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CNET editors' rating:
stars
Mediocre
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- Reviewed on: 03/07/2002
- Updated on: 05/17/2006
- Released on: 02/28/2002
- Originally published on GameSpot: ESPN International Winter Sports 2002 (Xbox) Review
Just in time to reap the commercial benefits sown by the recently held Winter Olympic games, ESPN International Winter Sports 2002 lets players compete in a number of winter events, in hopes of winning the coveted gold. While this game doesn't bear the official Olympic license, it does portray some of the most popular events of the winter games in classic arcade style. In the spirit of athletic competition and in the vein of the classic Konami Track and Field games, ESPN International Winter Sports 2002 offers the prospect of winning gold medals and nearly unlimited opportunity to improve upon your top scores. Unfortunately, none of the events are done particularly well.
There are a handful of play modes to choose from, including single-player, single-event trial, head-to-head competition, and male and female championship, which narrow down the competition in a series of events to find the most gifted all-around cold-weather athlete. Doing well in a championship run gives a password to enter on Konami's ranking Web site. There are eight different countries to choose from, with a single male and female athlete representing each of them. Most of the competitions are open to both sexes, with figure skating being exclusive to women and the ski jump to men.
While ESPN International Winter Sports 2002 doesn't bear the official Winter Olympic license, it does feature many of the events that kept audiences fixated during late nights, such as bobsleigh, figure skating, and the relatively unknown curling. Other traditional winter sports include two different lengths of ski jump, slalom, and downhill skiing. What makes each of these events a game in their own right is the way that each relies on a different form of simple control mechanics--which in turn relies on timing, pattern recognition, or frenetic button mashing. The moguls event, for instance, is performed by hitting the right and left triggers in time with a sliding bar that indicates your lateral movement. Hitting the left analog stick a few times on the ramps generates air and pulls off the tricks. Speed skating is a traditional alternating button masher in which you have to slow down the speed bar around curves to keep control. Figure skating is a rhythm game, much like a handheld version of Dance Dance Revolution, in which you need to point the stick in the right direction in time with the onscreen arrows while occasionally entering face button commands to perform the requisite jumps and spins. There are 10 events in all, and the difficulty in achieving gold-medal-caliber scores ensures that those players interested in mastering each of the events have their work cut out for them.
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ESPN International Winter Sports 2002 (Xbox):
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