Track and field games, and particularly those dumped on the market every four years in honour of the Olympics, have never been particularly good at either simulating real sporting events or being a fun gaming experience.
With London 2012, you won't get a complete simulation, but you'd have to be particularly stony-hearted not to have any fun.
The button-mashing is still there in events like the 100m sprint, but with the help of a stamina gauge, players are made to pace their controller abuse.
Simply wearing the button out with repeated blows will cause your competitor to burn out, so you have to introduce some rhythm in order to keep yourself in the race.
That mechanic applies to plenty of sports in the game, from hurdles to javelin, which is far more fun than it sounds. The tap-tap-tapping is there, but there's skill in getting the run-up down pat before quickly pulling the thumbstick at just the right time to produce an optimal throwing angle. And if you nail a personal best, you really do feel accomplished. The enthusiastic commentary and - if you're good enough - medal ceremony national anthems are the icing on the cake.
