Beijing 2008

I very much doubt that there's one element of an Olympian's preparation that takes priority over all the others. As well as being generally fit and ready for taking part on the day, athletes and sports men and women have to be fully versed in their sport, confident, skilled and prepared for stepping out onto the arena in front of the world's cameras. Simply focusing of just one element would lead to the disaster otherwise known as last place - usually where the Brit resides.

Of course, trying to communicate such intricacies on a mobile phone would lead to an overcomplicated game that'd be a chore to play. So Humagade's ode to the Olympics chooses to highlight just one part of an athlete's make-up: timing.

Success in the game's four main sports - 100m Sprint, 200m Freestyle Swim, Table Tennis and the Hammer Throw - relies on you having a distinct sense of rhythm and timing, and while their application results in a game that hardly captures the relative excitement of the game's chosen sports, it gives you a glimpse of the small measures that will decide the medals this summer in Beijing.

The finite line between winning and losing is perhaps best illustrated in the game's 100m sprint - undoubtedly the highlight race of any athletic meeting, and certainly the first event many players will have a crack at. As a result, Humagade has made it the most easy to pick up. Speed is determined by hitting the '5' key at the right times, with purple marks on the track signifying just when those instances are.

Your timing is then assessed, either by a cross (meaning you've missed the mark entirely), or by two other ratings: 'OK' and 'Good'. The latter is the optimum rating, giving you a significant burst of speed that, when placed in a chain, can see you fly to the front of the pack, while a string of 'OK's will simply have you hanging on to their coat tails, depending on their respective abilities, of course.

In all of the game's events, competition in the two opening rounds is fairly light, and most players will find it relatively easy to get through to the final on either their first or second attempt. The final itself is more of a challenge, however, with an almost constant stream of top ratings needed to build up enough speed to take home the gold medal.

This is just as true of the freestyle swim, though the developer has mixed up the controls a little here by adding directions into the equation. This time, the prompts scroll along the bottom of the screen and it's a case of hitting the right direction ('2' for up, '8' for down, '4' for left and '6' for right) as well as the central '5' key. Again, winning that gold medal involves building up momentum by scoring as many 'Good' ratings in a chain as possible.

Table tennis takes a slightly different approach. Though timing is again an essential part of play - both in terms of actually returning shots and serving, via a power gauge - Humagade has complicated the issue by introducing a 'chance ball', which is activated when your opponent really stretches to reach a ball. You're then presented with an opportunity to smash a decisive shot past them, but only if you manage to stop a scrolling cursor on the correct (in this case, a circle) icon. It's an interesting idea that would probably be best expanded in a title in its own right, as Beijing 2008's strengths are found in its simpler mini-games.

The game's fourth and final mode, the hammer throw - which is probably the most fruitful of them - vindicates this policy of simplicity. As in swimming, prompt points scroll along the bottom of the screen, but like the 100m sprint, success is simply a matter of hitting the '5' key at the right time. The first three hits determine the power behind your throw, while the fourth must be held down rather than tapped to come up with the angle of the throw - ideally around the 40-degree mark.

Get all four marks spot on and throw at the ideal angle and you'll pass the 80m line, earning yourself a medal in the process. There's plenty of opportunity to hone your skills at this event, as each round consists of six throws, and - if you've chosen the full 'Going for Gold' mode - there's a qualifying round and semi-final to get through before you try and score yourself a place on the podium.

Even then, each game barely touches five minutes, and so longevity is a question of motivation rather than actual progress, although the allure of trying to beat an Olympic or world record may well run strong in many who sample Beijing 2008's short but sweet delights.

This is, essentially, the bite-sized Olympics, with just the smallest hint of the kind of precision needed for success at this year's games given in the three challenges. If a quick (and I mean quick) dip in the pool or sprint on the track is your idea of fun, then Humagade's take on the Olympics is most certainly for you. Just don't expect the experience to rival anything deeper than a paddling pool.