It's okay. There's four years before they make another one...

The pain sets in after about twelve minutes. It starts off as a warm knot in the muscle on the underside of the forearm, gradually escalating to a sharp agonising shooting pain. With it comes weakness and the feeling that your entire limb has turned to rubber.

It's testament to the mysterious workings of the human body, that moving two fingers up and down very fast for a few seconds can disable your entire aim for hours. Can, after all these years, we still be expected to button bash our way through the Olympics? Apparently so. It's somewhat mystifying why Athens 2004 hasn't moved away from the archaic button whacking dynamic for 90 percent of the events on offer in this sadly familiar Olympic tie-in.

Without wanting to betray the unity and spectacle of the world's greatest sporting event, Athens 2004 is virtually the same as the depressingly ancient ESPN International Track & Field. Our criticism of that game also applies here: it's not just that button mashing is painful, it's also intrinsically boring.

Take the track events as an example: 100, 200 and 400 metres are all identical, only each one slightly longer than the last. Yawn. Jump-related contrivances like the high jump, long jump, triple jump and pole vault simply combine bashing with timing. Throwing events just chuck in the added confusion of an indeterminable throwing angle. Does a shot putter really know the optimum throwing angle for launching his stone? Of course not, he just winds one up, grunts a Polish swearword and lobs it one.

Other events are also underwhelming, relying on subtle variations on the button-hitting theme - swimming (breathe at the right time), equestrian (make the nag jump at the right time) and shooting (fire at the right time), while the gymnastics are a sort of bastardised rhythm action, playable with a dancemat (wahey, a bit of innovation!). It's all a bit disappointing, really - especially when you consider the wealth of events that could have been included. What about table tennis, softball, badminton, canoeing, fencing, cycling or judo? Even sailing would be more exciting than weightlifting.

The question is, does Athens 2004 become enjoyable when you play against someone else? Well, kind of. It's mildly amusing (at least as a spectacle) to see two men, pads pressed into their crotch, faces winced up, veins bulging, eyes shut as they try and bash out a win in the 100 metres. And the teenage girl brigade will love the dancemat gymnastics.

Come the Olympics in August, slow motion images of men running set to pompous orchestral pieces, coupled with the chance that we might win a couple of golds (in tiddlywinks and mini-golf presumably) will undoubtedly seduce PS2 owners into buying the official game in droves. It's unfortunate the game they'll get isn't anything approaching the grandeur and scale of the actual event.

Graphics 70%
Average, apart from the motion capture.

Sound 50%
You can switch the commentary off.

Gameplay 50%
Button bashing? Surely not!

Lifespan 60%
Different ways to play the events.

Overall 50%
Does exactly what it sets out to achieve in the most pedestrian manner humanly possible. Hardly Olympic standard.