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London 2012 - The Official Video Game of the Olympic Games PS3 Review - www.impulsegamer.com -
London 2012 - The Official Video Game of the Olympic Games
Reviewed by
James Wright
on
London 2012 - The Official Video Game of the Olympic Games 3 PS3 Review. London 2012 - The Official Video Game of the Olympic Games is easily the best inspired Olympic Games to have ever graced the console world which features a collection of well made gaming events.
Rating:
3.5

Gameplay 7.0
Graphics 8.0
Sound 7.9
Value 7.0
Distributor: SEGA
Review Date:
July 2012
Reviewer:
James Wright

7.0


London 2012 - The Official Video Game of the Olympic Games

Ironically, this is not the first video game to celebrate the 2012 London Olympic Games as SEGA also released Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games, however this incarnation for the PC, PS3 and XBox 360 is far more realistic and ironically plays better in our professional opinion. Best of all, this game was designed by SEGA Studios Australia and they have succeeded in creating the best collection of sporting games in a long-time.

Being a gamer for almost all my life, this game brings back fond memories of one of the first Olympic inspired games, Summer Games on the Commodore-64 that in essence was a button masher and required the player to continuously tap on the controller until you won. Interestingly enough, sport games still require its fair share of button mashing, however this incarnation of the Olympic Games has a good balance of button mashing and skill.

Featuring over 45 events (46 to be precise), London 2012 - The Official Video Game of the Olympic Games even supports the PlayStation Move controller which takes the game to a whole new interactive level. From the 100 metres to Archery, Swimming to Beach Volley Ball, London 2012 has a plethora of authentic games from the Olympics with the majority of games being quite playable, especially as you aim for GOLD.

Depending on your control setups, e.g. DualShock Controller or Move Controller, the games play quite differently. As expected if you use the Move Controllers, the player needs to mimic the actual moves in these sporting events such as throwing a Javelin. Thankfully the Move Controllers have not been dumbed down and an element of skill is required to play. Best of all, the Move Controllers allow younger gamers to jump straight into the game without overtly complex control systems thanks to the Motion Party Play.

As mentioned, button mashing does take a back seat in London 2012 as the game rewards the player for timing as opposed to button mashing. For example, if you are swimming, you need to use the analog sticks to mimic your arms as you swim through the lanes. Running on the other requires the player to keep their athletes metre in the green in order to keep them running at a fast space and if you tap too fast, this will interfere with your overall speed. It's a careful balancing game to succeed. Beach Volley Ball on the other requires you to swap between various hits as you navigate the court, trying to outwit your oppositions. If things get too challenging, the game supports three different modes of difficulty.

Alternatively, there are tutorials for every event that teach you the control systems for all the events that you can embark on. However as with most sport games with a collection of events, not all the gameplay is smooth as athletics, swimming or beach volley ball. Cycling works better on the Move Controller, however with the DualShock controller, the event becomes quite fiddle some, especially with your accuracy. I seriously loved archery with the Move controller... move over Wii Sports! The worst game for me was Table Tennis, especially with the DualShock controller... yeeek!

In relation to gaming modes, London 2012 features everything you would expect from a decent sporting title. You have the ability to play the official Olympic Games with a very cool Olympic inspired opening  or you can play a selection of events or just one-off events. Add in online multiplayer and battling it in an Olympic inspired game has never been more fun. Where the game does suffer is through repetition. Once you have played all 45+ events, you've pretty much seen it all. This of course is where multiplayer comes in which makes London 2012 a fun party game. For local gamers, Party Play removes some of the seriousness of the game in order to liven things up such as giant bullseyes for the Javelin events.

Graphically, London 2012 looks exceptionally realistic on the PS3 with some extremely well made environment and well modelled characters. The opening ceremony really sets the scene for the game and when you jump into the events, the whole title is oozing with Olympic references that helps get you immersed into the title. It's also quite a colourful and bright game that will hopefully be mirrored by the real Olympic Games. Sound effects go hand-in-hand with the game, especially the commentary and background sounds like the crowd going wild when you win an event.

Final Thoughts?

London 2012 - The Official Video Game of the Olympic Games is easily the best inspired Olympic Games to have ever graced the console world which features a collection of well made gaming events. As mentioned, the game does suffer from some repetition and it would have been great if the game featured an RPG aspect that allowed you to level-up and further your sports men and women. From Hurdles to Shot Put and Skeets, the game is faithful to the Olympic spirit and is great to play with a group of friends, online and even solo.





 

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