The build we played was on the Xbox 360, and unfortunately there was no PS3 or PC build in sight. The gameplay system in place was very simple, and quite odd to get a handle of. There were several different events to choose from, however we only had enough time to play the Pole Vaults, the Triple Jump, Shot Put and Cycling. Each event didn't rely on pure control over your player, but more acted as a mini-game of sorts.
For example, in the Triple Jump, in order to run faster you must waggle the right analog stick left and right as fast as possible in order to raise a bar on the bottom of the screen. After a few moments the bar 'locks in' and your character runs at a locked speed.
Another mini-game pops up immediately afterwards, where you have to press the right trigger to jump once you've hit the line, and then continue to time your presses as the character hops across. The final jump involves holding the right trigger down, and this is where the game goes into a minor slow-motion state, and a small meter appears on the right hand corner of the screen, where you have to let go of the right trigger once the bar reaches around the centre of this meter.
Though it sounds confusing, it's actually quite simple once you understand how it's done, and within minutes you'll be throwing out huge jumps with your character.
This is how rappers do it.
Cycling also had a similar mini-game in place, however the issue with Cycling was that after a few minutes your arm will begin to go sore and you'll be growing very impatient for the race to end.
In order to start off, you must rotate either the left or right analog sticks clockwise and do so at a consistent level of speed to keep a small speed bar at the top of the screen high, but you must be careful not to overdo and go over the line in the bar, as it causes fatigue in your lead cyclist faster.
Once you're off, you continue rotating the stick, all the while constantly changing your lead cyclists by pressing either the left or right trigger, due to a fatigue meter in place. Keeping a tired cyclist in the front slows you down significantly, so it's imperative you watch your lead cyclists fatigue bar, and switch around when necessary in order to let him recharge.
It was an interesting mini-game, but the issue was that it grew tiresome and begins to hurt your arm very quickly, as it felt like more of a chore than a game, and with 16 laps to pass through, You'd grow tiresome of Cycling quickly.
This was the worst of the events that were played, and hopefully this kind of mini-game isn't spread through many other events, as it could turn the game into more of a chore.
Wait..where are our shoe laces?!
On a visual note, Beijing 2008 holds up decently. Character models are fairly basic in detail and nothing to scream about, but the animations were quite good. Athletes moved realistically in most events, and this redeemed the somewhat bare bones detail in characters superbly. The same can be said for the environments, which are painstaking recreations of all the stadiums in Beijing, and they certainly looked the part, as they aided in immersing the player into the game. Lighting and water effects are also well done, with the floors in the cycling events looking fantastic with perfect reflectivity, and water moving across swimmers realistically in the swimming events.
Aurally, we weren't able to hear much due to the ambience, however there wasn't much to hear it seems, as all that was to be heard when in an event was an occasional commentary and the crowds cheering.
Though it's certainly not a benchmark setter, Beijing 2008 does the job decently, and you'll probably be too busy focusing on the mini-game sequences to notice the visuals or sound cues.
If you're going to swim...don't drown.
Beijing 2008 seems to be targeting a much more casual market with its gameplay mechanics. With the mini-games in each event, it felt much like the Mario Party games, just with a little less emphasis on the mini-games, and obviously the lack of a board game. It's not a difficult game to pick up as literally anyone can play it, especially with tutorials available every time you play an event. And with full online play, 10 sports to choose from mixed into 32 different events, and a career mode, there's plenty of potential replayability to be had with Beijing 2008. As long as Sega make the events varied and enjoyable in their mechanics, casual gamers may have a decent romp playing for their country in Beijing 2008.
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