Product Description

In Beijing 2008 - The Official Video Game of the Olympic Games, players will embrace the competitive spirit of the world’s most prestigious sporting event and represent their country as they compete for the highest honor - the Gold Medal. Appearing on next-gen consoles, the game promises to deliver a far more entertaining and immersive Olympic experience with superior graphics capturing the emotional detail of each event where a fraction of a second means the difference between winning and losing. With brand new gameplay mechanics challenging their speed, time and coordination, players will strive to break records alone or with up to seven friends online as they lead the US team to victory in 38 authentic Olympic events. This summer, everyone will want to show their patriotism and bring home the Gold.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #9700 in Video Games
• Brand: Sega
• Model: 85227
• Released on: 2008-07-31
• ESRB Rating: Everyone
• Platforms: Windows 2000, Windows XP
• Format: CD-ROM
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds

Features

• As the exclusive official video game, Beijing 2008 offers over 30 official events and national teams
• Create the atmosphere of the Olympic Host City in your own home
• Sports include: Track & Field, Aquatics, Gymnastics, Cycling, Judo, Table Tennis and Canoe-Kayak
• Online features including exhibition events and leaderboards
• New gameplay mechanics including time, rhythm, and targeting based systems

Amazon.com
In Beijing 2008: The Official Video Game of the Olympic Games, players will embrace the competitive spirit of the world’s most prestigious sporting event and represent their country as they compete for the highest honor--the Gold Medal. Appearing on next generation consoles, the game promises to deliver a far more entertaining and immersive Olympic experience with superior graphics capturing the detail of each event where a fraction of a second means the difference between winning and losing. With brand new gameplay mechanics challenging their speed, time and coordination, players will strive to break records alone or with up to seven friends online as they lead the US team to victory in 38 authentic Olympic events. This summer, everyone will want to show their patriotism and bring home the Gold.

Features:

• Over 30 Official Events and National Teams: Across 10 authentic-looking stadiums, players will represent the country of their choice and compete in such sports as Track & Field, Aquatics, Gymnastics, Cycling, Judo, Table Tennis and Canoe-Kayak for the highest honor.
• In-Depth Olympic Games and Competition Modes: In Olympic Games mode, players will organize their daily schedule and customize their national teams with agility, power, stamina and speed for competition in 38 events. With up to three friends, players will participate in either single or multi-event challenges in Competition mode.
• New Gameplay Mechanics: There are a variety of controls across all events, including a time-based system where timing, power and angle are essential, a rhythm-based method that requires increasing and sustaining speed, and a targeting system to aid players in accurately hitting targets.
• In the Zone: Pulls players right into the athlete’s mind, getting them closer to the action and giving them time to accurately control every move.
• Global Online Competition: As a member of the aspiring US Olympic Team, players will face challengers from across nations. A multitude of online features, including exhibition events, and leaderboards will allow players to prove themselves before the world.
• Capturing the Olympic Spirit: As the exclusive official video game, Beijing 2008 offers an authentic look and feel of the Games, ultra-realistic recreations of the Beijing stadiums and a chance to soak up the atmosphere from the Olympic Host City in your own home.

Customer Reviews

Rushed to market
I'm not going to tell you that you wont enjoy this game, because you might. It looks like it COULD be a lot of fun. I will tell you that my copy is in the plastic recycling bin at the Piggly Wiggly. In order to play this game you will need an Xbox 360 For Windows Controller, because it only works with that controller. You will need an account at Gamespy. You will need a very fast internet connection, because there is a lot of lag on the servers already. You will need thumbs of steel, because this thing is a mega button-masher. You will also need a pretty high-end computer. I have a very good computer and it was only adequate. If you have all of these things you might have a grand time with this game. Without them, the game is almost unplayable. If you play this game for any period of time you will get carpal tunnel syndrome. Some of the controls are so poorly laid out that I don't think I could succeed even if I had a perfect system. I attempted to play Archery and the lag hindered the aiming so badly that eventually I simply gave up. There is no real attempt to immerse the player in the Olympic experience. For instance, when I competed for gold in Archery my competition was cpu BEL, cpu FRA, and so on. You can't really compete against people online, although after every event they show you where you rank in the all time scores, whether you want to see it or not. Sega, you are usually so reliable. What happened?? Could have been a lot of fun, but as it stands I have enough aggravation in my life already.

If I had only known...
I bought this as a present for my son, a bit worried because I could not find out the necessary computer specs ahead of time. Turns out it requires 1 gb of RAM--my son has been playing lots of other sports games with just 256 RAM. So we couldn't even load the game. Now I see from the other review that we might need lots of other things we haven't got.... My son is very disappointed.

If you like Pina Coladas...
If you like repetitive key punching, then have a couple pina coladas and you might find this entertaining. Maybe I'm too hard on it, this is best suited for a family get-together, with young kids, for setting the Olympic mood. But it really amounts little more than repetitive key punching, to the extent you wonder if you're going to brake your gamepads. Its not all that different from the Apple IIe's key-banging equivolent circa 1983, but the graphics have thankfully improved somewhat in the last 25 yrs -- too bad gameplay hasn't. I guess it's just difficult to make a good Olympics game, b/c no one ever pulls it off.