Athens 2004

Athens 2004 maybe mostly a button-mashers paradise, but the game is also a great deal of fun. If you like athletic competition on the console systems, this is an easy recommendation.

Good multiplayer options will bring out your competitive side, but there are no online modes.

The actual variety among the different events is rather low, a problem that stems in large part from the repetitive, button-bashing nature of most events.

It serves as an adequate time killer (i.e., rental game), even if the gameplay is painfully uninspired and repetitious. Then again, fans of button mashers probably wouldn't have it any other way.

The variety of the controls is overdone, making the game complex and confusing, and there's no customisable multiplayer. Nonetheless, this is a welcoming, capable and entertaining take on what gaming used to mean. [Aug 2004, p.106]

To new gamers there is appeal but if you already own a game like this then we are sure it can’t offer you anything new or remotely appealing!

Athens 2004 might be the least customizable sports game I’ve ever played. You can participate as any one of 64 countries, but you can’t create an athlete. There are no stats, no training, and no career. You pick your country and gender, and the game then just gives you a pre-set runner/jumper/thrower/swimmer who looks the part, ethnically speaking.