ESPN Winter Sports 2002

The game features just about every Winter Olympic sport worth watching: downhill alpine skiing, slalom skiing, bobsledding, half-pipe snowboarding, ski jumping, freestyle mogul skiing, speed skating, figure skating, and curling. Hockey is notably absent from this list; the game developer rightly assumed that hockey fans will be better served by a dedicated hockey game such as NHL 2002.

The included events use clever but simple control schemes, and the basics of each event are explained with a tutorial designed to quickly teach you how to perform the necessary actions and go about the business of breaking records. For example, ski jumping involves quickly pressing two buttons and then a third to jump, the former two to extend your distance, and the third one again to land. Bobsledding mainly demands a smooth touch of the digital stick, and figure skating is a choreographed event wherein the player performs onscreen prompts. It's amusing that a next-generation game uses a control system based on the old-school Track & Field arcade machine, but in the past 20 years nobody has come up with a better way to simulate Olympic sport.

While the controls may be dated, the graphics are unmistakably on the cutting edge. The game looks brilliant--crisp and pure as the day after a light snow. The snow fans up when skiers turn, and the polygonal athletes have excellent facial graphics. The presentation is fantastic and so is multiplayer with a buddy.

So, when Olympic fever strikes, even if the Olympics are long gone, you'll want to have a copy of Konami's ESPN International Winter Sports 2002. --Bob Andrews

Pros:

• Excellent controls and a wide range of sports to play
• Looks fantastic

• The controls aren't really simulations; they can even be physically tiring
• It's missing Olympic accouterments and athletes

Note: This review refers to the Xbox version of this game.

Amazon.com Product Description
Experience the thrills and brutal spills of cold-air competition with ESPN International Winter Sports 2002. The game's 10 fast-paced events include downhill alpine skiing, freestyle mogul skiing, bobsledding, speed skating, and more. Carve gates at death-defying speeds in the slalom or bust big air in the ski jump. There's even a curling competition. Compete in the trial mode and select events with aspirations of gold and record smashing in mind.

While in championship mode--the highest level of difficulty--you pick one country and compete in all events. Choose to represent the U.S., England, Canada, France, Holland, Italy, Japan, or Germany. Each country has its own unique characteristics and abilities as well as strengths and weaknesses. A two-player split-screen mode lets you go head-to-head in an in-your-face test of speed and skills. Crisp graphics render the winter conditions realistically, letting you spray snow in the slalom or stare down the glare of ice that faces you in the treacherous bobsled run.