Let the video games begin

The Beijing Olympics is under way. And thanks to the unrivalled media coverage, you are probably pondering the intricacies of sports you never even cared about before.

Table tennis? Water polo?

I'm more interested in watching obscure athletes take their shot at glory than in watching Kobe Bryant and the Redeem Team try to break the US basketball jinx.

And when video games become an Olympic sport, I'll be ready. Until then, I can participate in Olympic competition the same way I've come to enjoy football and car racing: with a joystick in my hands.



Beijing 2008 (Sega, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Dh180): Sega has the Olympics licence this year, and this is the publisher's second crack at simulating the summer games.

There are 38 events in this package, including track and field, aquatics and gymnastics. The racing events all require similar technique, requiring you to rapidly push two buttons to simulate running or swimming. (Fans of Konami's 1980s-era Track & Field will feel at home.)

Gymnastic events ask you to duplicate onscreen patterns, like Dance Dance Revolution without a floor mat. And events like discus or pole vault have control schemes.

All the action is beautifully presented, but the game itself is difficult. Beijing starts you off with ridiculously weak characters (strange, considering they're Olympic-calibre athletes), and it takes a long time to build them up to a competitive level.

Big Beach Sports (THQ, Wii, Dh120): Big Beach Sports brings six outdoor challenges – volleyball, disc golf, cricket, bocce, soccer and football – to the Wii.

Disc golf is pretty good, requiring you to develop a decent sidearm throw, and volleyball duplicates the set-and-spike action of the real thing. Even if you're not familiar with bocce, it makes for a fun head-to-head competition.

However, soccer and football aren't well-suited to the Wii remote, and the inclusion of cricket in an American game is weird. And even the sports that work aren't likely to hold your interest for long.

Summer Sports: Paradise Island (Destineer, Wii, Dh120): The games featured in this anthology – badminton, volleyball, miniature golf, horseshoes, lawn darts, basketball and croquet – are the ones you're more likely to see Americans playing.

Unfortunately, only a few are well executed. Paradise Island looks inviting, but has some dreadful programming. In lawn darts and horseshoes, for example, you're supposed to mime throwing with the Wii, but the game can't register how hard you're throwing. Likewise, there's no connection between the way you swing the remote and the animations in volleyball and basketball.

Mini-golf and croquet are more accurate, but when you can play all these games (except for lawn darts) for less money in real life, why bother with the virtual versions?

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