Omni-Play Horse Racing

Title           Omni-Play Horse Racing
Publisher       Design Star
Game Type       Sport
Players         1-7
HD Installable  Yes
Compatibility   Not AGA
Submission      Chris Vella

Review
   Finally a good Horse racing simulation for the Amiga.

   This game is a very well thought out horse racing simulation that is
loaded with features. The basic aim of the game is to bet on horse races
and try to win as much money as possible. You start by entering your name
into the tournament along with any friends that might want to play. Once
set up, you then view the entry information which will tell you which
horses are racing along with their odds of winning, Jockey, past results,
and racing conditions. Once you've studied this informaion you can then go
to the betting screen. Here you place how much money you want to bet and
which horse you think will win. Depending on the number of horses in a
race you will be given various betting options. For instance, if there are
only 5 horses racing you can only bet on a horse to win, place or show.
More horses adds betting exacta's and doubles. The riskier the bet the
more money you win if you bet correctly.

   There are so many options and statistics to study. You can view a
horses whole career which can include how many races it won or lost and
what place it came in. You can review a Jockeys career, you can even
review any better's career in betting. There is even an option to buy a tip
from a better who has a good betting history.

   Once you have made your bet you can then watch the race. You are taken
to the park and watch the horses enter the starting gate. Each horse will
trot up to the gate while the crowd cheers for the horses. Pressing F8 can
bypass this if you do not want to watch it. The race then begins. The
horses gallop out of the starting gate and run around the track. You
follow the progress by observing either the color and number of your horse
or by toteboard which has all the information of the race. Once the race
ends you are taken to the winners circle where the winning horse will be
showered with flowers. If a race is very close you get a photo finish.
This screen shows an enlarged closeup of the two horses involved. There is
even an option to see the race again if you want. Once the race finishes
you can then view the betting results of all the people who bet on the
race. All results are saved and can be reviewed at any time.


   The graphics and sound in the game are very good. There are graphical
interludes that add atmosphere to the game. The animatiions of the horses
running are also excellent. There are so many option in the game and you
can spend a long time studying them but you can also just jump right into
the game with minimal information. This is one of those game that is
different every time you play so you will never get bored. This game will
give you a lifetime of enjoyment.

   In conclusion, The is a very good game. Its loaded with options and
seems very realistic to actual horse betting. Even though this game was
released over 10 years ago it has stood the test of time well. I really
enjoy playing this game and get very involved in it. I haven't seen many
games of this type on the Amiga but This is definetly the best one that I
have seen. If you can still find a copy of this game GET IT! Betting on
horses has never been so much fun.

Alphabetical list.