The last ten years have been lean times for the button-basher. Whereas the 80s were chock-full of Epyx games, the virtual challenges of Daley Thompson and the bloke with the ropey moustache in Hyper Sports, we haven't even seen a Track & Field spin-off or clone for a good few years now. The answers to why, cunningly, lie in Sony's PlayStation 2-exclusive Athens 2004.

It's a game guilty of two faults. First, it takes things very seriously. And second, it's effectively the same game that we've been playing for the past twenty years, on and off. It does try a few new things, with middling results, but we'll touch on those later.

Anyway, this is the officially licensed game of this summer's Olympic games. And that means everything looks and sounds official. Supporting one to four players, to join in you must first choose your nation, stick your name in, and then you're off to virtual Greece. Fortunately, there's a fair bit to admire when you get there.

One thing you can't accuse the Athens 2004 game of lacking is scope. Whereas traditionally you may have expected your Olympic joypad-basher to focus firmly on the athletics side of things, that's not the full story here. Sure, track and field events make up a good bulk of what's on offer, but the game also ventures into eventing, gymnastics, archery, swimming and weightlifting to name but a few.

In all there are over two dozen events, although thanks to some clumsily written instructions, they're not always particularly easy to get to grips with. Some events are really good fun - you can't go wrong with sprints and hurdles, for instance, but also the likes of archery, the field events and swimming are good entertainment.

Some events, however, either drag on or don't work. The skeet shooting, for instance, continues long past the point of being interesting, the gymnastics quickly become tedious, and the equestrian eventing turns out to be a supreme irritant rather than anything you'd want to play for fun. Fortunately, the game's options are constructed in a way to allow you to tackle any event you want, leaving some behind.

Gameplay-wise, there are ultimately few innovations on show here, as what Sony has effectively done is gathered together a large collection of small games and hoped that some of them stick. Quite a few of them do, but you'll probably have played them before in some guise. The exception is the game's diverting party mode, which allows you to hook up a dance mat for a slightly different take on ten of the events.

Athens 2004 is, ultimately, a solid and entertaining effort that fairs better when on safer ground than in its introduction of new events. It scores highest in multiplayer mode, as you'd expect, and any gamer would be well advised to get a four-player game going. Yet with occasionally muddled controls, limited ideas and variable playability, it's not what you'd call a must-buy.

Verdict
A decent effort, especially in multi-player mode. While new ideas are thin on the ground, and flaws aren't tricky to spot, Athens 2004 is nonetheless at least worth a rental.

Company: Sony

Tags: track & field greece 2004 summer olympics olympic games playstation 2 hyper sports daley thompson sony