Edge writes: "There's a loudmouth minority of partisan console owners who deride Nintendo's software catalogue for its prevalence of button-mashing minigame collections, but even they would have to agree that the genre is well served by the controls of the DS and Wii hardware. It's something that can't really be said for Xbox 360, PS3 or PC, as Beijing 2008 demonstrates. The glossy, convex face buttons of the 360 pad, for example, are not meant for mashing, nor its springy triggers well suited to rapid depressions, nor its analogue sticks designed for violent circular waggling.
These issues are made more obvious by the moderately high level of challenge at which some of the events are pitched – something that you might think unwise in a collection of minigames, albeit one given the po-faced veneer of a serious sporting event. In total contrast to the hugely accessible and unashamedly mindless New International Track & Field, Beijing 2008's events aren't always easy to master, and many use completely different control schemes from each other. This adds welcome variety, but inevitably makes the game less intuitive, particularly considering that the minigames do not always translate directly to the particular skills each event requires – a fact at odds with the dedication towards realism in the game's presentation."
Amazon have released their video game deal of the day for Thursday.
Nominations for Develop Industry Excellence Awards are unveiled, and two developers are likely to walk away with most of them.
Rockstar and Media Molecule will be contesting for the most category nominations. Rockstar snags six of them with GTA: Chinatown Wars and GTA IV: The Lost and the Damned from Rockstar while Media Molecule's LittleBigPlanet alone is nominated for another five.
Wouldn't be surprised if Rockstar takes all their 6 nominations and brings home several prizes =)
Do you still suffer from Olympic fever? Are you constantly checking NBC looking for any glimpse of a balance beam, pool, or waving country flags? Fear not, Summer Athletics is here with your cure. Sure, you would think that an Olympic-styled game would just add fuel to the fire, but Summer Athletics is all but guaranteed to drown it, like Michael Phelps treats other Olympians' dreams.
If you remember the ancient Commodore 64 title, Summer Games, you know what to expect. The title is surprisingly similar, given the twenty-plus years between the two games. You have the option to play a single event, compete in a set of events (including a traditional decathlon), or build an athlete from scratch with career mode. The game gives you twenty-six events to play, in seven different categories. Save the lame career mode and a handful of additional events, it feels strikingly similar to the classic Commodore 64 title, except the older title actually plays better.
