You may have already seen it as Decathlete on the ST-V based arcade board and this is an exact conversion, meaning hi-res 60fps visuals by AM3 which are, err quite remarkable.
Like Track and Field it features the ten events of the decathlon and you have the choice of eight cartoon-like characters to play as. Each athlete has their own strong point, some are good runners, jumpers or throwers while others are all rounders. They go under comic names such as Carl Vain the German poser or Jef Jansens the 'Daley Thompson-like' Brit with the big afro.
Most of the events require the obligatory button bashing that will almost surely lead to arthritic hands in later life whilst others need timing to get the correct power or angle. All the events work well utilising cinematic camera angles and fluid animation except for the slightly dodgy 1500m where you're joined by six drone athletes who veer all over the track and get in the way, all to a chariots of fire style tune.
There's loads of options and difficulty levels and you can choose to practise any event on it's own if you wish. The whole presentation is extremely good and for £40 you really can't go wrong. In the words of that long jump commentator bloke "IT'S HUUUUGGGGE!"
(c) UK:R Jon
