Ah the Olympics...since the mid-1980s, there have been plenty of videogames that attempt to recreate Olympic competition – whether they be licensed or unlicensed.

Activision's Decathlon was one of the first – and many others soon followed. Most of the games of the 80's revolved around pressing 2 buttons as fast as possible or moving the joystick left to right until your hands fell off.

Then there was Summer Games, Summer Games 2 and Winter Games by Epyx. Winter Games didn't have as many games in it, but it was still enjoyable to play. Since then we've seen "official" Olympic games since 1988, and pretty much every version has been nearly unplayable.

Torino 2006 is no exception. It doesn't even try for the medal stand. I believe page 3 of the instruction manual says it all when it says "Welcome to the Olympic Winter Games" in one paragraph and then "Please be aware that due to gameplay considerations some of the rules used in this video game are not the official ones supplie

Anyway, the game serves up "8 different disciplines over 15 different events." Think of a racing game, and how you play the same track mirrored and upside down counts as "3 race tracks" but it's still the same basic track. Well that's sort of the way Torino gets to 15.

For example, there are "two" ski jump events: a 'normal hill' and a ‘large hill', but basically it's the same in terms of skill required or in ability – although you do stay in the air longer. Calling it two different events though is a pretty good reach.

The other events in the game are: Alpine Skiing (including downhill, super G, giant slalom, regular slalom), Speed Skating, Cross-Country Skiing, Biathlon (Cross-Country Skiing and shooting), Bobsleigh (Never have I heard it called bobsleigh before in the US, but whatever), Luge, Nordic Combined (Ski Jumping & Cross Country Skiing).

If there are ever games that don't come across well on a console, these would be it. The best Skiing game is still the oldest and I'm referring to the aptly named "Skiing" for the Atari 2600.

I will say that the Skiing in Torino looks pretty good graphically and the control isn't bad, but you really aren't doing much to control your player. Most winter games do require some amount of skill, but here you really aren't doing much besides going downhill. Seriously, if real skiing were like this, I'd be awesome.

The Ski Jump sounds like it would be fun, but it isn't. As you start your descent you have to keep your man centered by moving your controller left or right. You then push the A button to jump. You then have to continue to keep your balance by using the left thumbstick. Exciting it isn't.