London 2012 - The Official Video Game of the Olympic Games Xbox 360
User Score
5.7 out of 10

Mixed or average reviews- based on 20 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 20
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 20
  3. Negative: 6 out of 20

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  1. Xborn74
    Jun 27, 2012
    9
    "London 2012 Olympics" is a sports game, with Olympics theme, developed and produced by Sega. It supports normal controller and Kinect, and has a multiplayer of 1-4 players offline (local) and 1-8 players on Xbox Live. The game is based in the Summer Olympics, which will be headquartered in July / August in London.

    The game's graphics are great, and some of the most realistic I've seen     in sports games: the general menus have a colorful style, consisting of simple and abstract drawings, with contrasting colors. In-game graphics, the details of the athletes are very well produced, and used motion-capture for each sport modalities presented, that shows several expressions from joy and enthusiasm, effort and even disappointment at losing a proof.

    Anatomical details like veins and muscles are all present, and the atmospheric sounds of the Olympic host is very well produced, so that looking, has the impression of watching the Olympics on TV: The game uses a colorful looks, with many lights, and supports a binocular 3D to enhance the realism. The same realism is transmitted in the replays, each looking like a replay of a professional broadcast.

    Each sports activity is faithfully represented, credible in the angles, as seen in TV and appearances can be defined within some pre-established for athletes from 36 different countries within each sport, and we can change their names. The audience in te games is very good, not like a legion of clones as we see in other sports games.

    Audio: The game has a simplified background music, but very adequate, consisting of pianos, violins and guitars, without being polluted. During the game, everything is narrated by sports narrators that comment, obviously with a British accent, and according to what is happening on screen. The other background sounds in the game are excelent, provided the voice of local announcers to the noises that athletes do and the crowd does, each with its depth perfectly suited the action (such as under water everything is muffled) .

    Contrary to the other category of games, Sega innovated in the use instead of speed and button-smashing, precision and timing controls in this game. Each activity has movement keys, which are made with simple combinations of the control buttons, added to the analog adjustments of angles, so that stands for perfection and training, as in real sports.

    For example, in the 100m, when the starting gun fires, you press the A to launch, after that, you press the A in rhythm, to keep an energy bar in a green region, which optimizes and gain runner's speed, and approaching the arrival you can increase the rate, for a sprint, and tilting the left analog up to place the trunk forward. In the ornamental jump, you choose between various jumps, with scores varying related to the difficulty, and press the button just in time to what is displayed on the screen, and when you are about to enter the water, you use the left analog down to dive straight with a light touch to the left to adjust the angle.

    The game also has support for Kinect in Party Play, and is a mode selected by Kinect in the Main Menu, including almost 20 different sports to play alone, or even four people. Kinect commands are also intuitive and responsive: the bow and arrow for example, requires that we take forward the left arm (holding the bow) and pull back from the right arm (pulling the arrow), thus you adjust the crosshairs on the screen, taking into account the strength and direction of wind and rises rapidly the left arm, releasing the arrow.

    As a side note: all the 49 events in 13 sports can be played with control, and Kinect exists in this specific Mode. The range of activities are great, ranging from the conventional athletics, going for archery, diving, and even more varied things, such as kayaking and table tennis.

    The game also features detailed statistics of activities, with their Records, and will accompany the trajectory of the country you choose, with a medal chart constantly updated.

    Summary: The game became for me the best Olympic sports game I played, having a great and realistic presentation, graphics and audio, plus intuitive and precise controls that make us want to play more often, to improve records, conveying a sense of being a professional athlete in the game. Adding to that the optional use of Kinect in varied activities, being responsive, the game becomes a game almost mandatory for anyone who is a fan of sports games - and it certainly deserves to be tested at least by those who sympathize with the subject, by the fun it provides.    … Collapse
  2. ImNotPaid4This
    Aug 28, 2012
    10
    Great game, It's kept me entertained for weeks and is doing a great job keeping me entertained until the release of Black Ops 2! ! !!!1!!1!!!!!!!!!!!! I've sometimes really felt like I was in the stadium and when I set a new world record I shed a tear when the 20 second clip of the national anthem blasted around my house.
  3. ColdHardTruth
    Jul 4, 2012
    8
    If your a big time Olympics fan and can't wait every 4 years for the Summer Olympics than look no further you can have it anytime with London 2012 the game. For the first time the Summer Games actually has an interesting number of events to play. About 40 plus events and over 30 countries you can choose from. You also can customize athletes and unlock bonus uniforms for each country. There are 3 levels of difficulties with the main campaign and single events to choose from and multi-player of course. And if you care some events enable XBOX Kinect and PS3 Move (I haven't tested this out). The best part of the game is the presentation with the music and sounds of the London 2012 games. The game play works well with each event nothing to hard to understand. You'll have your strong events and weak ones to go with too. Trying to beat the world records or beating your best personal time and ranking your name on the multi-player standings is always satisfying. If your a Olympics fan you should go out and buy this one. For those not sure if you want to take the risk, ill say one thing, where else can you play multiple sporting events in one game that have a realistic feel to it.… Expand
  4. TheFishMan
    Jun 27, 2012
    9
    Very competent button basher that requires more skill than previous versions . A very enjoyable game and very well presented with very nice graphics. I love the direction they have gone with this and look foward to seeing what sports games sega has up its sleeve . my fave event at the moment is table tennis but I really love the way they have done the 100m sprint . It actually requires skill .
  5. NickDaWOlf
    Jun 28, 2012
    6
    Its another somewhat disappointing Olympics based videogame. One in a long line of average button precision/mashing games who fails to deliver anything new or extraordinary, and just does enough to masquerade as a legit enjoyable multiplayer game. I wonder why over the last 2 decades of olympic games across all console why some company hasnt poured the type of effort in a game like this the way its been done better in other party games. The presentation is good in some events, barely passable in others and the gameplay in the majority of the events feels generic. You might find a few events pleasing depending on your preferences, but even the ones you'll prefer have low replay value.… Expand
  6. metalinc
    Jun 29, 2012
    8
    Over all I am very happy with the step this game has taken in regards to Olympics video games. It is by far the best one I have played (dating back to Atari 2600). The depth is strong...and the gameplay mechanics are good with just a few events that just don't seem to work (diving is a great example). The racing, swimming and field events are VERY solid. There are a few things that I wish they correct or patch....the ability to host your own public matches, vote for the next event instead of a random event on quick matches....things like that. I should also note that this game is 3D compatible for people who have 3D tv's. Don't bother...the 3D is horrible!. But....I never really play games in 3D so it doesn't take away from the experience. I tried it....tried to give it some time...and stepped away from the 3D. It really is bad.

    Game is a must if you are a fan of olympic games. Hell....rent it if your curious.    … Expand

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
64 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 31 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 31
  2. Mixed: 24 out of 31
  3. Negative: 1 out of 31
  1. X360 Magazine UK
    Aug 18, 2012
    70
    A very solid performance. [Issue#88, p.78]
  2. MondoXbox
    Jul 31, 2012
    55
    Slightly better than its quadriennial predecessors, London 2012 suffers from an highly unbalanced difficulty, short longevity and the absence of real-world athletes. Mostly enjoyable in multiplayer.
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  3. Eurogamer Italy
    Jul 31, 2012
    70
    London 2012 is the first official Olympic Games videogame without button mashing gameplay, and it is also a good attempt to give back the feelings of this spectacular event.
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