Take 2/PS2, Xbox, PC (£24.99-£34.99)
Proof, if any were needed, that the creation of a successful sports title is a very slippery slope indeed, Torino 2006 manages to mix thoroughly modern graphics and commentary with gameplay straight from the Sega Megadrive generation.
It’s hard not to have some sympathy with the makers: after all, once a player’s off down that ski-slope or tackling that bob-sled run, what else is there to do but steer? The result in single-player mode is a messy, unresponsive mass of button-pushing and frantic joystick-twiddling that evolves from impossible to challenging to repetitive and dull in less than an hour.
The multiplayer options improve the experience somewhat, allowing up to four gamers to test their incompetence and thumb-strength in 15 events across eight different sports. This game strives hard to bring home the heat of Olympic competition, but in the end just leaves you cold.
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NIGEL KENDALL