Salt Lake 2002

A recent local newscast profiled an area teen that was competing in the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. His face was drawn wide with a grin, his eyes reflected amazement. “I’m competing in the Olympics,” he said, “how cool is that!”

While not all of us will be even afforded the opportunity to see the Olympics in person, the gaming world has offered up a taste or two of the joy of Olympic competition. The latest to throw its product into the rings is Ubi Soft, in conjunction with DC Studios. The Game Boy Advance program is simply entitled Salt Lake 2002.

The program offers six real-time events: K120 ski jumping, curling, alpine skiing (downhill), two-man bobsleigh, snowboard parallel giant slalom, and alpine skiing (slalom). Perspective is the key to any good sports game, and in some regards, the camera perspective on this program is a little lacking – at least on half the events.

For curling, ski jumping and bobsleigh, the camera angle works well. But for the skiing and snowboarding competitions, is provides a greater challenge. The camera shows the competitor from above and in front of the avatar, which means you do not get a good look at the course ahead of your racer, and you have to scramble to set up for the next gate. Of course, the more you race, the more familiar you will become with the course, and the easier it will be to build up speed and vie for a medal.

The game has several different ways to play. The Olympic mode allows game players to select the events they wish to compete in. If you choose all six events, you will also be treated to the opening and closing ceremonies.

Tournament mode is a head-to-head competition against 16 other countries in four rounds of a chosen event. Classic mode challenges players to beat the target time or distance, with the opportunity of unlocking harder difficulty levels. Time trial mode allows you to work out the kinks in your form, while trying to best your own times.

The game has five difficulty levels, ranging from beginner to legend.

While the camera angles add to the difficulties in half the events, the game – overall – is very well rendered. The animation is solid, the environmental graphics are superb, and the designers have done an excellent job of translating the feel of Olympic competition to the GBA. The sound really backs up the video portion of the game.

This game takes the general controls options and makes the most of them on a sport-by-sport basis. For example, in the downhill skiing event, you begin by pressing the A button in time with the beep to get the power bar as high as you can get it. This determines the rate you take off from at the gate. The D-pad allows you to control the skier, the A button puts him into a crouch for more speed, the B button brakes the skier, and the R button is for a hard turn.

Things are a little simpler in curling. A button starts your avatar throw, the R and L buttons control the right and left sweepers, and the B button allows you to skip watching the CPU’s turn (which halves the game time because you only see your ‘end’ and the result of your opponents). For those who are totally unfamiliar with the sport, think of it as a slippery shuffleboard with the sweepers controlling the speed and curl of the stone.

Salt Lake 2002 is an excellent, enjoyable romp through some Olympic events. The game is definitely challenging.

This program is rated for Everyone.

Gameplay: 8.5
Each event is well designed and flows seamlessly from beginning to end.

Graphics: 9
The graphical elements are excellent. The animation is very well done – just get a look at a screen shot from the bobsleigh race and you’ll get an idea of how good this program looks.

Sound: 8.5
This game features sound that is above that which is expected of this platform. There is more than just recorded, repetitious sound effects and synthesized music. The sound seems fresh and alive.

Difficulty: 8.5
There are five difficulty levels, and the camera angle can create an addition challenge. This game will challenge reflexes and brains.

Concept: 8
Every Olympic has its share of games capitalizing on them, so the genre is nothing new. It would have been nice if this game had a few more events.

Multiplayer: N/A
This program will allow up to four players via the GameLink.

Overall: 9
There are only six events, which is a drawback, but there are multiple challenges along the way in those events. The game has an exceptional options package, and is the best multiple winter sports game released thus far this year.