Skiing and all those other crazy snow sports look like a lot of fun, but we're crap on skis and outright refuse to cram our units into those weird skin-tight outfits. So if you're anything like us, Torino 2006 will probably be the closest you're getting to a snow-covered mountain this winter.

At first glance, it would seem that Torino 2006 wants to be an all-out sports simulator. The first event we had a go at was the alpine skiing, which sends you hurtling down the side of a mountain, steering desperately to stay on course and get through the gates. The feeling of speed is great and the skis cut into the snow satisfyingly as you glide from left to right.

But that's the most direct control you'll have over the game, because the other events ask little more than that you manipulate a series of power bars. So, rather than pushing your athlete round the course in the speed skating event, you instead get to have fun tapping the A and B buttons in a rhythm indicated by two power bars. The better your action, the faster your skater goes. But you spend so much time staring at the two charging bars that what's happening in the background is just a pretty illustration of what you're supposedly doing. It's like a game of pretend.

At least the speed skating looks exciting, though. The cross-country skiing (that's the hard, boring version that takes place on a flat surface), however, is far less thrilling. You do little more than maintain the correct levels on - you guessed it - another exciting power bar, while a dude in the background hobbles along a course that's as flat as Norfolk like an OAP with a bad knee.

We were beginning to despair at this point. Surely the ski-jumping would be a little more spectacular? It certainly looked that way once we sorted through the screenshots that we had captured. We had no idea what it looked like while we were playing the game, because it demands that you concentrate on your old friends the power bars so intensely that you don't even get the chance to admire what's happening on the rest of the screen. So while your athlete is flicking himself off of a giant ramp, flying through the air at some crazy speed and touching down at the bottom like a human plane, all you see is a little white strip that turns to red if you don’t move the analogue stick properly.

The bobsleigh is pointless even before you start. The course is barely wider than your sleigh, and it'll get round the bends with or without you in the driver's seat. You just make slight adjustments with the analogue stick to save scraping off the glossy paintwork and losing a few fractions of a second. The risk of having the top of your skull scraped off makes the sport exciting in real life. Behind the safety of your Xbox controller, it makes for a rubbish videogame.

We like the adrenaline rush of the fast alpine skiing events, but that's as good as it gets. The appeal of button-bashing power bar games wore off when we put International Track & Field to rest years ago. Torino 2006 looks nice but we can't see you lasting long before slamming the pad down at the difficulty of the speed skating or nodding off from the monotony of the cross-country hobble. You want snow? Stay cool with SSX.

1. With direct controls and a brilliant illusion of speed, the alpine skiing events are great fun to play.
2. Snowy scenery that stretches far into the distance and solid animation makes for a nice-looking game.

1. You won't actually get to see the nice visuals during play because you'll be too focused on the damned power bars!
2. The all-important power bars limit gameplay to just one button and the analogue stick in some cases.
3. The slow-paced cross-country skiing must be one of the dullest sports ever simulated in videogames. Zzz...

A thrill on the alpine slopes. A complete bore everywhere else. The power bar gaming destroys the experience.