Bode Miller Alpine Racing

Bode Miller Alpine Racing brings an Olympic-style skiing competition to your mobile phone. From the main menu, you choose the number of players (single player or two player hot seat), competition type (downhill, super G, and slalom), course, and skis (each one has a different effect on your maneuverability, speed, and tucking). The game itself begins at the gate with a zoomed-in interface where you’ll need to time 3 beeps/flashes to build up power. Each press builds up a percentage -- if you nail all three lights you’ll get 100% power at launch. The game display then switches to an overhead camera focused on your skier, where you use three keypad controls: Left and Right for turning, and OK to tight tuck or recover when off balance. Increasing your turn angle allows you to make tighter turns but at the potential cost of speed.

In Slalom mode, left/right motions are much faster and more sensitive. At the cost of maneuverability, a tight tuck increases your speed and prevents you from slowing down when hitting jumps, but your speed bonus is greater at turns than when you are going straight down the mountain. The energy meter in the top right corner of the screen recharges faster when you are not tucked. In Easy mode you receive time penalties for errors while in Hard mode, errors puts you out of the competition. If you hit the side areas or any obstacles you crash. Crashing ends your race in utter humiliation with some harsh words from Bode himself. At the end of the race the tight tuck button can be double tapped to execute a “reach” for the finish line, which will shave off a small amount of time. “Reaching” takes energy so you’ll want to conserve your energy, and time the maneuver appropriately.

The key to winning the race is through effective turning, quick timing of turns and tucks, and strategic use of energy. Scores can be uploaded after the medal ceremony for an event if you win the Gold Medal. Your scores are entered into an online database that tracks the top scores and skiers. The game also allows you to send the real Bode Miller a text message letting him know that you are rooting for him and be eligible to win one of hundreds of prizes.