These Olympic games aren’t medal-worthy
Ihaven’t
played an Olympic-style video game in more than six years. I remember trying out 2K Game’s “Torino 2006” during my days as an employee at a certain large-scale games retail chain and promptly declaring that it was a pile of excrement of such magnitude that I’d likely never feel the desire to go for the gold ever again.
Prior to this, my last experience might have been “International Track and Field” for the original NES. Needless to say, I’m not a diehard follower of the quest for glory. That’s not to say it’s an immediate trip to the loser’s bracket for “London 2012 — The Official Video Game of the Olympic Games,” but I don’t think this one is worthy of a gold medal either.
Championing 45 separate events (in truth, closer to 30, once male and female teams are accounted for), “London 2012” certainly has the sporting swagger to deliver in the variety department. And in an extremely refreshing gust of fresh air, the decades-stagnant button mashing that has seemed impassably intertwined with this genre has been reworked, eschewed in favour of a new design that takes rhythm into account, demanding that players juggle both pace and stamina to take the lead.
Finding that perfect balance affords smart gamers that extra burst of speed or strength to crank it up and strive for the gold, as opposed to second place.
For the most part, “London 2012” does an admirable job of introducing different play mechanics for each type of event, and they tend to feel singular enough to stand out. These controls are generally well thought out, even if tests of strength do have a tendency to dip their toes in the scummy button-mashing waters of old.
Shooting events fare even worse, relying on a targeting reticule that moves as if it were caught in a quagmire. It’s this clumsiness of certain events that undermines the entire collection.
There’s always the option to create a customized playlist of one’s favourite events, or to choose a multiplayer “party” mode in the same manner, yet trying to complete the single player campaign, especially the several times required to unlock all of “London 2012’s” goodies can be a chore of truly monumental proportions.
Gamers who tackle “London 2012” on the PlayStation 3 can circumvent some of the aforementioned control issues (especially those of the shooting events) with the use of the PlayStation Move, though that is in no way my endorsement to buy that particular product.
Worse still, having played “Sports Champion” a few months prior further exposes the clunkiness of “London 2012’s” controls in these events. The Xbox 360 version features Kinect controls that are better left unmentioned. Couple these issues with a lacklustre online multiplayer suite, and you’ve got a game with less replay value than the runtime of the actual Olympics themselves.
I certainly can’t see this one lighting up the leaderboards for more than a couple of weeks, if at all.
Visually, “London 2012” is about as consistent as an athlete returning from injury. There are flashes of beauty, and the environments are as vibrant and colourful as they are sparse and lifeless. However there are also instances where the game degenerates into a poorly animated mess (see: Volleyball, Beach).
There’s not a whole lot to the soundtrack, but it is worth mentioning that the commentary by BBC reporter Seth Bennett is at least consistent. Outside of the odd flub when he pops in too early with a comment or a critique, his playby-play is energetic and authentic, complementing the onscreen action very nicely.
Despite the few standouts amongst its 45 advertised events, “London 2012 — The Official Video Game of the Olympic Games” is an unspectacular affair that will probably be long forgotten by the time the closing ceremony has begun.
If you’re a gamer maddened for a sports title that isn’t Madden, NL or FIFA, by all means, take it for a spin. Just understand that this will probably be played once or twice before it is doomed to sit in a shadowy corner of your closet, dusty and forgotten like those hideous ball caps McDonald’s gave out for the Lillehammer games in 1994.
Somewhere at its core, there is a decent game that can provide a weekend’s worth of entertainment, but with the circumstance of its limited shelf life, alongside the iffy replay value of some of its events, I can’t in good conscience award this game more than a bronze.
Platform: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 (BOTH versions reviewed) Developer: Sega Australia Publisher: Sega Release Date: June 26 Rated: E for Everyone.