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Frankly, I've had my fill of decathlon-styled games. They usually place too much emphasis on thrashing the joystick back and forth and little to do with dexterity, hand and eye co-ordination or any other skill.

I held higher hopes for this game. Having watched and enjoyed the perennial Superstars series on television, I hoped that the game's more interesting selection of events would be dealt with well by the programmers and produce an excellent offering. Sadly, I don't think that this has been the case though more likely than not it will still be a big smash hit.

The events on offer are 100 metres dash, cycling, swimming, canoeing - these four all involve little more than moving the joystick back and forth as quickly as possible. The other four events, squat thrusts, the parallel bars, archery and football arc a little more sophisticated.

The two gym tests 'are well simulated in this game and not easy to become profficient at. Archery is the best of the eight events in that there is a fair amount of skill involved to score well. Football, in complete contrast, seems to be more of a lottery than anything. Controlling your foot bailer as he dribbles around cones, you must then line him up for his shot at goal. You seem to have very little control of this latter stage.

Overall, "keen" seems a fair rating for the game. The graphics are good and the whole package runs smoothly and at a reasonable price but I found it lacking in addictivenes.

C.G.