Review by: Pascal "Saturnman" Vellet

Rating: 7 (out of 10)

Summary:

Sporting some of the best graphics in the business, Decathlete brings the 10 events of the decathlon in full 3-D with that caracteristic button-bashing gameplay of Konami's arcade (and the Playstation update) Track and Field.

The review:

There have been a fair amount of video-games based on various events in the Olympics through the years. What is more remarkable here is how similar all those games have been. They are almost always based around two basic principles: a simple gameplay interface based around constant button-bashing and multi-player possibilities to inspire fierce competition within its participants.

Sega's Decathlete carries on with the tradition but adds a few twists. First of all, the game has a player select screen (like in fighting games) with the choice of seven different athletes with specific abilities and personalities. Also interesting is the game doesn't rely solely on button-pressing speed and timing but actually adds some strategy. For example, in the 1500 meter race, pressing buttons as fast as you can won't win you the race, you actually have to conserve and spend wisely your energy, much like you would if you were yourself participating in this long race.

The theme of the game is obviously the decathlon. This special part of the Olympics includes 10 different events: 100 meter dash, long jump, shot put, high jump, 400 meter race, 110 meter hurdles, discus throw, pole vault, javelin throw and the 1500 meter race.

But what mere words can't quite convey is the stunning graphical presentation of Decathlete. The game is in full 3-D much like the recent International Track and Field on Playstation but pumps the graphics to 60 fps in hi-res giving it an obvious edge and looking a lot more like last year's impressive Virtua Fighter 2. Characters are nicely detailed and via motion-capturing, nicely animated as well. And as opposed to VF2, Decathlete features a proper 3-D environment with an entire stadium and several 3-D objects and obstacles used throughout each event of the decathlon.

There is not much music in Decathlete but when it is heard, it fits the game. Sound effects are high-quality but there aren't a lot of them and they are sometimes repetitive.

The only real flaw of Decathlete or any other game of this type is the control itself. Not only does it make you hold a joypad in awkward positions but it shortens the very lifespan of your joypad while giving you arthritic pain after relatively long play.

So Decathlete is a state-of-the-art showpiece of a well established game theme. It is a nice game to play alone but becomes a fun game to play WITH a friend.