Beijing 2008 :: Official Olympics Game Review

The 2008 Olympics have kicked off in China, but SEGA lets you bring the games home with the Beijing 2008 video game for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360! It's the official video game of the Olympic games and it's loaded with events for you and your friends to try out as you compete for video game gold. Can you bring it home? Should you bother? Find out with our game review.

Running, Jumping, and Throwing

The Olympics are all about physical competition where the world's best athletes prove who's the fastest, strongest and best able to jump around in spandex. Beijing 2008 packs all the action of the [KWLINK ]Olympics[/KWLINK] into a game for you to take home and challenge with your thumbs. It's basically a giant pack of mini-games but with an Olympic Games mode where you control a team on the path to gold and multiplayer modes.

Medal Glory

The Olympics on TV barely look this good! With great graphics, realistic characters and 38 events to play, this game is off to a flying start. It also lets you customize your avatar, play one-off games, manage a full Olympic team, play with up to four people and even throw down your mad skills in online games!

Keep it in China

Good grief! If this is what the games feel like, they should be left in smoggy Beijing. They look good, but as soon as you start playing anything the game starts beating you in the head with a stick full of no-fun! The events challenge you to mash buttons, use finger-twisting controls, and suffer through a frustrating mess before you can earn the gold.

Podium Position

Shiny graphics and tons of options get kicked to the curb by crummy controls and a serious lack of fun. This game scores a bronze at best but shouldn't be played by anybody but hardcore Olympics fans. Never mind boycotting China, boycott this stinker.

Thumbs Up:

• Great graphics!
• Lots of events to choose from.
• Four-player multiplayer and online modes!

Thumbs Down:

• The events are awful.
• Frustrating controls.
• Super-difficult events can crush your dreams for gold.
• Some events don't even explain the controls!

Game Rating:

Available for: DS, PS2, Wii.

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