If you've always fancied yourself in a skin-tight ski suit racing down the slopes, but can't afford the airfare, this may well be the answer to all your dreams. Winter Olympiad is Tynesoft's attempt to jump onto next year's Winter Olympics bandwagon, so why not clamber aboard and join us?

First of all, though, let's get one thing straight. Where originality's concerned, this game scores zilch. It's almost identical to the ageing Winter Olympics and Winter Games. The same multi-load technique and very similar events. The only thing that sets it apart is the introduction by David Vine. Great!

To kick off, howzabout a bit of downhill skiing? This is probably the best event on the tape. It's in a sort of 3D Deathchase style, with trees rushing towards you and things to jump over.

Next is the biathlon, in which you must race to the end of the course and shoot a number of targets, and the bobsled, which isn't quite up to the standard of Dl's simulation. Then there's the ski-jump, which is just like any other ski-jump you've ever seen.

Last on the list is the slalom, which uses some quite effective diagonal scrolling and is actually pretty good fun. Then it's all over, and time to go down to the pub to get piste.

There's certainly nothing wrong with either the graphics or the programming on this one. It's been padded out with some unusual special FX at the beginning, and presentation throughout is well up to scratch. The trouble is that it's all been done many times before. It started with Horace Goes Skiing and they've been coming out regularly ever since.

If you haven't already got hundreds of winter sports games, this one's no worse than any of the others.

Do we really need another of these Winter Olympic games? If your answer's yes, this one's for you.