| The Beijing Olympics have just ended, and thanks to | | | | without a floor mat. And events such as discus and |
| NBC and its assorted networks and Web sites, you | | | | pole vault each have their own control schemes. |
| have probably spent time pondering the depth of | | | | All the action is beautifully presented, which almost |
| sports you never cared about before. | | | | distracts from the game's biggest flaw: It's very |
| Table tennis? Water polo? Badminton? You may be | | | | difficult. Beijing starts you off with ridiculously weak |
| far more interested in watching athletes take their | | | | characters (considering they're supposed to be |
| shot at glory than in watching Kobe Bryant and the | | | | Olympic-caliber athletes), and it takes a long time to |
| Redeem Team try to break the U.S. basketball jinx. | | | | build them up to a competitive level. That's okay if |
| And when video games become an Olympic sport, | | | | you're playing with friends and everyone's sluggish, |
| we will be ready. My prime Quake death-match days | | | | but the single-player mode is bound to frustrate all |
| will probably be long past, but maybe NBC will invite | | | | but the most dedicated Olympics followers. |
| me to provide expert commentary. Until then, I can | | | | You don't have to be a world-class athlete to |
| participate in Olympic competition the same way I've | | | | participate in these "summer games." Big Beach |
| come to enjoy football, baseball and auto racing: with | | | | Sports brings six outdoor challenges (volleyball, disk |
| a joystick in my hands. | | | | golf, cricket, bocce, soccer and football) to the Wii. |
| Beijing 2008 (Everyone; Xbox 360, PlayStation 3; | | | | As with every other Wii Sports wannabe that has |
| $49.99 Sega has the official Olympics license this | | | | come out in the past two years, the games are a |
| year, and this is the publisher's second crack at | | | | mixed bag. Disk golf is pretty good, requiring you to |
| simulating the Summer Games. The light hearted | | | | develop a decent sidearm throw, and volleyball |
| Sonic at the Olympic Games was a diverting | | | | duplicates the set-and-spike action of the real thing. |
| collection of Wii mini-games, but Beijing" takes a more | | | | Even if you're not familiar with bocce, it makes for a |
| serious approach that could turn off casual sports | | | | fun head-to-head competition. However, soccer and |
| fans. There are 38 events in this package, including | | | | football (even two-on-two) aren't well-suited to the |
| track and field, swimming and gymnastics. The racing | | | | Wii remote, and the inclusion of cricket in an |
| events all require similar technique, requiring you to | | | | American game is just weird. Even the sports that |
| rapidly push two buttons to simulate running or | | | | work aren't likely to hold your interest for long. Big |
| swimming. Gymnastics events ask you to duplicate | | | | Beach Sports is a passable party game, but it doesn't |
| on-screen patterns, like Dance Dance Revolution | | | | have the substance to satisfy a solo player. |