"Give this game a gold or a silver? I've got my own Olympic controversy here!"

I recall Track and Field as an immensely popular game, having seen it in both the very early and very late eighties. You could play it competitively with a friend or go out on your own, where the computer would play down or up to your ability. The game encompassed seven events: 100 meters, long jump, javelin, 110 meter hurdles, hammer throw, and high jump. People who completed all seven satisfactorily were declared medal winners. This left out the three most potentially confusing and tedious events of the decathlon(yeah, hammer, discus, blah,) the 400 and 1500 meter runs and the pole vault. This may have been done more out of the desire for quick profits than for not boring customers, but it all worked out to create a wonderfully fast-paced game, with world records, winners showing off, and losers breaking down and crying. Especially if one used the trak-ball, breaking the real world records was frequent. Two and a half meters on the high jump, seven and a half seconds for the 100m or eleven seconds for the hurdles or three hundred meters on the javelin. Herculean if not Olympian!

The fun starts at the name selection. While you only get three letters for initials, you get to choose your initials BEFORE GETTING A HIGH SCORE! Actually there are three hundred spots for a high score, which you get even if you fail to score(arcade-style scores are determined by performance.) You're also assigned a man determined by your player number--if only there were twenty hilarious characters to choose from instead of the four assigned. Up to four people can play at once, and the races go in heats of two. Other events allow three tries or, in the case of the high jump, three faults. After an Olympic tune, a ''Ready. Set. Go.'' starts you off. You bang alternate buttons or spin the trak-ball(double hand motion is very helpful here) to keep your speed up, and at the end the winner(if he qualifies) flexes his muscles to a roaring crowd's approval, and the second-place qualifier still manages to show off his guns while scratching his head. Everyone else puts his head down and blubbers.

The long jump's next; banging alternate buttons is a theme for improving speed throughout this game. Only this time, before you reach the foul line, you have to hold down the jump button until you're at the right angle. It's a bit tricky because you'll be torn between jumping early and leaving your hands off the speed button to ensure you jump on time, each of which costs you subtly. Although forty-five degrees is mathematically the best, it's a hoot to launch your man into orbit at eighty degrees after you've already qualified(only your longest jump counts, and you always get three) or to get him to trip. The best part is that he always seems to get a favorable mark and never falls backwards in what looks to be wet cement instead of sand.

The javelin is similar, as you want to go as quickly as you can without crossing the foul line, but instead of your man being launched, the javelin is. It's cool to watch it change trajectory while the meter-tracker shows how far it has gone. Once you've got the hang of the hundred yard dash, the long jump and the javelin are pieces of cake.

The game takes a bizarre twist around the 110 meter hurdles. You'll need to time your jumps to your runs--it's tough to get started as you won't quite have a rhythm, but once you've got it down, you should have no trouble qualifying. The next event, the hammer throw, is sadly not too versatile. You push a button or roll the trak-ball to start. The computer sets how quickly your man spins around as he moves forward in the hammer cage, and all you can do is to let go at the appropriate moment and choose the angle. Given which angle is best, it's not too hard to figure out what to do, and if you're going fast enough the hammer will probably wind up inside the fair lines and past the qualifying mark, resulting in very little tension.

The high jump is a bold gambit, and although you do not have to worry about your man's speed, you only need to control the angle he jumps at. He starts at 2.15 meters and after a while the change in height drops to a centimeter. The key is that you can control it at all times, which is physically impossible but makes for interesting strategy. At some point you have to hold your button down so he goes twisting around. Unfortunately there's a huge nuisance; if you make a world record, you'll get credit for the jump below it. That means one person can hold all the records too easily in the course of one game. Although technically correct it would be nice to see credit to more people by only allowing one world record per credit. After the high jump there's a medal ceremony for everyone who's qualified, as scores are added up.

Which guy you choose is sort of like which Monopoly marker you want, and unfortunately the computer is selfish. There are two white men(red or black hair,) a brown-skinned man, and a dark-skinned man. Each has a bright short/tank top outfit and a mustache. I always wanted to play with the redhead but he was not the first choice. Other than that there are tons of cool flags in the background that flashes by as your man is running, and your players' reactions to success or failure never fail to entertain. Like any video game that deserves memory, Track and Field has impressive demo screens, featuring the world record holder for any one event and ample instructions. There's even one where all four contestants jog across the screen. But it's not just the graphics.

Do you like eighties music? I do. Good thing for me there, because Vangelis's 'Chariots of Fire' features prominently when no-one is playing the game. You also have a twist on the Olympic anthem at the start of the game and events along with a cheery little clown-song for non-qualifiers, and a more standard arcade game noise when you break a record. The voice acting is funny, seemingly borrowed from Pole Position(''The distance: eight point twenty-seven mee-trus.'')

This game gulped down a lot of quarters back in the day. I remember how, between youth league games at a bowling alley, people would take a nominal break to play this one, and the two-player mode helped ensure the next bowling match would note be delayed. Indeed, a bowling alley was not a bad place to have this game, as many people wore wrist protectors to bowl, which was even more effective minimizing wear and tear on such a fast-paced game. Allowing people to race against each other encouraged competition, and the cabinet, which was a bit oversensitive, would often crap out from the constant button-pounding and reset--which of course was not the arcade owners' faults if you read the fine-print sticker on the side! Even with trackballs to help you through events, the game allowed for rather quick replays. The world records in each event gave many chances for a player to shine, and the amusing athletes helped lighten things up after disappointments such as the third successive foul on the hammer throw. And after the game more ardent or repeated players would have their own souvenirs of hard work and Olympic sacrifice--a blister or, after a particularly intense session, matching ones. It was great nonviolent fun, except for the thousand-point bird you could kill if you threw the javelin at too high an angle after you had already qualified.

GOLD MEDAL PERFORMANCE
--fast and furious!
--macho muscle flexing is always good for a snicker
--even if some events feel the same, they look different
--you get to choose your own name!
--droll speaking and music
--fun to try to set your own records

JAVELIN THROUGH THE HEART, BABY
--after a while, you wind up maxing out
--as a beginner I found it frustrating to get past the 100m dash. Too fast, and it left me furious
--trak-ball's a bit too easy, buttons are a bit too tough
--hammer throw and high jump seem a bit contrived and simplistic
--high jump world record is buggy
--can't choose your guy

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 11/01/99, Updated 03/05/02