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The
sports simulation that took the video world by storm
is very well converted to the 64 and Konami's official
Track and Field. The original keyboard thumping/joystick
toggling game that started off the craze for 'Decathlon'
games last summer has at last been converted in its
entirety, down to the little cheats and bugs that give
you extra points.
Track
and Field has the six original events: (in order)
the 100m dash, the long jump, javelin, 110m hurdles,
hammer throwing and high jump. Most are a test of speed
and endurance apart from the hammer throw which tests
your timing and reflexes.
The
game still has the same rules as the arcade game: you
have certain qualifying times and distances that you
must meet; fail any one and your game is over. The game
starts with the 100m dash which is purely a test of
brute strength. (There is a way to cheat on this but
I'm not telling you how). As soon as the referee fires
his gun, smash the keyboard to bits or hurl the joystick
around the room.
Once
that is over it's time for the long jump. Run up to
the scratch line as fast as you can and press the jump
button when you're near it. You have to get the angle
of the jump as near to 42 degrees as possible to gain
the optimum jump (it is NOT 45 degrees).
Onto
the javelin and the approach is very similar to the
long jump, the only difference being that the angle
should be as near to 45 degrees as possible. After the
javelin comes the 110m hurdles. Use the same technique
as the 100m dash but use the jump button to get over
the hurdles. The hammer follows and this time it's timing
that counts. Your man spins round automatically and
you have to time the release of the hammer at the right
time so the thing actually goes out of the safety netting
and lands on the field. After this is the final, and
most boring, event, the high jump. Your man runs up
to the bar and you have to guide him over by using the
jump button.
Once
that is over, the winner of the match is acclaimed and
a good rendition of 'Chariots of Fire' plays. After
that little break its back to the joystick (or keyboard)
for another round, only this time the qualifying times
and distances are all increased (or decreased as the
case may be). There are all the options of the arcade
game including 1-4 players and the number of opponents.
The graphics are very similar to the arcade and the
scrolling is very smooth. The sound comes straight from
the arcade version and apart from the lack of speech
there is hardly any difference. Although 'Track and
Field's are quite common on the 64 there isn't one which
scores like an arcade game. Highly recommended to Track
and Field fanatics.
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