Olé, Toro

"Ole, Toro" is, has been, and will be one of the most controversial games in the short but intense history of software, not just in Spain, but throughout Europe. Old-timers like myself will undoubtedly know the events surrounding this Dinamic creation, but since we also have a good number of youngsters among our visitors (I feel old saying this XD), it wouldn't hurt to briefly recap what happened.

Dinamic was one of the first companies founded in Spain. The Ruiz brothers, its founders (currently at FX Interactive), began programming in their parents' home in Madrid, using only a Spectrum 48k, a cassette tape for making copies, and a black and white television. Of course, the distribution of their games was similarly limited, with the postal service being their only means of getting copies to users.

Success came almost immediately. The company grew exponentially, and in a short time its programs had crossed our borders, being published in what was then the most important European market for video game software: the United Kingdom.

And one of those games that was sold there was 'Ole, Toro', which, until the appearance of the very recent Torero (PC), was the only known recreation of the National Festival (there is a Bug-Byte game called 'Olé', which had little to no impact in our country). As I said at the beginning, many of you already know what happened, and those who don't can imagine. The British magazines in the sector, undoubtedly the most influential on the continent at that time, mercilessly panned the game. In fact, it is one of the few programs (I would venture to say the only one, although I don't know that for sure) that received a 0 in the prestigious 'Computer & Videogames'. Honestly, and this is coming from someone who isn't exactly a bullfighting fan, the focus was on the subject matter, not the technical aspects. It's also true that if they had chosen to analyze the latter, the game wouldn't have fared well either, but I think it was unfair to frame the commentary the way they did.

Thus, the game garnered enormous criticism for being based on a practice that in the British Isles is considered, at the very least, abhorrent (well, I agree with that; it's just that it was said by people who think their food is good and disdain seafood, for example, because of its appearance). Obviously, the negative opinions weren't limited to the program itself, and the smear campaign directly targeted the Madrid-based company.

Here in Spain, more accustomed as we are to this bullfighting spectacle, the reviews focused on the quality of the program, and it fared somewhat better as a result.

THE GAME

Focusing on the subject of this analysis, we find ourselves with a fairly simple creation, as were, curiously, Dinamic's productions that year (we could cite Sgrizam and Rocky, among others). The creators of these games may forgive me if I'm wrong, but despite retaining the special magic of this company's games, perhaps 1985 and 1986 were their worst years in terms of the quality of their productions, with a few exceptions. The praise garnered by games like Saimazoom or Abu Simbel Profanation, in my opinion, would only be received again with the release of one of their most legendary games, at the end of '86. That game was none other than Army Moves.


The object of the game is to fight one bull after another. The bullfighter (that's you) stands in the middle of the screen, while the brave animal appears from the right, charging at you without hesitation. It is then that your skill with the controls must come into play, to avoid becoming a mangled mess of bones in the bullring's infirmary right from the start. And you'll have to be truly skillful, because the control system reminds me, perhaps accurately, of the visual marvels of the Dragon's Lair or Space Ace series: pressing a key at the right moment.

That's all there is to it, and the initial satisfaction of having the game before your eyes gradually transforms into boredom as its lack of addictiveness becomes apparent.

RATING

If there's one thing that stands out, it's undoubtedly its originality. I can't recall right now whether it predates Bug-Byte's program or not, but regardless, it's worth repeating that it's not a very common theme among programmers.

The graphics are quite good for the time, and the sound is limited to the typical bullfighting anthem played with a series of beeps, at least on the Spectrum. But something's missing, and that's its addictive nature. After a few