Airmark's Full Review: ESPN International Track and Field for Game Boy Co...
I do not know how to phrase this properly, but to put it simply, International Track and Field 2000 by Konami sucks. It’s a shame to see that through all of the technological advances (graphics, sound, etc.) a company can still put out such an inferior product. It’s really quite astounding to see a company like Konami develop a game like this when they are also the company responsible for such excellent games as Metal Gear Solid. If the developers had spent two minutes, just two minutes, working on things like the game play of International Track and Field 2000.
The biggest problem with International Track and Field 2000 is its game play. Why oh why is the same button-mashing format that was used on systems like Genesis or Super Nintendo still used here? The makers of those games had to have seen a lack of interest in those games. Even if they did not, how can they think that this kind of product is still acceptable??? Let me give you an example. To partake in the “Clean and Jerk” (weight-lifting) one must first, according to the instruction manual, “repeatedly tap the Square button/Circle button to increase your power.” Then you must “press the Triangle button/X button to perform the ‘clean.’ Once the breathing of your participant is back under control, press the Triangle button/X button once more to perform the ‘jerk.’ Press the square button/circle button repeatedly to help keep your balance.”
Is this what constitutes fun game play? NO!!! Button-mashing is a poor choice for games. Most developers seem to have learned that. Not the track and field developers, however.
The only events that you need not mash buttons for are the springboard and the horse vault. In these events you get to choose moves that you wish to perform off of the diving board/horse. This lends to a slightly better gaming experience, as these require some sort of skill. For example, the horse vault requires that you press a certain button combination as you are approaching the horse to perform a move off of it. These two events do not, I repeat, do not, make up for the other ones.
On the positive side, the graphics of the game are pretty good. The participants are clearly rendered, and move like true human beings. This is because they were motion captured. However, the problem with this is that you never really feel like you are in control of your participant. It seems like they have a mind of their own, and in essence, they do! Since you never really control the motions of your characters, you never feel like you are moving them. You only control their speed. It truly is a terrible gaming experience, and I cannot recommend it to anyone, event the most hard-core track and field enthusiasts.
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