With the Winter Olympics less than a month away, it is perhaps inevitable that a host of games will be released hoping to cash in on the event. Along with the official game of the competition by Sega, we have Winter Sports 2010: The Great Tournament, an unofficial release that is produced in association with European broadcaster RTL.
Unfortunately, what we have here is a weak, limp-wristed version of Sega’s official take on the event. Historically, video games based upon the Olympics have never been classics, but even with that in mind, the half-baked games we have here are just not acceptable. Of the events included, you have the chance to compete in Ski Flying, Figure Skating, Bobsledding, Short-track, Speed Skating, Downhill Skiing, Biathlon, Snowboard Cross and Free-ride Skiing. You can play solo, or against up to 4 friends at once. There is also a career mode of you are feeling particularly masochistic and have time to waste. There is nothing here to really grip you and keep you coming back. After you have played each of the events, you find that you have seen the whole game. There’s nothing new to play for.
The graphics look outdated, we’re talking something you’d expect to find on a PlayStation 2, and are horribly animated. It really is a sloppy substandard job – considering all the powers of this generations consoles, more should have really been made of this. I could go into fine detail just as to why this game is so poor, but what really is the point? This isn’t a game that you should buy, and even if you are in love with the Winter Olympics, then you should invest in Sega’s far more professional effort instead. It’s a much more polished game, and whereas this seems like a rushed job, with its mish-mash of random winter sports games, at least the Sega effort attempts to recreate the event faithfully.
Our advice? Avoid like the plague and watch the real thing on the telly instead. Fingers crossed Great Britain actually does well this time around..!
