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Just weeks away from the opening of the 2012 Olympic Games, what better way to celebrate
than revisiting the 2010 Winter Olympics...and the crappy video game the event spawned. It’s
Vancouver 2010 for the PlayStation 3.
Who know minigames were an Olympic event?
Vancouver 2010 is both a celebration of the 2010 Olympic winter games and an underwhelming
video game. It’s actually just a collection of 14 minigames, and while they’re based
on Olympic events, they don’t make you feel like much of an Olympian. They’re short,
they’re lackluster and strange enough, they don’t provide very much prestige to the
athletes.
What I mean is...the game is remarkably impersonal. You do get to choose a country to play for,
but in reality, it’s little more than an outfit and an anthem. You’re nameless, you
don’t have a personality...you’re just a meaningless pawn in some international chest-beating
contest.
That sort of defines the entire experience. You basically choose individual events. There’s
no overarching career mode or anything, nothing to create the magic of the Olympic experience.
They’re just disconnected events you play one at a time.
Then you pick a different one.
This gives Vancouver 2010 a very compilation-like feel. And that’s a shame, because some of
the events are actually pretty cool. There’s an authenticity and attention to the smallest
details that make the games a lot of fun to play...if occasionally frustrating as hell.
Some of the sports really demand perfection. I don’t do perfection.
What? Have I died?!
Fortunately, there’s online multiplayer for four players, and that’s where the game
probably shines brightest. It strings together events and keeps a medal count, and in fact,
it’s the only part of the game that does...which is kind of bewildering. Almost as bewildering
as having a Winter Olympics game without freaking hockey.
This is actually a polished little game, for what’s there. The issue is what isn’t
there. Without much single-player purpose, Vancouver 2010 comes across as a minigame
collection with an Olympic theme. If you’re a fan of the games, this might be worth a
look. But otherwise, this one is pretty forgettable.