360/PS3 Review: Vancouver 2010

Two of RJG staff members entered to participate in the 2010 winter Olympics in Vancouver.  Find out what they think, after the break.

Developer: Eurocom
Publisher: Sega
Genre: Sports
# of players: 1-4 offline and online
Price: $59.99

B4’s Opinion:

When you do not have much experience in either being a fan of the Winter Olympics, or in playing any Video Game associated with it, it becomes hard to critique the good and bad things about a Video Game that is based on this great event. This was the case for me when I started playing Vancouver 2010, because as badly as I wanted to rip it apart, I couldn’t fault it for some of the things that it was trying to do.

Let’s start with some of the good aspects of Vancouver 2010, starting with it’s challenge system, which in all honesty, is the meat and potatoes of the entire experience. There are 30 different challenges split into three different difficulty levels, easy, intermediate, and advanced. What I like about this mode is that it actually changes things up from the basic gold, silver, and bronze medal setup that we are all used to when playing games based on the olympics. Sometimes you may have to play with inverted controls, achieve a certain amount of speed before hitting the finish line, collect tokens scattered around a race track while trying to finish in first place, etc. These challenges are challenging (no pun intended) and fun, and really give you a reason to come back to Vancouver 2010 more than once.

Other than that, there is not really too much that stands out for me as it what is great about this game. The online play is solid, and most of the games are easy to understand, as most of them only require specific button presses to perform. The addition of a leaderboard system, along with the online mode, gives this title some legs to stand on as well. Now let’s move on to some of the bad aspects of the game.

First of all, it really lacks any sense of personality whatsoever. The environments are repetitive, there is no commentary to speak of, and quite frankly, I didn’t really feel like the effort was worth the result most of the time for these reasons. There is also a lack of variety in terms of the different types of events that you can play. At least half of the events involve variants of Snowboarding and Skiing, and there is no form of hockey included at all. I know it sounds like nitpicking when somebody says something like that, but since it is Canada’s most popular sport, you would figure it would be in this collection no questions asked.

(C+)

- Matthew H

Qualitybeats opinion:

With an “easy to pick up” control mechanic – that’s tight and works – and online leaderboard boards/play, I can’t expect more from an Olympic sports game.  In a time where publishing companies can’t afford to spend dollars on a title that won’t return gains, I’m pleased to see Sega taking a risk with the opportunity to publish Vancouver 2010 (sucking up what little market is there, for the genre).

If you’re in the market for a winter Olympic game title, Vancouver 2010 is your game.  Not because it is everything a fan of Olympic sports would expect this game to be.  Because it’s the only title of its kind, on store shelves and it holds it position firmly.  The game play is fun, visuals aren’t ugly – though not beautiful either – and the challenges are addictive.

Undeniably, I would love to see more done here.  The lack of a network presentation and commentary leaves the game feeling more like a mini-game collection. Then again, mini-game collections sell just fine on the Wii.  Maybe I’m not the target demographic here. Actually, I already knew I wasn’t.

Olympic sports enthusiasts are going to have lots of fun with Vancouver 2010.  Each event requires no more than 30 seconds to learn, and that casual sensibility means everyone in the living room can compete.  Online games run smoothly, and its leaderboards always give you a reason to retry events.  If you’re a dad with a child who trains in a winter Olympic sport, head to a local video game retailer and buy your kid an early birthday present.  I promise you’ll have lots of fun.  (B-)

- Jeffrey d