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GameAddict
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Aug 14

Smash the pitch up

Lycra is something we normally reserve for Promo Girls and Lance Armstrong types, but when we received an invite to Battersea Park in south London for the launch of Eidos’ new Summer Athletics game (and the promise of free beer!) we couldn’t resist donning our finest and heading on over.

The day was split into three parts: try-out the Wii version of the game in one of the fitness rooms in the Millennium Sports centre, a ‘Wii-lay’ race around the track, and a finale of Xbox Shot Put - with a Nintendo Wii up for grabs for the furthest Xbox lob.

As the new GamesAddict Editor I was tasked with sampling the game in front of a somewhat reluctant crowd of press, and our very own Addict editor - armed complete with video camera.

The graphics are sharp and the game play is very slick, but by far the most interesting part of Summer Athletics is the use of the Wii-mote and the Nunchuck controllers to guide your on-screen athlete through 26 different sporting events.

Running events are the most simple with sprint races requiring you to flick the controllers up and down in time, to copy the footsteps of your sprinter. Some of the distance events, like cycling however, are little more tricky to master – who would have thought 5 minutes of continuous wrist-exercise could get frustrating?

Next up was the Wii-lay race, where the traditional metal baton was replaced with a Nintendo Wii-Mote. Split into three teams of five, the race was over a full lap of the running track. Thanks to a Linford Christie inspired performance our team secured a well deserved second place on the podium, and those all important medals.

Wii-lay results

As our very own AddictEditor had been pushing some particularly mean weights in the Gym recently - and had slacked off from the Video games testing and the Wii-lay - it was only fair that he should represent MotorAddicts in the Xbox Shot Put. A colossal throw of 9.67ft secured first place and a spot in the final, beating the nearest throw by over a foot.

The Wii-ning throw

The final saw AddictEditor step-up his Microsoft smashing abilities once again launching the Xbox over 11 foot up the field, and claiming the top spot on the podium as well as the Nintendo Wii. <p>

Thanks to Jo at Barrington Harvey and Eidos UK for organising a great day. Don’t forget to check out our pictures and video below.

Summer Athletics is out now for PC, PS2, Wii and X360, with the Wii version definitely worth a special mention.