Customer Reviews

Beijing Olympics 2008

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Since the Olympics are over, I got a great deal on this game and decided to give it a try. I was hoping the gameplay would be more modern than the button mashing games but it actually is worse.

There are 38 games total, most are either fusturating, tiring or both.

All games that involve running such as all track events and many field events require you to either button mash the X and Circle buttons or move the right and left analog sticks back an forth. Cycling requires you to rotate either the left or analog stick for around 4 minutes. After 2 days and maybe 90 minutes total of playing this game, I noticed the analog sticks on my controller were a lot more loose compared the way they were before I opened the game. I am sure if I keep playing these events, the controller will be worn down very quickly.

All events that require a starting timer like running and swimming have a meter. This meter either almost always gives you a false start or you end up starting the race too late and can't catch up.

Other events such as Floor Exercises use the timing of the buttons but don't give you enough notice of what button needs to be pressed.

Some events like Archery are fun except that you need an almost perfect score just to advance past the first round.

Overall, the game can be fun at times but most of the time you are going to be fusturated and in the process ruining your controller or controllers if you play multiplayer mode.

If you like repetitive key punching, then have a couple pina coladas and you might find this entertaining. Maybe I'm too hard on it, this is best suited for a family get-together, with young kids, for setting the Olympic mood. But it really amounts little more than repetitive key punching, to the extent you wonder if you're going to brake your gamepads. Its not all that different from the Apple IIe's key-banging equivolent circa 1983, but the graphics have thankfully improved somewhat in the last 25 yrs -- too bad gameplay hasn't. I guess it's just difficult to make a good Olympics game, b/c no one ever pulls it off.

Having grown up in the Atari age with stuff like 'Decathlon' and then later with 'Track and Field' on the NES, I think I can appreciate a button mashing sports game like this game more than alot of people can. It's not rocket science gameplay here...it all comes down to how fast you can tap the buttons, twirl the control sticks, aim, or press the right button combinations. So for today's sports game fan...it may be too 'simple.'

Quite honestly, I think sports games have gotten too complex anyways. Theres too much focus on strategy and pressing 6 button combos to perform one particular move. A game like this is actually a refreshing step into retro-style gaming. For the bargain price it is now, it's a cool collection of about 50 Olympic mini-games that you can mess around with for an hour and then leave it. If you're looking for something with more depth, you're better off looking elsewhere. But if you want simple, NES-era button mashing fun (that will make your arm sore), give this one a look. It's not nearly as bad as its made out to be. It's just a matter of preference.

Altho I WILL admit that the kayak controls stink...

This game would be a hit had it used motion controllers like the MOVE, Microsoft Kinect, or EA Sports Active 2 armbands/legband.

I'm 40 yrs old, and I've noticed teenagers seem to have a really hard time with this game (probably because they've never had to mash buttons as fast as possible). I remember the old Track & Field at the arcade, unfortunately this game is not developed to that kind of standard. There are opportunities for this game to shine in the game mechanics department where good coordination and fast button mashing are rewarded. However, there are many events that are very difficult to grasp like ping pong and some are very tiring (like cycling) and many leave me wondering why they couldn't come up with a better way to use the joystick (like with hammer throw). I won't trash this game because Sega did a decent job making the game presentable with nice Chinese themed music in the background and lifelike atheletes. And they tried to make this a go, but they could have drawn from past successors like Track and Field and they didn't do it.

Regarding many people's posts below, I acknowledge the problem related to getting out of the starting gate. It is indeed tough, however, if you are able to toggle the 'X' and 'O' buttons fast enough, you should be able to get back to the pack and be competitive (I was). As I mentioned before, I believe there is a generational gap, and teeny boppers and twenty somethings are used to playing Call of Duty, Metal Gear, or something similar, hiding behind a wall and then shooting at the enemy, rather than pressing two buttons as fast as possible. You're just not used to this type of 'old school' game.

I am not happy overall with the game at all. I bought it in 2008 even before I had a PS3 and today I finally was able to play it (2 yrs later) and don't know if it was worth the wait. The only good sport I enjoy playing is Gymnastics. The events are great and realistic in form. The falls and wobbles really are realistic and being a huge gymnastics fan myself I give it 5 stars BUT that is the only good thing.

The track and field is a HUGE disappointment! I loved the 100m in 2004 and 2000 games for playstation but surprisingly the track for this game is HORRIBLE. In the beginning you have to hold on the L2 or L1 button but it cant hit the red or you'll false start but its hard so you always end up either false staring or starting much later than the other competitors, on top of that usually like in the 2004 video game even if you start late you can still catch up well not in this game. I literally can not do better than last place because it is virtually impossible to stay with the group no matter how hard I mash the buttons, its ridiculous and very frustrating!

Other games like table tennis, judo and kayak are also frustrating, way too complicated to understand what buttons to press and when, same for the diving, it just fails completely. Such a shame!

frankly its a nice game, mostly, except some games inside which is really silly, i mean the way u have to play it to get the score, like Hammer..
generally . .i had fun with this game

I believe this game is well designed and the graphics are amazing but the game play is not very entertaining. I played this for a couple of weeks and their is a reson the price is so low on the used market. Save your money for another game unless you are a huge fan of olympic sports. I think it would be more entertaining to incorporate some sort of career mode or training mode for athelets. They might even try "create an athlete." Sega should take a lesson from the EA sports franchise and let users become part of the action.