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.