OXM UK writes: "Some videogame traditions never die. While the rest of the industry has seen the rise of new standards such as the advantage of cover systems, the cinematic quality of bullet time and the ever-expanding frontier of sandbox gaming, the good old button-basher hangs determinedly on.
Its ghost lingers on in track 'n' field titles, that back in their '90s heyday saw knuckles rubbed raw and caused temporary arthritis following endless attempts to find the perfect technique for stabbing A and B in quick rhythm.
Fast forward a decade, and nothing's changed. Sega's Olympics tie-in is as comfortable as a pair of slacks, seeing the entire office crowd round our console to show off their skills."
Uppers:
Control setups surprisingly good
Graphically sound
Downers
Loading times are off-putting
Some events are poor
Not enjoyable in single player
Amazon have released their video game deal of the day for Thursday.
Nominations for Develop Industry Excellence Awards are unveiled, and two developers are likely to walk away with most of them.
Rockstar and Media Molecule will be contesting for the most category nominations. Rockstar snags six of them with GTA: Chinatown Wars and GTA IV: The Lost and the Damned from Rockstar while Media Molecule's LittleBigPlanet alone is nominated for another five.
Wouldn't be surprised if Rockstar takes all their 6 nominations and brings home several prizes =)
Do you still suffer from Olympic fever? Are you constantly checking NBC looking for any glimpse of a balance beam, pool, or waving country flags? Fear not, Summer Athletics is here with your cure. Sure, you would think that an Olympic-styled game would just add fuel to the fire, but Summer Athletics is all but guaranteed to drown it, like Michael Phelps treats other Olympians' dreams.
If you remember the ancient Commodore 64 title, Summer Games, you know what to expect. The title is surprisingly similar, given the twenty-plus years between the two games. You have the option to play a single event, compete in a set of events (including a traditional decathlon), or build an athlete from scratch with career mode. The game gives you twenty-six events to play, in seven different categories. Save the lame career mode and a handful of additional events, it feels strikingly similar to the classic Commodore 64 title, except the older title actually plays better.
