DecAthlete

"A very adictive button-masher."

Decathlete was released in 1996 for the Sega Saturn; it is a button mashing sports game in the vein on the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) classic, Track & Field that uses numerous track & field events, those events are: the 100 meter dash, long jump, 110 meter hurdles, javelin throw, pole vault, discus throw, the 400 meter race, and the 1500 meter race.

Graphics-8/10- The in-game characters have a hi-res look to them (much like the Saturn version of Virtua Fighter 2), they also look very funny beacause of their stereotypical nature. Rounding out the graphics are the, for the most part, excellent camera angles during the events, the only downside to them is that they sometimes obstruct your view of the action.

Pros- Excellent, original character design. Dynamic camera angles.
Cons- Camera angles can, occasionally, block your view of the action.

Sound-8/10- The music has a sporty, Spartan-esque sound to it that fits the game perfectly. The in-game announcer has quite a few funny lines, they are made even funnier because of his overblown, super-excited voice.

Pros- Music fits the game's theme perfectly. Sound effects are spot-on.
Cons-None.

Gameplay-9/10- I mentioned the events in the game earlier, here's a brief description of each of them.
100 meter dash- it's a 1-on-1 race to the finish.
Long jump- your goal is to jump out as far as you can into the gravel.
Shot put- Your goal is to throw a lead ball as far as you can.
High jump- Your goal is to jump over a bar.
400 meter dash-just like the 100 meter dash, only 4 times as long.
110 meter hurdles- just like the 100 meter dash, only now you have to jump over hurdles.
Discus throw- throw a discus as far as you can.
Pole vault- use a long pole to elevate yourself over a bar.
Javelin throw- throw a javelin as far as you can.
1500 meter dash- just like the 100 and 400 meter events, only it's much longer and you now face numerous opponents.

Pros- Tons of events.
Cons- The button-mashing games get old quickly.

Control-8/10- The control is a mixed bag, it's very responsive, but the constant button mashing wears you out. It's also a bit too simple, all you have to do to win some events is mash the A & C buttons and then hit the B button at a certain time. As wierd as this may seem, I actually like the control, it makes you earn every win.

Pros- Super-responsive control.
Cons- Button-mashing tends to get old quickly.

Replay Value-6/10- Once you've beaten all of the events, the only reason to come back would be to beat your top score. I wouldn't recomment replaying this game a lot, you'll be sorry if you do.

Presentation-7/10- The overall presentation is pretty plain, but it gets the job done.

Overall-8/10- This is a fun, very well put together game, it's the perfect party game. My word of advice on it is this, don't play it for long stretches of time, you'll regret it.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 10/29/00, Updated 10/29/00