Summer Athletics The Ultimate Challenge

The Olympics has been a big a source of inspiration for Wii developers over the console’s brief lifespan. While some have worked, most notably Mario and Sonic At The Olympic Games, others haven’t done so well, like Winter Sports. The latest offering has hit all the next-gen consoles, but makes the high jump with the motion-controlled Wii version. And the judges are split on this one.

Summer Athletics offers lots of modes and a meticulous character creation from the get-go. Players can delve right in to their Career mode, however, and make a customized character, from her nationality to her hair cut. In terms of modes, there are Single Event, Competition, and Career modes. In Single Event, players can pick one event they want to practice on, before the more in depth and challenging Career. Competition offers a select offering of a few events. While the menus are slightly too small to easily click on, all the modes and customization will keep hardcore Olympic simulators busy.

Developer 49 Games has put a lot of effort into making the Wii version of Summer Athletics be the family-friendly one. While I admire the attempt, I can’t say that they succeeded. I’ve played the game multiple times now, and I can’t say I have “intuited” the overly complex controls yet. Before each event, multi page instructions pop up (generally 3-4 paragraphs of text), offering convoluted explanations for the Wii motion controls. While I realize any control method would take some getting used too, I can’t imagine the 360 or PS3 controls being more complicated than these – and the Wii version is for families!

Worse yet, if you do manage to learn the controls, most of them aren’t fun and don’t make sense for that event. Cycling, for instance, requires you do mimic pedaling with your Wii Mote and Nunchuck while also twisting them left and right to steer – and finally using Z and B to get a final boost. It left my forearms in a tangled mess. Other events, like diving and the high jump require strange, multi-stepped motions that just don’t make sense or feel right.

Summer Athletics offers 7 different mechanics, including cycling, running, diving, swimming, archery, jumping, and throwing. Each has multiple variations, like running also hurdles and relay races, and throwing ranges from javelin to hammer toss. The array of events is impressive, but ultimately players will feel it becoming repetitive. Personally, the only event that I actually found fun (maybe because I actually figured out the controls) was archery. It’s a simple “pull B and release” mechanic that works for the sport. With a little wind calculation thrown in, you’ll hit the bulls eye!

And where there is fun to be had in Summer Athletics, most will find the graphics and animation to be distinctly mediocre. The characters and environments have a shiny, waxy quality that irks me every time I turn the game on. Of course, it’s easy to figure, that the Wii version was just a port, and not built from the ground up.

The fun in Summer Athletics, however, does come from multiplayer. This game is painful alone, but if playing with a friend, the awkward cycling mechanics and fist pumping 100m spring suddenly become social fun. But if you’re looking for a solid Olympic experience to celebrate the season with, go with Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games.

Review Scoring Details for Summer Athletics: The Ultimate Challenge

Gameplay: 3.5
The controls are just plain complicated and sometimes don’t make sense for their specific event. Amount of customization is good only for hardcore players.

Graphics: 7.0
Realism never looks good on the Wii, but the environments occasionally impress.

Sound: 7.0
The opening theme is nice, but the announcer can say some strange things at times.

Difficulty: Medium
There is a wide range of difficulties to choose from, so it is accessible to play – if the controls just weren’t so confusing.

Concept: 6.5
I really wish developers could figure out a better way to convey the Olympics without tiring everyone’s arms out.

Multiplayer: 7.5
Multiplayer is the game’s only salvation.

Overall: 6.5
There’s no excuse making controls overly complicated on a system who’s audience wants a game that’s easy to pick up and play. Recommended only for the most hardcore Olympiads.