Torino 2006 - the Official Video Game of the XX Olympic Winter Games

It's not as if the Olympics, be it summer or winter, has had anything special to call its own when it comes to video game adaptations over the years, but Torino 2006 is especially egregious in that it pares down the number of included events to a fairly measly number, manages to make every single one of them completely uninteresting, and skimps entirely on the presentation.

With no opening or closing ceremonies, or otherwise flashy presentation, the game is as boring to look at as it is to play.

Increasing the difficulty rating doesn't really make them more challenging, just more frustrating.

It's probably too much to ask that a single game capture all the nuances of a huge event like the Winter Olympics. But there isn't even the fun and spirit of gameplay that imbued the original "Track and Field," and that was on the Atari-bloody-2600! When a modern game is getting lapped by an 8-bit wonder, something is really rotten in... well, Torino isn't in Denmark, but you get the point

Torino's biggest problem is just that it doesn't try very hard. When it does, like during the speed-skating or downhill skiing sections, you get some nice graphics and a solid framerate. It's just that whole gameplay thing is lacking.

So wildly uninspired, so entirely rote in its design that it barely qualifies as decent merchandising even at its discounted $20 price. The GR judges give this one the finger.

As congenial as it is, there's absolutely nothing to enjoy in Torino 2006. The events are short and dull, the in-game commentary is dreadful and broken, and the atmosphere possesses the exhilaration of a Yanni concert.

Your average cellphone game is more fun than any of these so-called "events."

A game more excruciating than an evening of ice-dancing preliminaries.

This official "game of the Games", however, makes it about as exciting as lying in an empty bath and pretending it's the luge, or sticking your head in the freezer and singing Advance Australia Fair.

It’s something you’ll play for a little while but you’ll soon realize that watching the real thing is far more exciting. It sounds better. It feels faster. And you’ll get to see the podium and hear the anthem of the victor’s nation.

The result in single-player mode is a messy, unresponsive mass of button-pushing and frantic joystick-twiddling that evolves from impossible to challenging to repetitive and dull in less than an hour.

It's being sold now for $20. In a week, when they are selling it for $4.99, it will still be overpriced.

The events are boring, the multiplayer is severely under exploited and the game is unlikely to last you more than an hour.

If any publisher wants success with Beijing 2008, they really have to start work on it now because as has been proven time and time again, rushing Olympic games does not work.

As for Torino 2006, I would look in the bargain bin for "International Winter Sports 2002" instead.

Only the most dedicated Olympics fan will find Torino 2006 worth its $20 asking price. [Apr 2006, p.74]

This is the most low-rent sports game this side of "NRA Varmint Hunter."

There's a Jamaican bobsled team joke in here somewhere, but I'm too disappointed to figure it out. [Apr 2006, p.78]

There isn't a single feature, event, or option that ever rises above the very low bar of "half-assed." [Apr 2006, p.118]

Commentary will soon get on your tits. [Feb 2006, p.94]

Huge sporting events don't translate well into video games, as the developer goes for quantity instead of quality, making it a sad button mashing affair.

In achieving immediate accessibility, the game has lost a lot of its depth, meaning you'll be racking up gold medals with little effort. [Apr 2006, p.91]