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Since playing Microsoft's Olympic Decathlon and Summer Games on the Apple II I've been a sucker for video games based on the Olympics. While not all of us can be Olympic athletes, at least we can get a taste of what it's like.
The first thing I noticed when I started up London 2012 was how authentic the graphics seemed to be. One very nice thing about this game is that it's officially licensed with the International Olympic Committee, meaning that you'll see all the official logos, sights, and sounds of the real Olympics. They've recreated a number of venues in London with uncanny realism. I wouldn't say that most of the graphics are exactly photorealistic, but they're definitely nicer than any Olympic game that's preceded it. And if you're lucky enough to have a 3D display, you can view all the action in 3D.
There are a staggering number of events in London 2012. It doesn't have every sport of the Olympics, of course, but there's definitely a very good assortment of events. Here's the full list:
Track:
Men's 100m, 110m hurdles, 200m, 400m
Women's 400m
Field:
Men's Discus Throw, High Jump, Long Jump, Triple Jump, Javelin Throw, Shot Put
Women's High Jump
Swimming:
Men's and Women's 50m Freestyle, 100m Freestyle, 100m Breaststroke, 100m Butterfly, 100m Backstroke
Diving:
Men's and Women's 3m Springboard, 10m Platform, synchronized 3m Springboard, synchronized 10m Platform
Shooting:
Men's 25m rapid fire pistol
Men's and Women's skeet
Archery
Men's and women's archery individual and team
Gymnastics
Men's trampoline, vault
Women's vault
Other sports
Men's Keirin (a.k.a. cycling)
Men's K1 Kayak single
Men's Single Sculls
Men's Table Tennis
Men's Weightlifting over 105kg
Women's Beach Volleyball
All of these events are controlled using the Dualshock Controller (see below regarding Move support). Each event lets you view a tutorial on how to play. For most events, it's mainly a game of timing. For example, in the swimming competition, you press "X" to dive, mash "X" to get your initial momentum, pull back on the "L" and "R" joysticks to do your strokes, press "O" to turn, and press "X" to lunge. Similarly, for the running activities, you press "X" to start, mash "X" with the right cadence to keep your runner going, and lunge using the "L" joystick at the end. Overall the controls were pretty intuitive and easy to learn, but I admit that rather than recreate the same Olympic games over and over again, I would have liked to have seen a little more creativity using motion controls.
There are a couple different game modes.
"Olympic Games" is more or less the "story mode" which lets you play 20 events over several days against CPU opponents at easy, medium, or hard level. You choose which country you'll be competing for, and you can even customize athletes on your team (unfortunately it looks like all the names are made up; it probably would have been cost-prohibitive to get approval for actual names and likenesses). Then, you choose two events from a short list of events on each day to compete. Your goal, of course, is to win as many medals as possible. As with the real Olympics, you need to qualify first and then if you make it, compete for the medal.
There's "Events Play" mode, where you can select a group of events to play against the CPU, against other players, or paired up with other players on the same national team.
With "Party Play", you can jump right into a number of activities that are most suitable for multiple players, including javelin, trampoline, kayak , keirin, skeet, table tennis, and 100m.
"Online Play" is a mode where you can actually compete against others on the PSN Network. You can compete in random events, a custom event, or even take place in a tournament against friends or random players. When I tried "Quick Play" the number of players to compete against were pretty sparse (it took a few minutes for the system to find someone for me to compete against), but that should change as more copies of the game are sold. What's cool about this is that because the game is sold all around the world, chances are the players are really from countries they represent.
There is Move support for this game but sadly it's really relegated to one part of the game called "Motion Play Party" mode, where you can play a subset of events. The events supported are:
25m rapid fire pistol
Archery individual
Archery blitz
Javelin throw
Javelin target
Kayak slalom
Kayak super print
Keirin
Keirin battle
Skeet
Skeet attack
Table tennis
100m
There are also "challenges" where you need to compete in certain events.
