Nagano Winter Olympics '98

"It's about as much fun as watching the event. It's THAT bad."

Overview
This is just one of those games that you look at and ask yourself: ''Why?'' Though this game can be fun at certain times, it is a very bad game overall. The options are horrible, because there is no story whatsoever, and there are about 6 different events to choose from.....in the whole game! Winter Olympic games aren't very good at all, and for any Olympic event at all for that matter. These games sound horrible, the controls are horrible, the events are horrible! The only thing keeping this from a 0 is the graphics and whatever little options it has. Whenever I play this game, I get a sense of ''why am I playing this game?'' At first glance, when you start the game up, it seems kind of fun. You see some options, and some snow. Hey, this looks pretty good! Then you start the game. Let’s try downhill snowboarding. Okay, I have to slide down a hill on a snowboard going around these flags. Simple. Then you do it and realize how hard the CONTROLS are. Not the game, but the controls. You have to shove the joystick as far as it can go and make your thumb BLEED before this guy will move, and then he'll crash into the thing. The controls are so bad you'll throw your controller away because you think it's broken! And this isn't the worst part either. The worst part is the fact that the games they let you play are some of the worst I have ever played in my life! Bobsledding. Looks like fun. You can't move more than 5 miles and hour down the hill, there is no thrill, and only one course. Snowboarding on a halfpipe. Hey, this could be Tony Hawk! Nope, you don't control the guy, some buttons come up ''press A'' so you press A and vuala! A 360. It gets repetitive and boring, and there is no fun in it whatsoever. Ice Skating. Looks like a good race. Nope. Press L and R back and forth. That’s it. There are 3 more of these mini-games (and I emphasize mini) and that's it! Game over! This is a horrible game.

Graphics: 5/10
This is the best part of the game, and this is pretty bad. The graphics, though the people look good, are really bad. The snow is just white, there is no crowd, the slopes look bad, and the trees are 2-D! The graphics are just plain awefull. And things get worse.

Sound: 1/10
Sliiiiiish. Crumble. BING! That’s about all you hear in this game. No background music whatsoever, no crowd cheering. All you hear is the guy going down a slope. sliiiiish. sliiiiish. Ya, it's THAT bad. Mute sounds better than this.

Options: 3/10
There are 12 different options in this game: Skiing Downhill, Giant Slalom (skis), K=90 Individual, K=120 Individual (both ski Jumping), Aerials (flips), Halfpipe, Giant Slalom (snowboard), Speed Skating (500m), Speed Skating (1500m), Bobsleigh, Luge (1 person bobsled), and Curling. Now, this may seem like a lot, but each goes by in a minute, and there are no unlockables. Overall, playing all options takes about 20 minutes.

Gameplay/Fun-Factor: 2/10
This game is not fun. The Bobsleigh is the ONLY semi-fun thing in the whole game, and that's because you can flip it over and watch them go down on their heads. Everything is not fun. This is a very boring game.

Replay: 1/10
You will not want to replay this game. Heck, you won't even want to PLAY this game! There are little options, no characters, no story, No fun.

Rent or Buy?
How about neither. If you didn't figure it out by now, this game is bad. I bought it with a false hope that maybe it would be good. Then again, I DID buy it used for $5. Even THAT to me wasn't worth it. If you're into snow games or downhill stuff, then rent this. If you're thinking about if you like this kind of thing or not, don't even bother renting it.

Final Thought
This is one of the worst games I have ever played in my entire life. The graphics, gameplay, sound, and options combined make for one crappy game. This is a sorry excuse for a game, and should have never been made, nor conceived by any gaming company, whatsoever.

Reviewer's Score: 2/10, Originally Posted: 04/10/04