Glen Atwell
Shaun InguanzoReview: Beijing 2008 Official Video Game
July 3rd 2008 07:12
Button mashing returns to take Gold
IN 1983, Konami released an arcade game called Track and Field.
It introduced the world to button mashing, the technique in which you wallop two buttons alternatively until your fingers cramp.
Controllers have been smashed, hands become stricken with repetitive strain, and brains infuriated when they fail to coordinate fingers for world record times.
So it's comical that 25 years later, as we remember the title that introduced the most painful way to play games, we also review a brand new, HD-era video game that uses the same method of control.
And I love it.
Yep - you heard it, Beijing 2008, developed by SEGA, promises nothing else than button mashing madness with your friends in the most graphically breathtaking, and physically painstaking manner.
I'd actually recommend playing this on the PS3 due to the flatter buttons on its controller - your thumbs will thank you.
With 38 events on offer, and an Olympic Games mode that subjects you to the entire lot, you'll need to book an appointment with a physio soon after.
But don't let it stop you from having a good time.
Yes, button mashing is back, but in a rythmic form. Timing and rythm in Beijing 2008 are just as important as mashing buttons quickly.
Lose your concentration, and the power bar drops. Bash buttons madly without care, and you'll lose the race, or fail at the event.
Other additions such as a starter's bar in track and swimming events can give players who aren't the fastest button mashers the upper hand if they obtain a great start, and timing is the key here.
But aside from the button mashing, there are events that require skill, such as Judo, Hammer Throw, Kayaking, Triple and Long Jump, Javelin and so on. Little variants in each event mix-up the button mashing mayhem of sprint events.
People who are afraid of buttons, or who develop a fear of pressing them after five minutes with Beijing 2008, can instead waggle the joystick.
This token addition is a laughable control method that true button mashers will snarl at like barbarians as they contiue to feast on button mash.
But it's more friendly, safer way to play, albeit with some power loss and the risk of ruining the stick for life.
Training Mode in most games is lame, but in Beijing 2008 it's the key to success. Practice makes perfect, and Training Mode forgoes the formalities to quickly restart each event after you fail, allowing you to continue mashing or rehearsing skills until you get it right.
The level of challenge is more difficult than in previous Olympic style games, where it is often possible to run the 100m sprint in seven seconds - totally unrealistic.
The 1500m foot race is a fine example of competitive play that uses mild button mashig skills, but requires tactics.
Follow the pack, streamline to regain energy, and break away to cross the line in first place. Easier said than done, and you'll have to jostle for position at times.
The visuals are more than I expected from an Olympics themed video game. I guess these games have been cash spinners in the past, rather than serious sports titles, but it's a credit to SEGA that the company has pumped time into making Beijing 2008 look so damn beautiful.
You can take the competition online and play against up to seven other people at once.
This makes for exciting times in online play, which nowadays seems limited to FPS or MMO games. For ages I've dreamt of taking an Olympics video game online, and finally it has happened.
If you're worried about having more than four players on one console, then fear not.
Providing you know someone else with a PS3 or Xbox 360, then lobby them to buy the game, bring it and their console to your place, and System Link or LAN them for up to eight players in the same room.
It's hard to be critical of a game I expected so little from, but that delivered so much. obviously, the longevity will come into question after the Olympic Games themselves finish at the end of August.
Why SEGA didn't release it earlier so gamers could enjoy online a little longer before the novelty wears off is beyond me.
Obviously, if you're not a fan of button mashing, steer clear. But if you've enjoyed, or have been waiting for a good button masher, this is a safe buy.
And sometimes the button mashing can enrage gamers, including myself, when it fails to keep you at full power despite your best efforts.
There is a learning curve, so be prepared to curse at your TV and controller. But hang in there, and keep the Olympic spirit alive, because this is the best the Olympics are going to get without being there.
Beijing 2008 is due for release on 4 July for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC.
"Australia takes Gold, the US Silver, Japan Bronze. Meanwhile, Ghana gets the used band-aid that he swallowed, Denmark the stray hairs on his goggles, and the UK a landmine that floated in from the kiddies' pool"
IN 1983, Konami released an arcade game called Track and Field.
