This Accolade Sport Collection review is based on playtime with the Xbox version. The game is also available on PC(Steam), PS4/PS5 and Nintendo Switch, for €/$ 19,99.
Which retro game enthusiasts would have ever thought, in their right minds, that the not-so-celebrated sports franchises from the long-forgotten American developer Accolade would be eligible to be bundled in a collection? The current rights owner, Atari SA, is leaving no card unchecked in its Rolodex of copyrights. Atari inherited Accolade’s IPs from Infogrames, with which it merged, taking over the rights when Accolade went belly-up almost 25 years ago. Accolade was renowned for the first couple of Test Drive, Jack Nicklaus, and Hardball! series, with many commercial successes, especially on the Commodore 64, Amiga, and PC.
The collection you didn’t know you wanted
Atari, together with QUByte, has released the first collection from Accolade’s legacy, consisting of two of the popular Hardball! games, Hoops: Shut Up and Jam!, Winter Challenge, and Summer Challenge.
With this set, some personal nostalgia is definitely triggered. Winter Challenge was a mainstay on my 286-gen VGA PC in the early 1990s. I have vivid memories of the combination of polygon and sprite-based graphics, which I marveled at. This graphical engine was something that Test Drive I and II kick-started, and Winter and Summer Challenge explored further. Hardball! III introduced me to video game baseball in a big way, as it is a minor sport here in the Netherlands (even if Team Netherlands has been crowned European champions 24 times).
Winter Challenge and Summer Challenge
I was surprised that Winter Challenge, after 35-odd years, still holds its original charm. The polygon landscapes, supplemented with sprite-based objects, were typical of Accolade’s 1990-1991 output. Accolade was always fairly consistent with its graphics, and Winter Challenge shares common ground with Test Drive II: The Duel and Test Drive 3: The Passion.
Gameplay-wise, it is by far my favorite in the set. All sports disciplines represented in the game are not terribly hard to master. Most of them are quite trainable, and if you dedicate enough time, getting decent times is not only feasible but quite addictive. You can play in two-player mode, which is fun, of course, but competing against the AI can be quite a challenge as well.
Summer Challenge builds upon its winter-themed predecessor but fails to match its quality. Accolade clearly overstretched itself by focusing almost exclusively on technical disciplines and ditching the simpler, more intuitive events. Even the athletic events require excessive precision. Equestrian jumping, High jump, pole vault, canoeing, and hurdles all demand timed inputs and technique to an almost frustrating degree. Even after long training sessions, I ended up with many failed attempts and only a handful of actual scores. Playing these sports in an Olympics-style tournament just isn’t as much fun as its Winter counterpart.
Hardball! I and II
The Mega Drive version of Hardball! visually has aged just as well as Winter Challenge. It is much more colorful and detailed than the C64 original as you might expected. While the Commodore 64 version was a feat in its time, standing out against the competition, the Mega Drive version had to compete with other titles like the RBI series and World Series Baseball. Even then, it held its own. The only real issue, 34 years later, is controlling the outfield players. AI inconsistencies make it easy to lose control, as the game arbitrarily switches fielders, sometimes to off-screen players, forcing you to guess their location and movement. If the bases are loaded, you’re in trouble.
Hardball! II, compared to the included version of Hardball!, feels like a massive step backward. The graphics are crude, the gameplay is slow, and while the pitch and swing mechanics aim for realism, they come off as cumbersome and boring. I couldn’t get into it at all. With Hardball! already in the set, there seems to be no reason to play this version. The inclusion of Hardball! 3 instead would have made way more sense, as it fits better with Winter and Summer Challenge in terms of production (they share UI elements like fonts and layouts).
Hoops: Shut Up and Jam!
The last game in the collection is the SNES version of Hoops: Shut Up and Jam! Originally titled Barkley Shut Up and Jam, it has been de-affiliated with Charles Barkley, which is understandable given the temporary nature of licensing deals. The game doesn’t suffer much from this change, though. The clear street hoops-style aesthetic is a bit OK, although the SNES version features muddy, brownish colors that aren’t very appealing. However, it occasionally surprises with more vibrant colored courts that look great, like the beach court and the stadium.
The gameplay is rough, with blocking and stealing being particularly difficult. Success often depends on exploiting AI weaknesses rather than skill. Player balancing can also lead to near-unwinnable matchups, where defensive and offensive capabilities fail to counter the opposition effectively. Winning often boils down to choosing overpowered characters.
There is some fun to be had here—I played for about two hours without realizing it—but the deeper you get into the game, the more the AI and balance issues start to frustrate.
QUByte Emulation Engine
As with many of the previous QUbyte releases under their Classics label, the emulation is spot on. The QUByte Emulation Engine once again showcases its flexibility with convincing PC DOS VGA graphics and sound that accurately emulates a Sound Blaster (or another early 90s PCI audio card). The frame rates remain untouched, making the 3D polygon elements crawl at times, but overall, everything moves at a steady pace and controls as expected—at least as far as I can compare 34-year-old games to their originals from memory. Definitely a solid job by the team in São Paulo.
Curation
While all of these games represent key titles from Accolade’s successful years, this is certainly not the best possible collection. I understand why Summer Challenge is included alongside Winter Challenge, as it remains a playable game despite its flaws. However, the problem with this collection lies in the choice of other titles and the omissions. Many fans would likely have preferred replacing Hardball! and Hardball! II with Hardball! 3, like me, which would have made more sense. Hardball! was essentially a polished-up re-release of a 1985 game, and Hardball! II is simply clunky.
The inclusion of Hoops is a good choice, but that leaves a missed opportunity for Jack Nicklaus Golf. The only acceptable reason for its absence would be if the entire Nicklaus series is getting its own collection or if it is tied up in licensing-hell.
QUByte did the best it could with this somewhat hodgepodge selection of games. It’s a collection that I have nostalgia for, but I wonder how many gamers would care enough. Of all the games, two or three have stood the test of time well enough to appeal to more than just era and brand enthusiasts like me. With Winter Challenge and Hardball! as clear highlights, the collection—despite its accurate emulation across different retro platforms—feels lacking. The absence of more playable sequels, such as Hardball! III, and franchises left untouched on the IP shelf, like the Jack Nicklaus series, could have elevated it into a more mainstream realm.
The Good
- Powered by QUByte's tried and tested Emulation Engine
- Winter Challenge and Hardball! are really good games
- Emulation Engine features, like save states and graphics options are good as ever
The Bad
- The other games are underwhelming
- Obvious games and franchises are missing
