Like Decathlete, Winter Heat features a number of different events to play in, most of them revolving around rapid button pressing and timed button taps.[4]
Development
Winter Heat was developed by the in-house team Sega AM3.[6] The arcade version and Saturn port were developed in tandem.[6]
The Sega Saturn version was positively received by critics, and held a 78% on the review aggregation website GameRankings based on four reviews.[7] Critics widely praised the simple and natural controls,[9][11][16][20] and the attractive and well-animated high resolution graphics.[9][11][16][19][20]GameSpot explained that "Despite its simplicity and the immediate potential for carpal tunnel syndrome, Winter Heat succeeds at providing a fun and varied batch of snowy competitions. It does this by employing fairly consistent controls through a varied series of games. The speed button remains the speed button throughout, and so on. As a result, it's not such a headache to go from one competition to the next, and the package is tied together better than the competition's."[16]
GamePro called it "a fun, finger-jamming winter sports game".[20][c]Sega Saturn Magazine criticized the bordered display on the PAL conversion, but said the three Saturn-exclusive events are as good or better than the eight events of the arcade version, which in conjunction with the four-player capability gives the game enough longevity to stand up as a console game.[19]GameSpot and Sega Saturn Magazine both also gave particular praise to the sense of speed in the bobsled event.[16][19] John Ricciardi of Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM) remarked that "Winter Heat is far and away the best of this year's Winter Olympics-style games. Each event requires different techniques with the control pad, and they're all a lot of fun." EGM gave Winter Heat their "Game of the Month" award, with three of the four members of their review team giving it a 9 out of 10 or better.[11]
