74. Alpine Ski (Taito, Arcade (PS2), 1982)

Alpine Ski is a downhill skiing arcade game that has you skiing down a mountain, then racing through a slalom course, then doing a ski jump. The game is controlled with directional inputs and a single action button, which for most of the game simply increases your speed if held. I assume it also functions during the ski jump section, but I wasn't able to figure that out.

The majority of the game has you skiing upwards (which initially feels strange for someone who grew up with SkiFree as their only 2D skiing game reference), dodging trees, rocks, and other skaters while collecting points that dot the mountainside. There are also ice patches that increase your speed but remove your directional control, and usually there are bonus points positioned right after them. Playing through the entire game only takes a few minutes, but there is a good level of challenge and a fun feeling of speed once you start to get more confident, though it's an extremely simple game.

3/5, some decent fast skiing action for 1982