If and when video gaming becomes an Olympic sport, I will be ready. My prime Quake deathmatch days will probably be long past, but maybe a broadcaster will invite me to provide expert commentary. Until then, I can participate in Olympic competition the same way I have come to enjoy football, baseball and auto racing: with a joystick in my hands.Beijing 2008 (Sega, for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, US$49.99, or about HK$390): Sega has the official Olympics license this year, and this is the publisher's second crack at simulating the summer games.
There are 38 events in this package, including track and field, aquatics and gymnastics. The racing events all require similar technique, requiring you to rapidly push two buttons to simulate running or swimming. (Fans of Konami's '80s-era Track & Field will feel right at home.) Gymnastic events ask you to duplicate onscreen patterns, like Dance Dance Revolution without a floor mat. And events like discus or pole vault each has its own control schemes.
The game's biggest flaw: It is very difficult.
Beijing starts you off with ridiculously weak characters (considering they are supposed to be Olympic- caliber athletes), and it takes a long time to build them up to a competitive level. That is okay if you are playing with friends and everyone's sluggish, but the single-player mode is bound to frustrate all but the most dedicated Olympics followers.
One-and-a-half stars out of four.
Also, more sports video games:
Big
Beach Sports (THQ, for the Wii, US$29.99): You do not have to be a world-class athlete to participate in "summer games"; when school's out and the days are long, anything you play in the backyard or at the beach fits the definition. Big Beach Sports brings six outdoor challenges - volleyball, disc golf, cricket, bocce, soccer and football - to the Wii.
As with every other Wii Sports wannabe that has come out over the last two years, the games here are a mixed bag. Disc golf requires you to develop a decent sidearm throw, and volleyball duplicates the set-and-spike action of the real thing. Even if you are not familiar with bocce, it makes for a fun head- to-head competition.
However, soccer and football (even two-on-two) are not well-suited to the Wii remote, and the inclusion of cricket in an American game is just weird. And even the sports that work are not likely to hold your interest for long. Big Beach Sports is a passable party game, but does not have the substance to satisfy a solo player.
One star.
Summer Sports: Paradise Island (Destineer, for the Wii, US$29.99): The games featured - badminton, volleyball, miniature golf, horseshoes, lawn darts, basketball and croquet - are the ones you are more likely to see Americans playing during their summer vacations. Unfortunately, only a few of them are well-executed enough to make you want to stay in and play. Paradise Island looks inviting, but beneath the lush tropical scenery lurks some dreadful programming.
In lawn darts and horseshoes, for example, you are supposed to mime throwing with the Wii remote, but the game doesn't seem to register how hard you're throwing. Likewise, there's no connection between the way you swing the remote and the animations in volleyball and basketball.
Mini-golf and croquet are more accurate, and almost fun to play. But when you can play all these games (except for lawn darts) for less money in real life, why bother with the virtual versions? No stars.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
FEATURES
38 official events: Across 10 Olympic sports, players will represent the country of their choice and compete in athletics, aquatics, gymnastics, cycling, judo, table tennis, kayaking and more.
Olympic Games mode: Players will organize their daily schedule and customize national teams with agility, power, stamina and speed for competition across 38 events. With up to three friends, players will participate in either single or multi-event challenges in Competition Mode.
New gameplay mechanics: A variety of controls across all events, including a time-based system where timing, power and angle are essential, a rhythm-based method that requires increasing and sustaining speed, and a targeting system to aid players in accurately hitting targets.
In the zone: Pulls players right into the athletes mind, getting them closer to the action and giving them time to accurately control every move.
On the net
http://www.olympicvideogames.com/
Big Beach Sports
http://www.bigbeachsports.com/
Summer Sports Paradise Island:
http://www.summersportsgame.com/ *Overset by 977.2*
