Beijing 2008 – The Official Video Game of the Olympic Games – 360 – Review

For the past two decades, developers have tried
to capture the thrill and excitement of the Olympics and cram it into one
game. There have been a couple event-specific titles, with hockey receiving a
bit of attention from Midway 10 years ago. But most attempt to re-create each
event in a one-shot deal. Sega was successful in the Genesis days, but no
developer since then has been able to pull it off. Now that Sega is back in
the developer’s seat, it’s time again to examine their Olympic expertise with
Beijing 2008 for Xbox 360.

The Junior Games

Beijing 2008 is as much a mini-game collection
as Mario Party. Any of the dozens of events may test your skills as a
button-masher, Simon Says expert, or rolling motion professional. It may sound
or look like a game that was made for the everyman but was really made for one
man (or woman): the kind that doesn’t mind a little excruciating nonsense.

Take running and swimming, for example. As
expected, you’ll have to jam on the A and B buttons (alternately) to make your
athlete run. When swimming, you can jam on various buttons and exhaust your
thumbs or fingers to no end, or spin both analog sticks toward or away from
each other. That sums up your entire racing experience, minus the shoulder
buttons which must be tapped to turn while swimming and must be held to start
the race.

Chances are you have played a game like this
before. The button-altering gameplay became a frequently copied commodity
after Sega’s Olympic titles popularized it in the 90s. If it was fun the last
time you experienced it, you are probably looking forward to having it here.
But there are a couple of problems to consider before diving into the pool.

First there’s repetition. Before winning a
race, the game can be a pain. You’ll spin those sticks as fast as possible and
wonder why it wasn’t good enough to push your swimmer into first. Button
mashing is twice as frustrating and is the primary mechanic (though thankfully
not your only option) on track and field. Speed and power is judged with a
meter on the bottom of the screen. No matter what it seemed like there was no
way to press the buttons fast enough to fill the meter and keep it filled till
the end of the race.

 
"Pick me! Pick me!"

That’s only part of the problem and we’re only
discussing two of the events. We all know about the risk of a false
start. According to this game’s rules, you can false start once on the track
but not in the pool. That’s a rule most players can live with. However, they
may not be too happy with the way their athletes start the race. Before the
beep sounds, telling you to run, a meter appears on screen. This meter must be
charged by holding one of the triggers. It cannot be charged all the way – if
it is, you will get a false start. In swimming, that’s not a big issue. Keep
the meter as full as possible without going over and hold one trigger as soon
you hear the beep.

This differs on the track, where the meter is
stiffer (takes longer to fill) and must be completely full before your runner
can take off. If your meter is only half full when the race begins, your
athlete won’t take off. He just sits there, waiting for that meter to be
filled. Games must have their rules, and these developers clearly didn’t want
to make Beijing 2008 with a box of instant cakewalk. But why must the
alternative be a large slice of cheapcake?

Most of the other events work the same way. In
the hammer throw event, you’ll rotate the thumbsticks to match the on-screen
marker; you’ll perform similar rolling motions for shot put and discus throw,
and tap A and B alternately for the vault, cycling, weightlifting, long jump,
high jump and javelin throw. The rings are a little different — in this
event, players rotate the thumbsticks to keep the arrows within the
highlighted area. Similar mechanics are found in the beam, uneven bars,
parallel bars, and diving events as well.

The floor exercise is easily the most effective
at creating an Olympic event that anyone can play. The whole thing is visual
and the visuals look great. As the gymnast runs, flips, pivots and performs a
series of moves that wow the world every four years, you’d swear you were
looking at a real person – albeit with polygons placed on top of her. The
player doesn’t control her during the event, but will instead influence the
gymnast’s success by pressing specific buttons as they appear on screen. Each
button is mapped to the environment and rests just underneath the spot where
the gymnast is about to move. Just before her hand or foot touches the floor,
press the corresponding button and she’ll continue her flawless routine.

Aside from a few more events with similar
gameplay (and archery and shooting events that aren’t too thrilling), that’s
the gist of Beijing 2008. It isn’t a spectacular or memorable game, but if
you’re in the market for something that mirrors your favorite Olympic events
in video game form, this is your only option. And if you played the last
couple of Winter Olympic games, then you’re well aware that Sega could have
done much worse.