It introduced the world to button mashing, the technique in which you wallop two buttons alternatively until your fingers cramp.
Controllers have been smashed, hands become stricken with repetitive strain, and brains infuriated when they fail to coordinate fingers for world record times.
So it's comical that 25 years later, as we remember the title that introduced the most painful way to play games, we also review a brand new, HD-era video game that uses the same method of control.
And I love it.
"It's not the same as beer pong, is it Tom?"
Yep - you heard it, Beijing 2008, developed by SEGA, promises nothing else than button mashing madness with your friends in the most graphically breathtaking, and physically painstaking manner.
I'd actually recommend playing this on the PS3 due to the flatter buttons on its controller - your thumbs will thank you.
With 38 events on offer, and an Olympic Games mode that subjects you to the entire lot, you'll need to book an appointment with a physio soon after.
But don't let it stop you from having a good time.
Yes, button mashing is back, but in a rythmic form. Timing and rythm in Beijing 2008 are just as important as mashing buttons quickly.
Lose your concentration, and the power bar drops. Bash buttons madly without care, and you'll lose the race, or fail at the event.
Other additions such as a starter's bar in track and swimming events can give players who aren't the fastest button mashers the upper hand if they obtain a great start, and timing is the key here.
But aside from the button mashing, there are events that require skill, such as Judo, Hammer Throw, Kayaking, Triple and Long Jump, Javelin and so on. Little variants in each event mix-up the button mashing mayhem of sprint events.
People who are afraid of buttons, or who develop a fear of pressing them after five minutes with Beijing 2008, can instead waggle the joystick.
This token addition is a laughable control method that true button mashers will snarl at like barbarians as they contiue to feast on button mash.
But it's more friendly, safer way to play, albeit with some power loss and the risk of ruining the stick for life.
Training Mode in most games is lame, but in Beijing 2008 it's the key to success. Practice makes perfect, and Training Mode forgoes the formalities to quickly restart each event after you fail, allowing you to continue mashing or rehearsing skills until you get it right.
The level of challenge is more difficult than in previous Olympic style games, where it is often possible to run the 100m sprint in seven seconds - totally unrealistic.
The 1500m foot race is a fine example of competitive play that uses mild button mashig skills, but requires tactics.
Follow the pack, streamline to regain energy, and break away to cross the line in first place. Easier said than done, and you'll have to jostle for position at times.
The visuals are more than I expected from an Olympics themed video game. I guess these games have been cash spinners in the past, rather than serious sports titles, but it's a credit to SEGA that the company has pumped time into making Beijing 2008 look so damn beautiful.
You can take the competition online and play against up to seven other people at once.
This makes for exciting times in online play, which nowadays seems limited to FPS or MMO games. For ages I've dreamt of taking an Olympics video game online, and finally it has happened.
Scenes from the Myer Stocktake Sale opening
If you're worried about having more than four players on one console, then fear not.
Providing you know someone else with a PS3 or Xbox 360, then lobby them to buy the game, bring it and their console to your place, and System Link or LAN them for up to eight players in the same room.
It's hard to be critical of a game I expected so little from, but that delivered so much. obviously, the longevity will come into question after the Olympic Games themselves finish at the end of August.
Why SEGA didn't release it earlier so gamers could enjoy online a little longer before the novelty wears off is beyond me.
Obviously, if you're not a fan of button mashing, steer clear. But if you've enjoyed, or have been waiting for a good button masher, this is a safe buy.
And sometimes the button mashing can enrage gamers, including myself, when it fails to keep you at full power despite your best efforts.
There is a learning curve, so be prepared to curse at your TV and controller. But hang in there, and keep the Olympic spirit alive, because this is the best the Olympics are going to get without being there.
Beijing 2008 is due for release on 4 July for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC.
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Comment by Anonymous
is it good or not????????
Comment by Glen Atwell
Computer Game
Sport Talk
Beijing is a great game. The question is: do you like button mashing?
If yes, it will be love at first mash.