Beijing 2008: Nostalgic return to the Top Ten

Beijing 2008 (Sega, £29.99)

Dads might occasionally wander into pre-pubescent lairs and wonder why you weren't outside playing 'proper' games or dismiss your desperate claims that being confined to a black-and-white telly made a mockery of your Spectrum's massive technological capabilities, but the notion of an adult actually playing with the things was, frankly, a little suspect.

Back in those halcyon days, a few titles made such a profound impact on our unformed minds that today, more than 20 years later, the mere mention of their names can prompt a warm nostalgic glow.

Olympian effort: Competitive button-bashing could win you gold

Allow me to demonstrate: Jet Set Willy, 3D Deathchase, Ghostbusters, Elite... See? You can almost taste the Wham bars and Texans that provided sustenance as you spent most of the summer holidays avoiding ectoplasm and cursing interminable load times.

The game that generally prompts the fondest response, however, is Daley Thompson's Decathlon.

It remains a veritable milestone, an unforgettable amalgam of the UK's greatest Olympian and a game of such breathtaking simplicity that anyone could excel at it.

Whether running the 100m or throwing a discus, if you could hit two buttons at breakneck speed, or waggle a joystick furiously, then gold could be yours.

With this bang-up-to-date return to Olympic territory, two things are remarkable. The first is how much things have changed  -  graphically, sonically, aesthetically and in terms of sheer scale.

The second is how little things have changed  -  no matter that technology has advanced, if you want to replicate athletics in a video game you still need to waggle joysticks furiously or bash buttons until your fingers bleed.

Playing as either male or female, you can compete here in everything from the 100m sprint to the parallel bars  -  not to mention shooting, kayaking, weightlifting and even floor exercise.

Mostly, it is a case of building up speed by waggling while pulling the trigger to release, throw, jump, dive or lunge at the finish line. Some disciplines demand reflex button-pushing to perform rhythmically, and still more call upon you to rotate a stick to keep an icon under control as your high diver heads toward the pool.

The biggest departure from Daley's days comes with a multiplayer, which is both sophisticated and comprehensive, offering opportunity to challenge friends and strangers and boasting a universal leaderboard destined to prove horribly addictive.

In terms of gameplay, then, this does not reinvent the wheel nor even redecorate it, but it is unspeakably gratifying to have all the frenetic fun of DT's Decathlon transported into the modern era.

Verdict: Nostalgic but nice

***