London 2012: The Official Video Game of the Olympic Games

Having played all the previous olympics games for the ps3 this is certainly the best looking. Quick load screens between events helps as well. This has obviously been designed with "user friendlyness" as its key focus. No longer do you have to waggle your analogue stick or bash away at buttons to race, instead it's more about a steady pace just tapping the x button with your thumb (you actually get penalised and automatically slowed down in races for button mashing, so you have to learn how to get a good tempo going). As opposed to the Beijing 2008 game all events are easy to pick up and play and the most fun you'll get is bragging rights with your friends as to who holds the world records. With up to 4 players off line it's a great multi player which everyone can play. The only criticisms I can give it are that you only get to select 8 events at a time for your own custom events list(although there are plenty of save slots available for any lists you make.)There is no BMX or football events and pretty much all the gymnastic events are missing. There is no beam, parallel bars, floor or rings which were all pretty good in Beijing. The table tennis and Beach volley ball events can take a while and when you're playing in olympics mode they can be a drag when you just want to get on with the other events. Also none of the athletes featured in the game are actually the real thing so you won't be up against Usain Bolt in the 100m or Tom Daley in the diving. On the plus side though this is still the best looking game of its sort on the ps3 and the ease of playability won't have you worried about breaking your controller. All in all it's well worth buying and will have you coming back to break the world records.

I've already spent countless hours competing online with friends and randoms around the world, testing myself against the best.

A wide range of events from the olympics, from sprints (100m, 200m etc) To the swimming events (Various short distant), diving board, cycling, jumps, throws, gymnastics and more. Lots of stuff to keep you training to get that world record and being top of the leaderboards (I myself am 10th in the 200m currently, which im very proud of)

The only downside i'd probably give it.. Is even though there's plenty of variation in the events, there's some events that aren't needed.. For example, you have mens 400m, then womens 400m. There's no need. it's the same race, with no difference except sex. Could of been used for a completely different event.

Finally a nice little incentive to race for your country is.. There's a country leaderboard, so the percentage of medals are tallied up for each country and position you accordingly. (Britain currently third, come on britain!)

Anyways, I recommend this to any athletics fan. It's simple, easy to pick up, and a right laugh with some friends. :)

I have played other track and field games and recently the gameplay has been difficult... NOT this game though. It's extremely easy to use, all events have a tutorial and all display what you're meant to do whilst playing as well. You have a choice of playing the Olympic Games, single events, party games, online games. All very easy to set up, use and play. Even my granny could play this game!

The only downfall is the online function. I'm not sure whether this game is new or not, but it's really hard to set up a game.

I would recommend this game

Ok this isn't the most in depth game that you'll ever play and most events are over in a flash but it still has a certain charm. Although each event is simple to play you'll want to keep playing again and again to break your records. The best events are the track and field games along with swimming, kayaking, shooting, archery and table tennis. Some events are downright poor like gymnastics and diving. Most events are based on rhythm not just complete button bashing so there is an element of skill involved. If you're into sports games or like minigames in general then pick this up but if you want a game with lots of depth then it's probably best to give this a miss.

Got the game three days ago and my initial thoughts are this:

Pros: Great visuals, easy to pick up the controls but nicely difficult to 'master', especially good fun in multiplayer

Cons: Very disappointed at the lack of gymnastic events, 'over 45 events' is a cheat because there's a lot of duplication/similar events, no medal ceremony cut scenes in the multiplayer mode (cutting straight to a medal table is a bit of an anticlimax).

Other notes:

The athletes in the game have generic/made-up names but you CAN edit them to include Bolt, etc it just takes time. If you care enough about realism surely you care enough to spend a few minutes playing with this feature.

The difficulty level of this game is perfect in most events. The controls are simply to pick up but do take time to actually master. You can select the difficulty of cpu-controlled opposition but no matter what difficulty level you have chosen your controls/sensitivity etc remain the same. Chances of a 1st place finish increase with 'easy' level but not the chances of breaking a record.

This game can be hilarious at times and is perfect for a post-pub multiplayer giggle. Missing a button prompt on the vault and landing the poor girl face first made me laugh for ages. As did bouncing on my rear end on the trampoline. Some of my attempts at diving have been funny too.

OVERALL: Good fun so far. I played a little multiplayer at first and loved the experience. I then played a bit of the single player mode and have enjoyed the challenge massively. A good 'pick up and play' single and multiplayer game with just enough depth to keep you coming back for a while.... It remains to be seen how much replay value it has when I master the events I like and give up on the ones I just don't enjoy. But it's doing well so far.

NOTE: I will be back to update this review after a while if my opinion changes. Read more ›