Strap on your skis and get ready to head down the slopes for the Salt Lake City Olympics of 2002.

Salt Lake 2002 is a PC release from Eidos Interactive and ATD. Granted the game was received well after the Winter Olympics, and there are no more medals to be presented except in the world of cyberspace. In that realm nothing really ends, and these games – while now only winter sports – still present the power and passion of the international event.

The program has six events including men’s alpine skiing downhill, men’s ski jumping K120 individual, men’s snowboard parallel giant slalom, ladies alpine skiing slalom, women’s freestyle skiing aerials, and men’s two-man bobsleigh. In many regards, these events are somewhat similar in presentation. There was a time when winter sports games featured a wide range of events, such as speed skating (which had us pounding keyboard keys mercilessly) and the finesse of curling (which is featured in a Game Boy program), as well as biathlon. All those events are absent from this compilation of events. That is really too bad. While the proffered events are very well done, this program doesn’t seem to be well rounded or steeped in the Olympic spirit of competition.

There are a number of ways to play this game. You can jump into quick play, where you will not have a player profile, and you will represent a country chosen at random. Of course, you can select your profile and personalize your player profile. At that point you can go into Olympic mode (competing in all six events), tournament mode (a knockout competition with 16 initial competitors), classic mode (a single player competing in all six events), or freeform mode (which is akin to a practice round).

The game also has five difficulty settings, beginning at beginner and going through to legend. Though 84 countries sent athletes to the XVIII Olympic Winter Games, Salt Lake 2002 only features 16 major countries.

The game controls are keyboard based. There is a basic overlay, but each contest has variations of the primary elements. While the actual control elements may seem easy to handle, that doesn’t mean that this game isn’t challenging. On the contrary, when you are rocketing down a slope at high speed aligning those skis, or that board, for the next gate can be a tough proposition. And when it comes to aerials, managing that full back and keeping the skis together, not to mention landing, is a discipline that requires time and patience. As you begin to learn the event, your avatar will likely eat more snow that she flies over.

Some events offer a variety of camera angles that enhance play and give you a great perspective. Not all events feature an adjusted view of the course. For example, in the aerials and ski jumping, you will only have the third-person perspective. But in downhill event and the bobsleigh, you are treated to a variety of views with first-person being one of them. To see the slope (in men’s downhill) zipping under you, coupled with the sound of the skier’s breath and sterling graphics, gives this game a real nice feel.

Overall, the graphics are very well done. The polygonal figures move well and the environments are well detailed. There seemed to be some lagging in certain events, like the bobsleigh, and it was uncertain whether that was due to the program trying to render the graphics at the higher resolution or scraping the wall with the sleigh. It was only a minor annoyance, in any case.

The sound of the game is what you would expect – the slice of skis, boards or runners scraping through packed courses, and the heavy breathing of a racer, the cheer of the crowd and a musical score that is merely average.

This game does a remarkable job of actualizing the events it presents. The graphics are strong, and the lighting effects are dynamic. It’s hard not to like what this game presents, but it does seem like half a program

This game is rated for everyone.

Install: Easy
This game goes on the hard drive quickly.

Gameplay: 7.5
The events take only seconds to complete. It actually takes longer to load, and replay some of the events than it does to compete in them.

Graphics: 8.8
The animation is excellent, and the environments are rendered with great attention to detail. This is an incredibly good-looking program.

Sound: 7.2
Give the designers kudos for some of the subtle elements, such as hearing the breathing of your avatar as he is racing down the slope, but the rest of this is what you would expect.

Difficulty: 8
This game is remarkable in that the control elements seem so simple, and yet the events are very hard to control. There are five difficulty levels adding to the challenge.

Concept: 6
There were winter sports games, purporting to Olympic standards in style if not name, in the past that offered a wider variety of events. It is too bad that this game didn’t give a more well rounded look at the Olympic experience. With the care and quality design work, a few other events would have been wonderful to play.

Multiplayer: 6.5
There is only one event in which you can actually compete against another human, and that is the snowboard parallel slalom. While the game states it features multiplayer gaming, most of it is turn based.

Overall: 7.5
Give this game high marks for the exceptional graphical work in the events it does present. This program is a good winter sport game. It just lacks competitive depth. That said, it would be easy to dwell on what this game doesn't offer, but the reviews are about what the game does offer, and what it presents is very well done.