Beijing 2008
(360, PS3, $50, Rated Everyone) — The official video game of the 2008 Olympic Games rarely captures the thrill of victory you expect during the actual 16-day competition, but it is pretty accurate at synthesizing the agony of defeat felt by athletes who don't earn medals.
Competition: The game spans an impressive number of events, including most track and field and swimming and diving competitions. Gymnastics, cycling and several more obscure sports, including shooting, judo and table tennis, also make the cut.
You won't, however, find team sports such as baseball, softball, soccer and basketball, which is disappointing.
Teams: You can choose from among 32 countries and compete in qualifying events as well as the medal events. Unfortunately, all the athletes are generic, with no actual Olympians in the game.
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The game has gorgeous graphics and animation. For example, you can see close-ups of runners from pre-race rituals to finish-line showboating.
Medal count: "Beijing 2008" falls short of the gold because the difficulty level is too intense and the control schemes are awkward.
You're often forced to contort your hands and hurt your fingers in order to mash buttons fast enough to compete. In my failed bid for a team-cycling gold, I somehow wore a chunk of skin off the top of the middle finger on my right hand.
Too many events, especially track and swimming, require an improbable finger speed to keep up. The rhythm-based systems included in gymnastics are more manageable, but still take hours of practice to master. You'll need to go into lengthy training and risk physical injury to take the medal stand in this virtual competition.
— Phil Villarreal