Product Description

Winter Sports 2008 The Ultimate Challenge is the comprehensively improved sequel to last year's winter hit RTL Winter Games 2007. The arcade-oriented winter sports compilation comprises the 15 most popular disciplines spanning 9 exciting sports. 42 missions with final boss rivals recreate the atmosphere of a magnificent international winter sports event in the brand new single player campaign mode, not least owing to the stirring opening ceremony and the final presentation ceremony. The hot seat (4 players) and split screen (2 players) modes feature multiple tournament options and a gripping multiplayer experience as players compete for record times and gold medals.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #428 in Video Games
• Brand: Conspiracy
• Published on: 2007-12
• Released on: 2007-12-10
• ESRB Rating: Everyone
• Platform: Nintendo Wii
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: .56" h x 5.46" w x 7.54" l, .36 pounds

Features

• 15 playable disciplines spanning the 9 most popular winter sports
• Brand new campaign mode with 42 missions including boss rivals
• Multiplayer party fun: hot seat (4 players), split screen (2 players)
• Controls perfectly adapted to Nintendo Wii¿
• Lively sports events with mascots, opening ceremony, presentation ceremony, national anthems and many more

Customer Reviews

The Winter Games, now on Wii!
The first Winter Sports title on the Nintendo Wii is a very solid one, especially at the budget price.

The presentation is very solid. The game runs with a widescreen mode, has smooth graphics, and good sound. In addition to the in-game music, there are two witty European commentators that provide some interesting and funny banter. There is a very neat opening ceremony, and medal ceremonies complete with national anthems. Load times are minimal, and bugs are non present.

There are over fifteen events in nearly every Winter Olympic discipline. There are two varieties of Speed Skating, several varieties of Skiing, Skeleton, Luge, Bobsleigh, Figure Skating, and Curling. The majority of the events controls very well and provides intelligent and innovative uses of the Wii remote and Nunchuck. With the sliding sports, for example, while on the track you hold the remote in the Steering Wheel fashion. With Figure Skating, you use the remote and Nunchuck like in a rhythm game, very similar to the method used in the Wii version of "Dancing With the Stars." Sadly, the controls for Curling seem to be broken or, at the least, extremely difficult to use. But, all of the other events control very well.

The game has a skill-building career mode, 4-player multiplayer, single event play and traditional tournament modes. Overall, for the price, it's a very solid package that's enjoyable in both single and multiplayer modes.

Winter Sports is a BLAST!!
We are relatively new to the Wii so I can't compare it to all of the games out there, but I can say that so far it is a blast for our family and a clear favorite for both the adults and kids. We have played the speed skating, downhill skiing and the luge games and are already addicted.

The games vary in difficulty and in types of actions--we are still trying to make it down the slopes without wiping out multiple times but the speed skating is fairly easy just a lot of action in the arms. We are enjoying the variety and we still have many games to explore.

I should also add that so far all of the games have a two-player option with a split screen so you are competing against each other. You can see your opponent whiz by or vice versa as you are racing.

The realistic/human-like players are nice too. This is not cartoony like Mario but has more life-like graphics. You can't select your player's looks but you can choose the country you are competing for.

Other notes:
Music: good/competition-type music. Fun to play to.

Sound and graphics: nice and realistic. I especially like the skiing sounds. It makes you feel like you are really on the slopes without the cold. Visually, it is realistic too because there are effects like snow sprays that sometimes partially obscure your ability to see what is ahead, etc. Oh, and the luge is a trip. You feel like you are traveling VERY fast. Perhaps it isn't the real thing but it is a fun substitute.

Age level: either a very coordinated 5-8 or 8 and older (might be tough for the little ones).

I am hoping they will do a summer games version next. I would definitely purchase this again in a heartbeat.

Surprising Winner of a Title
I took a chance when I saw some of the reviews here. Thanks everyone! This is a surprising winner. Terrific graphics, challenging gameplay (different difficulty levels) and especially the reasonable price, make this a wonderful extension of the wii sports/mario&sonic olympics type games.

So far we have focused on a few of the events, though we have looked at all of them. The speedskating was the first one we tried. It was great for my 6 yr old. He wouldn't stop playing. It is challenging to keep the meters at the optimal levels even on the easier difficulty.

The ski jumping took a while to get the right feel of the controls to time the take off and navigate steadily through the air to a good landing. The controllers were ultra-responsive so you need to have very good touch.

My favorite was the bobsled so far. Took a run to get the hang of it, but it's more like a racing game where you try to find the right groove except for the start which is different from what I expected (and not easy ) You have to move your controller in a circular motion to build speed/power. Still haven been able to get the best start. The graphics going down the track are a blast. You even can see the lights showing the optimal location (at least in the easier mode), but it's not exactly easy to keep the sled there.

We can't wait to open the alternate venues too for the events. This game so far seems to be very well thought out and put together. It's already worth the money and everything else is gravy. This is a great addition to the game library and fun for all ages. The surprising thing is even my wife enjoyed it and didn't want to give up her controller(s).

UPDATE on CURLING (3/12): Tricky to get the hang of the controls, but once you do, this game is TERRIFIC. My kids loved curling while watching the last winter olympics. They love watching this but it will surely take a while for them to learn the controls. As a general note: READ THE ONSCREEN CONTROL NOTES. It may take a while, but it is worth it