Winter Sports 2009

While not as complex as the specialized games developed by the German company (there's no waxing the skis, for instance), the game features a solid physics engine, which provides more realism than some of the more arcadish approaches to the genre. Gameplay varies by event, with the player being in full control of the athlete in most events like alpine skiing and half-pipe (which plays like most radical sports games featuring tricks and flicks instead of being "on-rails"), while other modes feature an higher focus on rhythm, like speed skating and figure skating. Curling plays like most games previously featuring the event, but there are two modes: simulation plays like the actual sport, where a team scores a point for each stone closer to the middle than the opponents' closest, while game awards points for each of the stones inside the target.