Winter Sports 2: The Next Challenge review

Left out in the cold

GamesRadar+ Verdict

Pros

  • +

    Funky soundtrack

  • +

    A couple of fun events

  • +

    Doesn't look terrible

Cons

  • -

    Confusing controls

  • -

    Too many weak events

  • -

    Not enough of the penguin

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There’s nothing quite as jarring as not understanding how to play a game. How to just begin, even. Mashing buttons aimlessly is a short stop away from giving up altogether, and if you remain clueless as to what to do after the instructions have been digested and practice runs attempted, there’s a fundamental flaw in play. In Winter Sports 2: The Next Challenge, almost every game begins in exactly this way.

Without the safety net of sport familiarity, Winter Sports 2009 needs to clearly explain each event’s rules and controls. But while 49Games’ previous effort, Summer Athletics, introduced a less-strenuous rhythm based control system to well known events, Winter Sports is happy to leave you flailing about aimlessly. Hop straight into the challenge mode – a series of bite-sized challenges such as nailing a perfect start or hitting a certain speed – and you’ll need to rely on trial and error alone to succeed.

Thankfully a couple of events are more easily interpreted. Skiing (while collecting coins or tallying up lovely numbers), for instance, is quickly mastered, while curling is just a case of releasing A at the correct time. The game cannot survive on just two or three simple events, however, especially when the other challenges and their pinpoint timings are relatively impossible.

Having no discernable balance is Winter Sports’ biggest crime, and – double whammy time – with no Xbox Live features, multiplayer hopes are pinned solely on local support. Honestly now, would you really stick this on with company instead of Street Fighter IV or even Resident Evil 5? We think not.

Feb 24, 2009

More info

GenreSports
DescriptionWith nine different events, most of which are not fun, there is no real reason you should spend a lot of time on this game. Unless you really enjoy curling.
Platform"DS","Wii","Xbox 360"
US censor rating"Everyone","Everyone","Everyone"
UK censor rating"3+","3+","3+"
Release date1 January 1970 (US), 1 January 1970 (UK)
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Matthew Pellett
Matt is former editor of Official PlayStation Magazine, his favourite games include Skyrim, Final Fantasy VII, Braid, Shadow Of The Colossus and Puggsy, and when he's not grinding away in Destiny you'll often find him talking about WWE or NFL (go Seahawks!).