159. Virtua Athlete 2K (Sega, Dreamcast (PS2), 2000)

Like the previous game, Winter Heat, Virtua Athlete 2K is a sports simulator and the last game included in the SEGA AGES 2500 Decathlete Collection. Originally released on the Dreamcast, the better graphics allowed for more realism, but the character designs have way less personality as a result. Virtua Athlete 2K is basically an update of Decathlete, although it removes 3 events: discus, pole vault, and 400 meter dash. That leaves us with 7 events:

• 100m dash: A basic running game with the same alternating 2-button control scheme that at least dates back to Konami's 80s Track and Field games.
• Long Jump: Again a basic running game where you hold triangle to adjust your angle.
• Shot Put: Probably the simplest game, this one is just timing based.
• High Jump: Exactly the same as long jump, except you can set the pole height before you jump.
• 110 Meter Hurdles: Like the 100m dash but ith jumping! I had a good time with hurdles because that was my event the one year of high school that I was in track.
• Javelin Throw: Another game with the same controls as long jump.
• 1500m Race: This was my favorite event. While it has the same alternating buttons to run control scheme, the focus is on maintaining a steady pace in order to avoid depleting all of your stamina. You can also freely move around the track weaving through other runners, and a key strategy is getting people behind you to bump you forward to conserve stamina. This felt like a racing video game, and keeping an eye on my pace was a neat mechanic.

3/5, a decent but anemic simulator from Sega; I think the original Decathlete is my favorite of these games