Stickman Super Athletics Review - Screenshot 1 of 2

With all the buzz around the Olympics this year, Stickman Super Athletics arrived just at the right time. Coderchild's latest offering sees you qualify for Olympian sports such as swimming, long jump and the 100m dash. Those who enjoyed games like Track and Field in past times will appreciate Stickman Super Athletics, but the longevity is lacking, with not much incentive to keep competing once the game is completed.

Stickman Super Athletics is incredibly simple. On starting, you and your stickman (no character modification here) must first qualify by completing seven events. Once these are passed you can choose individually from any of the events when you like: these events are 100m, long jump, 110m hurdle, 1km time trial, 400m, 400m hurdles and 100m freestyle. The tutorial and introduction to these are good and you should start these races feeling pretty well informed on what to do.

Stickman Super Athletics Review - Screenshot 2 of 2

The game mechanics are based on rhythm. The top screen shows the race, while the bottom screen is the hub of controls. You use the stylus to tap or hold targets as they show on the bottom screen, and depending on how accurate your inputs are you get a value of points which contributes to your speed and accuracy in the event. The rhythms change for each activity - for example swimming requires you to hold the stylus in the centre of a circle whilst it moves along the screen. It's an interesting way to control this type of game, and a welcome change from button mashing until you win.

The graphics are, of course, very basic. The stickmen characters are animated nicely, but it's not overly pleasing on the eye. That said, the screen is clear and the controls work smoothly and in time with the character. The music is much like other sports titles with a mix of forgettable tunes over sound effects and crowd noises.

The aim of the game is naturally to win; there isn't much else to do except repeatedly try and beat your previous score. Online play is unsurprisingly non-existent, with the only online feature being to share your score on the leaderboard. As this is a competitive game it would have been a lot more interesting to allow multiplayer mode either online or - more realistically in this case - locally. As it stands, the enjoyment of the game can dry up quickly once you get the hang of it.

Conclusion

Super Stickman Athletics definitely isn't a contender against other full-priced Olympic themed games, but we shouldn't expect it to be for its low asking price. Gamers who enjoy having something to play in short bursts now and then might enjoy this title as a budget cost, but those who want a little more longevity and incentive to play may be left underwhelmed.