Vancouver 2010 Review

Eurocom and Sega have teamed up again to bring us Vancouver 2010, the official game of this year's Winter Olympics. As we only get a game like this every four years it is easy for people to overlook it and go for different sport games like football and golf. So will Vancouver 2010 have you praying for snow so you can get on your skis?

To focus on the faster paced events like bobsleighing, ski jumping and speed skating, the number of events have been cut down from 36 to 14, which makes the game get repetitive rather quickly with bobsleigh, skeleton and luge all on the same track. There is also only one course for downhill skiing and slalom. This also means that some of the slower events are missing, such as curling, figure skating, ice hockey and cross country skiing. If these events were left in the game then there would be more variety, with the contrast between the fast paced runs down a mountain in the slalom to the skill of curling. 

For the first time you have a choice between third person and first person view. With the introduction of first person view, you feel like you are at the heart of the action, with snow flakes landing on your goggles and being able to hear your player breathing. The faster you get the faster his or her breathing gets, which also takes you closer to the action.

The game is split up into 3 sections: there is a training mode where you can practice your skills and don't really need to worry about coming first. Then there is an Olympic Games mode, where you select your country and fight to win the gold medal, but the downfall with this is there is no real structure. You can hop in and out of events in any order you like or stack them - i.e. play a number of events one after another.

The last mode is the ‘Challenge' mode, which I think is by far the best game mode because you have something to aim for other then first place. In challenge mode there are three mountains that you have to complete, each with 10 events on them. Every challenge is different and gets harder as you progress up each mountain. The challenges include completing a downhill ski run hitting as many snowmen as possible, complete a speed skating race without dropping below a certain speed and ski jumping within 10 metres of a specified length.

The controls for the events are easy enough to remember and anyone can pick up a controller and play. There is not a lot of button bashing like some older Olympic games. If you don't know what you are doing there is a tutorial at the start of each event if you wish to take it. The tutorial consists of boxes popping up on-screen telling you which buttons to press to jump out of the starting box, how to steer and any other pieces of information you will need to know for the event that you are doing.

One of the things that really impressed me with this game is the visual effects, such as downhill skiing with the sun in your eyes or bobsleighing with the light bouncing off the ice. No matter what you are doing you will have snow flying at you, and if you are using first person view there is a faint black outline to represent your goggles. The camera shaking and your vision becoming blurry due to the speeds also adds to the effect. All of these make you feel like you are there, racing down the side of a mountain or flying around the corners of the Bobsleigh course.

The amount of courses for each event is a bit of a let-down because once you have gone down the same slope a couple of times you find yourself taking the same line down, so it becomes both very repetitive and quite easy to win. Multiplayer gives you the extra challenge of playing against four of your friends in a 4 player split-screen, or you can take on four people around the world online. When playing online, there are some events where will have to wait and watch your competitors have their attempts - this gives you the feeling that you are waiting half way up the Ski Jump slope or at the top of the mountain waiting to go down the Slalom.

Vancouver 2010 is a game for all ages with its easy to learn controls and well set out tutorials, with the graphics and lighting the best that I have seen for a while in a sports game. The multiplayer gives you the feel of the Olympics as you watch your competitors run first, and with well set-out leaderboards which show how many gold, sliver and bronze medals you have won, it's easy to see if you are better than your friends. The only down falls of Vancouver 2010 is there is no real career mode, and the lack of courses makes the game quite easy after a few goes. Overall the game will suit you if you have a spare hour or if you are having a party and want a game that everyone will be able to play in minutes.