Olympic. The two words represent the thousand-year epic; The best of the best compete for eternal pride and glory. It’s every athlete’s dream to be in these sacred games and let’s face it, even though we may not be Jesse Owens, video games have given us a chance to dress up. the colors of his country and try to claim his own piece of gold. Sega’s 2019 Japanese release: Olympic Games Tokyo 2020: Official Video Games arrived on the West Coast just in time for the rescheduled 2020 Olympics. Did it do enough to win the gold, or will it fall at the final hurdle?
About your brand…
Olympic Games Tokyo 2020: Official Video Games is simple in its core concept. The game includes 18 mini games. All represent Olympic sports. You will see:
- 100m . sprint
- Fast running 110m
- Relay 4x100m
- Jump far
- Hammer toss
- 100m . freestyle swimming
- 200 m . individual medley
- Baseball
- Basketball
- Beach volleyball
- Boxing
- BMX
- Football
- Judo
- Rugby 7s
- Sport climbing
- Table tennis (singles and doubles)
- Tennis (singles and doubles)
As you can see, the games present a lot of variety and there is enough choice in them to please even the most loyal Olympic fans. The controls are also varied, and it’s interesting to see that Sega doesn’t just rely on button press to win the game. Yes, the 100m sprint is a “quick x hit to win” but other games rely on more time-based inputs and quick reactions to counter turns, serves, and objects. opponent’s flip.
I found myself catching each event with relative ease, but something was off. Once I won the qualifiers, I struggled to get into the top 3 of any tournament; my opponent did anything else that got them to the tournaments before me. After digging around, I discovered that every event has a hidden controller that greatly improves your performance. These extra controls give you speed boost, spin, grapple, target drop, and base steal (among many other features). The game tries to give you these extra controls through unlockable “tips,” but it requires you to exit the game to see them in a separate menu. You also need to play the event multiple times to unlock all the tips. This is quite simply a terrible mechanic. You don’t have to lose an event hopelessly over and over again for someone to say “Oh, by the way… this is how you actually win”. Additional controls are hidden behind the “advanced controls” section but are not obvious to early detection. Keep all tips easily accessible (and all unlocked) or remove them altogether. Don’t hover in the middle like this.
Is set…
The real divide in this game lies in the fun factor. Olympic Games Tokyo 2020: Official Video Games boasts a single-player Olympic competition that can also be experienced online. In single-player, the opposing AI has the skill level of a drunken chimp or the speed, strength, and reflexes of a member of the Justice League. This is made worse by some of the worst team AI I’ve ever seen in a video game. If you break a line in Rugby, prepare the opposing team to run with your players can’t handle them and if you play doubles you have to frequently hit the ball in the back of your teammate’s head (no matter how much you try to avoid). Thankfully, the online element has replaced most of the AI with real people, and it enhances the experience dramatically. You can even set up tournaments where you can choose your strongest events to try and win the coveted gold medal for your team. Be wary, though, your strongest event may also be your opponent’s highest medal earner.
…GO!
With all these stumbling blocks, the match still has enough of a chance to qualify. There are several customizations available for your avatar and I would love to compete in the 100m sprint with full armor and rabbit ears. You can play against real-life athletes in practice mode, and the games have enough variety to keep you entertained until the real game begins.
The addition of couch-coop / competition makes Olympic Games Tokyo 2020: Official Video Games a solid Friday night spender that shines when playing with friends/online but quickly becomes stale when playing alone. The graphics are reminiscent of other games in the same genre (think Wii Sports but with more gloss and less splash) but the focus on gameplay puts the amazing graphics element back into the blocks. start. If you’re looking for a game that brings out the best in each event and will last you until the next Olympics then sadly, you won’t find it here. Events like Long Jump, Hammer Throw, and Tennis have enough depth to keep you entertained, but inconsistent AI makes other events difficult to finish. This does not mean Olympic Games Tokyo 2020: Official Video Games Not fun. Far away from it. It’s more of a sprint than a marathon. Sega finally took aim at bronze and achieved exactly that. I just want to see more ambition to hit that gold standard.
I give this 6.5 Usain Bolts out of 10
GameRev has been provided with a digital download of the game for the purpose of this review.
