|
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. |
