Can you feel it? The anticipation in the air as athletes from all over the world gather in one place to give it their best in the coming Olympic Winter Games of 2006. With a large number of events, the athletes battle for the gold medal and their place in the history of the games. Now 2K Games brings us Torino 2006, the official game of the Winter Games that brings us eight Olympic disciplines. Yet while the games themselves look exciting, the end result is a game that just doesn’t even come close to earning the bronze.

First off there are really eight events - or disciplines, if you want to get technical - in Torino 2006 that have been stretched out (thanks to some different rules) into 15 events. While the game does claim to be the official game of the 2006 Olympic Winter Games, the events in question are not the most interesting games you’ll get to play. In fact, other “winter” themed games on the Xbox (such as the recent SSX game) do a better job of making skiing actually fun.

The disciplines are Speed Skating, Luge, Ski Jumping, Alpine Skiing, Bobsleigh, Biathlon, Cross-Country Skiing and the Nordic Combined. Events like Alpine Skiing, for example, have different styles and rules. There’s Downhill and Super -G but there’s also Slalom and Giant Slalom to add just a tad more variety to the same event. Ski Jumping has a different hill jump that varies so you can chose to jump the 120m large hill or the 90m normal hill. Then there are events that don’t offer any new variety such as Bobsleigh, the Luge, Speed Skating and Biathlon. Torino 2006 allows you to play a number of ways, whether you want to try out a single event or a nine or 15 event competition. You can even create your own competition with any event you’d like.

As I mentioned above, the events really aren’t at all interesting to begin with and most of them are simply button-mashing games that feel more like a chore than fun. The Luge and the Bobsleigh events don’t offer much of a challenge since all you do is some light steering and nothing else. Even the complex Biathlon, that combines the dreariness of the Cross-Country Skiing event as well as shooting (athletes carry rifles) just isn‘t very exciting. At least Alpine Skiing has some challenging slopes. As far as the game’s controls are concerned, they work well enough for the events featured here. For one thing, these events really don’t require much. Unfortunately, events like Speed Skating are merely just a lot of button mashing while Ski Jumping just requires a well-timed press of the A button.

Really, the worst part of the game is its lack of presentation. There’s very little that could be found here that gives gamers the impression that they’re competing in the Olympic Winter Games. While the venues are well represented, there’s no real sense that you’re playing for your country of choice. And while the game offers the option to play with up to four players, there is no online multiplayer.

Graphically, Torino 2006 is both an Ok-looking game and a rather plain-looking one. For starters, the character models look great, their helmets reflecting light beautifully. The various venues also look particularly nicely rendered. The problem comes with the character animations that make the athletes moves quite awkwardly and unrealistically. There’s hardly any fanfare when you win with the exception of seeing your character up in the podium. This is quite a disappointment, indeed.

Sound-wise, the game features music that feels much like a true televised event complete with trumpeting theme music at the introduction of each event. There are even some flashy sound effects that follow the replays. There are some decent sound effects, especially during the Bobsleigh event and the Alpine Skiing events but the commentary team of Jeff Caster and West Westbrook is horrible. Their commentary does not offer any true insight to your performance other than how bad you’re doing.

In the end, Torino 2006 will not immerse you in the competition that is the Olympic Winter Games nor will it make the more boring events any fun to play. Yes, it’s great to see certain events on the Xbox but few good games really don’t make up for the especially boring ones. If you love the Winter Games this might be worth checking out, but then again there are better winter-themed games worth your money already. I suggest skipping this one altogether.

Gameplay: 4.2
Control-wise the game is handled quite nicely in a good majority of the disciplines while others like the Biathlon or the Ski Jumping event feels quite clunky. What is missing is the sense of competition and the pride of representing your country. This one is all about the events.

Graphics: 5.5
The character models look particularly impressive on the ice and many of the game’s venues do stand out in a good way. Unfortunately, the character animations are awkward and there are clipping problems. Other than that this is a decent-looking game that could have looked better on the Xbox.

Sound: 4.0
The game’s soundtrack feels like it belongs in the televised coverage of the Olympic Winter Games. The music introduces each event nicely but hardly ever changes at all. There’s commentary but it is handled so poorly you’ll want to ignore the comments altogether.

Difficulty: Medium
The various levels of Alpine Skiing is quite challenging but it’s the Speed Skating and Cross-Country Skiing that will have you watching your stamina during the run while other events just require good steering.

Concept: 4.0
Offering only eight disciplines could have been excusable if the disciplines in question were actually fun events. While it’s good to see a game with Bobsleighing and Luge, neither event is particularly fun to play.

Multiplayer: 3.9
Up to four players can challenge each another in any of the events and the events will seem a lot more fun against a group of friends. Unfortunately, there’s no online multiplayer.

Overall: 4.0
Torino 2006 doesn’t come close to bringing gamers a true sense of what the winter games are all about nor will they feel like this is a game that makes even the dullest events seem fun. While technically many of the disciplines are handled well enough control-wise, these aren’t events that will feel compelling enough to want to see them through to the end. Sorry, 2K Sports, this one is a complete miss.