Track & Field II

The Good
What's not to like? It has some of the best "button mashing" games out there! It is a fun game for more than one player too, as it is fun to either play one on one, or as a "oh yeah, beat MY that score" type of game!
Who can forget smashing your fingers to pulp trying to get enough speed up to make a record breaking long jump? Or trying to make sure you got the right rythm for either the hurdles or swimming?
...'run, run, run, jump, run, run, run, jump, ....'stroke, stroke, breathe, stroke, stroke, breathe"! (Nothing was worse than drowning your swimmer! ) You had to be a button master to get a good score in any throwing game, as you needed to not only spin or run quickly, but set your angle and throw at the right time!
It isn't a deep game, with characters or weapons galore. It is what it is, a fun, silly button smashing riot! If you were really rich back then, you could even buy a special mat that would translate your footfalls for any running you needed to do. Most of us got addicted to the sore fingers and knuckles! (The real pros used a ploy of sliding a coin back and forth over the buttons, thus saving the fingers for better things, like picking, pointing and wagging!) I loved the feeling you got when you knew you "hit the sweet spot" and your hammer went lonnnnggggg, or you got the pattern down and set a record in the pool. SWEET!


The Bad
Wellll, the sore knuckles and blistered fingers didn't go over to good, but I'd have to say that after a few rounds, the difficulty got too much and you never could quite beat the game. By that time, you were so spent, you had nothing left for the final rounds!
Some of the "sports" were really hard to learn, especially multi-button actions, like swimming! You really got your fingers tied in knots. While it was a lot of fun, there was little to no real story. There was no depth to it other than it was a day in the Olympics. No characters, no exploration. It would have been a golden opportunity tot include some interesting "educational" info about the world and or sports. Yeah, kids didn't want to play educational games, but if you hid it good, the kids wouldn't have noticed.

The Bottom Line
A great "party" game for groups. Lots and lots of replay value from a "beat my score" aspect. Lots of fun and very much a challenge, even if a "button mashing" game. Lots of variation of different disciplines of Olympic sports. One of the great classics. Good to have in a collection.