

'' described the computer

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manch ...

as a "good conversion from the Sony PlayStation that's worth checking out."

References

{{reflist

External links

''ESPN Extreme Games''
at

MobyGames MobyGames is a commercial website that catalogs information on video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controlle ...

1995 video games DOS games Extreme Games Extreme sports video games Multiplayer and single-player video games Multiple-sport video games PlayStation (console) games Racing video games Sony Interactive Entertainment games Video games developed in the United States Video games set in California X Games Xtreme (video game series)

Gameplay

Reception

See also

References

External links