ESPN International Winter Sports 2002

Next-gen button mashing, courtesy of Konami.

This direct descendent of Track & Field consists of 10 events, from moguls to speed skating to the grand Canadian pastime of curling?each involving a mix of rhythmic PaRappa-like button-mashing, lining up colored lines with other colored lines, and similar mini-game fodder. It?s easy to pick up, fun to play?especially with a friend?and there isn?t really a throwaway event in the bunch. The PS2 controller layout makes a couple events unnecessarily difficult, though even the most obnoxious ?mash two buttons repeatedly? events throw in nice little twists to give your fingers a well-deserved rest.

The graphics in the PS2 version look pretty good?especially the environments?though the PS2?s anti-aliasing problems are prevalent, and the participants suffer equally from a lack of polygons and a lack of charisma. The sound effects are convincing, re-creating the sound of skis sliding down packed powder with surprising accuracy, while some DDR-reject music and announcer phrases (?Now they?re heading into a great turn now!?) are unintentionally amusing. It?s definitely one of the healthier members of the Decathlon clone army.

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