The most watched sports event in history (maybe). Apparently over 4 billion of
us will watch the Olympics on TV. That is a bit of a strange statistic
considering I, like many others, will not be watching it until it is well into
the last week. Why? You might ask. Well, quite simply I am not interested in
all the other events. The track and field events are enough for me. So surely
this game is packed full of my favourite track and field events? Well, it
doesn't have as many as you think.

First off, there are 12 events. The first is the 100 metres sprint. Not much to
say about this event really, a part from the fact that you just bash the A and
B buttons as hard as you can! Next, Olympic Sprint Cycling, oh dear. One word
describes this event 'pointless'. The control method (and the basis) of the
event
is exactly the same as the 100 metre sprint. All the other events in the game
are pretty much the same as in all other athletic titles - 110 metre Hurdles,
Hammer, Javelin, Triple Jump, High Jump, 100 metres Freestyle Swimming, 10
metre platform Diving (lasts about 2 seconds. is VERY dull), Super Heavyweight
Weight Lifting, Skeet Shooting. This all adds up to 11 events - but wait!
There's
another! The event that I seem to have forgotten is Kayak K1 Slalom. But, why
would I have forgotten this event? Simple, HOW DO YOU PLAY IT!!!
When each game loads it tells you the instructions of the event you are going to
play, but the developers seem to have got them wrong on the loading screen, so,
I
open the manual and begin looking. See the buttons and continue on playing. But
wait! They are wrong as well! This really is a major glitch. It ends up that you
have to get the buttons by a matter of trial and error. What a terrible,
terrible
shame.

Sadly, the developers, Attention to Detail, should of listened to what the
public
wanted. I personally would of liked the Long Jump and Shot Putt, but I suppose
they couldn't have had every track and field event. If they would of, I
would probably see myself sitting here, writing this review, and complaining
about the lack of non-track and field events! Of course, after careful
consideration
I find myself thinking that the developers chose the right events, and should be
patted on the back for doing so. There are of course some events that couldn't
be
included, for example, football. If that was put in the game I would have been
astonished! I think Sydney 2000 definitely needed more events though. 15 would
have been sufficient.

There are 4 modes of play - Arcade (select an event and play), Head to Head mode
(you actually need friends for this one!), Coaching mode (beat your coaches
time)
and finally Olympic mode. This mode really is the gem of the game. First you
must
select the nation that you will represent, then you select you desired event.
Lets
say you choose, erm, 100 metre sprint. You first of all have to train your
runner.
So you go to the virtual gym and run on the treadmill and must beat the lights
at
the side (not as easy as it sounds). Then you must go on to qualify for the
event
under a strict time. You can then go on to the next level, there are three in
all.
Once you have finished all the levels of play, you are entered into the Olympic
games. This is it, the climax of the game. If win it you are crowned Olympic 100
metres champion and then you must choose a new event to take part in. You
continue
until you have finished all the events. This mode really is fun.

Graphically Sydney 2000 could be better. There are often times when your player
will
'sink' into the track and other times when it will float. You can also tell that
this game was made for less powerful machines too. I'm sure ATD would tell you
that each version had a unique set of people working on it, but I don't believe
them one bit. We'll have to wait till ESPN International Track & Field is out
from Konami to see what the Dreamcast can really do to track and field games.
One
more thing about the graphics must be said though - "Why no VGA support?". This
seems odd especially when the demo version supports the Dreamcast's VGA mode. As
for the sound, it is fairly basic, often with players grunting, and squeeling
(the
main menu music is excellent and very catchy). Nice.

Gameplay: 8
Graphics: 6
Sound: 9
OVERALL: 7/10
Definitely worth a look. Get it.