*Ski Challenge* (also known as SC:12, Ski Challenge 2012 and formerly known
as Orf-Ski Challenge) is a free skiing simulator with excellent graphics and
real prizes for the best competitors. Ski Challenge is always popular as the
winter sports season gets underway. However, don't be in a hurry to play this
game as there's quite a lot of configuration and updating to do before you
start. Ski Challenge will only work from the Applications folder for a start
so you'll have to drag the 100MB+ file into your folder in order to play it.
After that, there's an installer and a series of automatic updates that take
place before you can actually access the game itself. Ski Challenge
automatically opens in full screen mode although you can switch it to
windowed mode by clicking *Manual* in the main menu and turning-off
full-screen mode. From the start, it's plain to see that Ski Challenge is a
high quality skiing simulation with excellent graphics. To begin with you are
offered the chance to practice or choose from pistes from around the world.
However, you're only allowed to choose Val d'Isere to start with as the
others are shaded out. You can also choose the weather conditions and various
other configurations, which make it a little tedious and frustrating before
you actually get to do any skiing. The controls in Ski Challenge are very
simple - use the arrow keys to direct your skier and the up arrow key to make
him go faster. A ghost shadow figure shows you where you should be on the
track and you should try and stick as closely to him as possible. Training in
Ski Challenge is conducted in offline mode so you don't need an internet
connection to do so but competitions are online as scores are uploaded to a
central database. This means that in race mode, you can't just race when you
want because the game follows a schedule of online races so you have to wait
until a qualifying slot opens up for you. This ability to race against other
competitors and win real prizes is probably one of the most attractive
elements for Ski Challenge devotees. It adds and added level of realism to
the already excellent graphics and game play. Note that you have to sign-up
for a Ski Challenge account to enjoy online challenges. Unfortunately, much
of the information on the developer website regarding the game is in German
although in-game, English is used throughout. *The controls are tricky to
master at first and as in real life, you'll spend more time flying down the
hill on your back than on your skis but if you persevere, Ski Challenge is an
absorbing and addictive simulator, especially if you compete online.*Download
*Ski Challenge 2012 1.05* in Softonic
