There’s nothing better than getting a few friends around to mash a few buttons to move an athlete 100 meters down a track. With London 2012 around the corner, there’s no better time to do it.

The best thing about athletic games is playing with friends, so it’s strange to see that they spent more time concentrating bulking up the career mode than the multiplayer, which is also equally as refreshing. You aren’t spoilt for choice with SS, you have career mode and free play mode. Career mode has little more to it than single player in other similar games which mean that when your friends go home you have more of a reason to fire up the single player. Free mode it where you can compete in cups or single events alone or with friends. That’s basically it, other than missions which is simply 49 mission that you can tackle during the course of the game but it feels tacked on to extend the longevity of the game.

In career you start off with a bog standard athlete competing in small events. As you progress you earn XP to buy skills for your athlete to improve his worth. These skills range from increased acceleration in running events to a better zoom in archery. Each of the disciplines has multiple skills to unlock.  The further you progress the more skills you can buy to improve your athlete which you will need for the latter harder events. There is also a bit of humour in the cut-scenes with either the commentators squabbling, the competitors trying to psych each other out or the mascots acting like idiots.   With 18 disciplines – like running, javelin, long jump, hammer throw – and 3 different leagues, you could sinks hours into the career mode alone and enjoy it. There is also special event inter-woven into the over events. These special events are usually bonkers like trying to put off somebody while they are trying to dive by squirting them with a water gun or taking pictures of somebody pole vaulting. It’s a pleasant distraction from the main events in career mode and breaks things up a little.

You have the option to play the game with motion controls instead of the pad. If you own a PS3 you can use the Move motion controller or if you have an Xbox 360 you can use the Kinect. Only playing on the PS3 version I can tell you that Move adds to the experience and is more fun to play than using the pad. Reading reports on the 360 version it appears that Kinect is too inaccurate and laggy to be enjoyed. So if you buy the 360 version, you might want to stick to the traditional controller.

With multiplayer (in free play) you can play with up to 3 other friends locally but if you are using motion controls, there isn’t even an option to play multiplayer. Also there is no on-line mode at all which is disappointing. So if you want a good multiplayer session with friends, you’re stuck with the trusty ol’ pad, a crate of beers and a comfy sofa.

Graphics aren’t that great and the animations in some disciplines seem to be the same when you mess up has to when you nail it. It’s another bad point but doesn’t take too much away from the experience.

Summer Stars 2012 puts on a great show with a career mode with some soul and even with a few flaws you will enjoy this game alone or even with friends.

7/10