The first Move event I tried was the 100m. 1-4 players can compete. You basically run in place with the Move controller in your hand and then lunge towards the finish line by throwing your arms back. This one actually felt a lot more natural than the awkward button mashing on the controller, and it acutally provided a pretty good workout. But it was admittedly tempting to cheat by just shaking the Move controller like a drumstick.
I had high hopes for the kayaking event. I assumed that you'd be able to hold your Move controller sideways and use it like a real paddle. But for some bizarre reason, the motion they have you doing is to swish the controller down and to your left to paddle left, and to swish the controller down and to the right to paddle right. It's definitely not a natural paddling motion. I got a decent workout, but mainly because I kept flailing in every direction trying to figure out the controls
Table tennis was moderately fun, but it paled in comparison to Sports Champions. The paddle handling and shot control was simply not nearly as precise.
Where the Move excelled in this game were in the "shooting" and "throwing" games. Pistol shooting, for example, was extremely realistic and precise, something the Move is head and shoulders better at than the Kinect or the Wii. Similarly, I found the archery to be comparable to Sports Champions, maybe a little bit better. The javelin throw was also quite realistic. You hold the Move controller like a javelin (with the glowing ball facing forward). You don't need to run, but you do need to time your throw perfectly; the force, angle, and straightness of your throw will determine how far it goes.
Overall I think the game deserves a 4 of 5 stars. If you're a fan of the Olympics, you'll definitely appreciate the attention to detail they put in recreating the venues and arenas. The graphics are very good, and the action on the screen is fast and smooth. The controls with the Dualshock controller feels kind of old and dated, but it can still be a ton of fun if you're a fan of the sports or if you're competing with friends and family.
As for the Move portion of the game, I found it to be hit or miss; some of the events really showcased the full potential of the Move, while other events were barely controllable. I do wish Move support was more integrated into the main game itself and not relegated to a little corner of the game. I would have loved to see support for online Move play as well.
I think the best way to approach this game is to be realistic about it. This is going to be one of those games you buy and have a ton of fun with for a short while, but then it'll quickly end up relegated to the shelf and in bargain bins. If you and your family are die-hard fans of the Olympics and want to bring a little magic home, this title is a great one to enjoy, at least for the moment.
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I've always liked these Olympic type games but many of the games were more frustrating than fun. This London 2012 game has made the controls much more user friendly and skill based instead of a button mashing fest. You're now concentrating on the timing of when to launch your jump and at what angle instead of worrying about mashing buttons to build up speed. So far I'm really liking this game vs the Cpu(on medium difficulty is very fair so far) and it's easily the best Track and Field/Olympic game on the market to date. Good party game with friends and family too. Graphics and presentation are solid and the sound is fine outside of the announcer being annoying at times. Total sleeper this game.Love this game. Play this game with my husband and we both enjoy it. Lots of different events to play. Hard to get bored with it. It has both move games and regular. Fun for all.Read Best Reviews of London 2012 Olympics Here
This is my 1st Olympic game and I am impressed. I'm more of a action/adventure/racing gamer but I recently watched the London 2012 olympics and those 2 weeks left me wanting more. So I bought the ps3 version from amazon and it feels like I'm back on my sofa reliving the exciting games of 2012 olympics. The trophies add on to the great experience (I enjoy trophies). The presentation is 10/10. The gameplay is excellent as well. You won't get bored IMO because there is such a vast array of different sports. It's not like other sport games where playing 150 games of baseball can be pretty repetitive. Volleyball alone is giving me hours of online enjoyment. My tip is to find the event your mos. Good at and challenge competitors from all over the world! Yes some games are simple but it's still a challenge to beat your own record in the simpler games or better yet face players online. I've had the game for nearly 3 weeks already, I play an hour or so a day. It's amazing. It's worth $50, and if amazon offers it at a discount, take advantage.Want London 2012 Olympics Discount?
The game offers the ability to literally put yourself in the Olympics with character customization. The options for the customization are rather limited, unfortunately. While there are many events a lot of the events are rather similar. These are the two reasons why the game received four stars instead of five
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