Collections that pull together a number of titles from previous eras always tend to be inconsistent at best. Strangely, there are sweet spots where sometimes going back further will actually yield better results, with games that were made at the peak of traditional 2D graphics faring better than those caught up in the long road to getting polygonal graphics to where they are today. The mix of some games being caught in that transition, and others that are simply unforgiving, make the Accolade Sports Collection better as a snapshot of gaming from a bygone era than for clear enjoyment.

Starting with its two multi-event Olympic-style offerings, one for summer games, and one for winter, you get a predictably mixed bag. In some cases the choice of control scheme is an issue, and in some cases the line between success and failure is hard to determine, but these are typical challenges for this sort of game. Unfortunately, there are also events that are stuck trying to use very early and primitive representations of 3D landscapes in them, and they’re typically pretty awful to play. Aside from it often being hard to tell where you’re supposed to go, the very chuggy frame rate makes them feel like a rapid slide show at best, and trying to control your athlete then is a complete mess. While I may be biased in my nostalgic love for the Epyx Summer and Winter Games titles, I’d say that as a whole they were simply better implemented, making these games interesting to experience, but less fun to play.

Looking at the rest of the collection there’s a basketball title in the form of Hoops Shut Up and Jam, as well as 2 baseball titles from the classic Hardball series. Shut Up and Jam feels like it has a little bit of promise, initially feeling like it has at least some early NBA Jam vibes, but it can be pretty unforgiving when playing against the computer. Keeping track of the action can be a challenge, and your player feeling like they’re not quite as responsive as they could be makes it playable but aggravating. Closing out with the 2 baseball titles, weirdly I found that I preferred the original to its sequel. Certainly Hardball 2 looks sexier, but I also found that it was less intuitive to control. It may seem odd, but I honestly would be more inclined to go back to the OG Nintendo Baseball and its ilk, preferring impeccably implemented controls and intuitive play to either of these though.

As with all retro collections, I absolutely appreciate an opportunity to sample play from earlier eras. While the depth and quality we’re used to now is often not present, there are typically some nice surprises peppered into the experience that show glimmers of what the future would hold. In this case, I’d say the games are better as a time capsule to look at, and to appreciate from an academic sort of level, than to play, but that isn’t to say they can’t be experienced and enjoyed. If you’re a fan of checking out games from bygone eras, this still may be of interest, but I’d say there are collections out there that are more satisfying if you’re looking to spend some time actually playing them than this.