Poor sound, and a lack of depth wastes the game's great gameplay mechanics rendering it a bargain bin title at best.
The gameplay is the bread and butter of Vancouver 2010 as each event includes its own control scheme designed to allow you to fully control your athlete in the most appropriate manner. From jostling for position in Ladies' Ski Cross to timing the perfect turn in the Two-Man Bobsleigh you always feel like you are in absolute control of your character and thus are able to fully experience the excitement of competing in an Olympic event. This feeling is complimented by the immense sense of speed that comes standard in all fourteen events. Furthermore, every time you go down the slopes, the bobsleigh track or skate around the rink you feel that each movement matters in determining your final time. Consequently the pressure to perform drives you to do your absolute best from the very start of each event allowing players to get lost in the game. Nevertheless mistakes, as the real Vancouver 2010 Olympics have shown, are costly endeavours that frequently happen due to the smallest miscalculation meaning that it will take several attempts at each event for players to become good enough to win the gold medal, and possibly set a world record.
Sadly, setting these world records is pointless as there is no gratification for doing so, and no grand ceremony or unlockable to commemorate your success. Even winning the gold medal is often only satisfying the first time around as doing so requires you to have mastered the event. This mastering renders future attempts almost elementary as the game, due to only having the official Olympic track available for play, doesn't really change from run to run. There is thus no push to go back and re-play events. Beyond that, playing through the "Winter Games" mode to win the Olympics for your home country is a meaningless venture as there is only a half-hearted in-game celebration to coincide with your success. This leaves the Challenges, a mode where the Olympic events are modified to include a barrage of extra obstacles, and/or other goals for users to manage, as the only moderately replayable gameplay selection. However, most of the missions from the three "Challenge Mountains" are too unreasonably frustrating for users to want to play them again and again. Nevertheless these challenges still add some much needed depth and variety to an otherwise barebones game.
This shallowness of Vancouver 2010 is evident from the onset as the amenities available in the game are rather hollow. Your character is a randomized male or female avatar from one of twenty-four selectable countries. Premiere athletes have not been included, and there is no career mode or stat tracking whatsoever. Every event, with the exception of the aforementioned uninspired "Winter Games" mode, is separated from each other in every possible way. Furthermore there are plenty of popular Winter Olympic events that are entirely absent from this game. These events include, but are not limited to Hockey, Cross Country Skiing, The Biathlon, and Curling. While the omission of Hockey is completely understandable, the other exclusions are questionable as none of them have video game adaptations, and thus would be a perfect selling point for an Olympic Winter Sports game.
Nevertheless what is there is graphically appealing as everything ranging from the environment to the character models is vibrant and pleasing to the eyes. There is even a first-person view option available in all the events which allows the player to see the environment from the athlete's ever-changing point of view. The spectacular thing about this outlook is that you witness the altering of an athlete's vision as he/she increases his/her speed, and is forced to deal with snow covering his/her goggles. It is definitely a mode that all players are able to get lost in. However, not everything is visually perfect as there are some clipping issues that can be quite frustrating at times. Luckily, they happen so infrequently that they are easily forgotten amidst the otherwise great atmosphere that is created by the game's visuals.
Unfortunately the sound is, for the most part, rather disappointing as the crowds are far too quiet, the athletes do not make a single sound, and only a few seconds of orchestrated National Anthems are presented in the pathetic excuse of medal ceremonies. The authentic Olympic experience is mostly lost due to the severe lack of realistic sound effects. Thankfully players are often unaware of the audible world around as they universally focus in on achieving the perfect run, and thus only notice the disastrous sound before and after events.
There is a multiplayer option that supports up to four players both locally, and across the PlayStation Network. Both include very well designed lobbies that allow for easy navigation from event to event, but ultimately do not add much depth to the game as there is no way to tweak any of the gameplay options. Nevertheless they still stand as a rather fun experience that provides further challenge and excitement beyond the basic single player game. This is particularly true for the Snowboard Cross, Speed Skating, and the other events where users simultaneously compete with one another.
In short, Vancouver 2010 offers an enjoyable Olympic experience, especially when played with friends. However, poor sound, and a distinct lack of depth wastes the game's great gameplay mechanics rendering it a bargain bin title at best.