In the movie industry, the process is called "direct to video." A finished movie, due to its horrible plot and/or lack of studio support, never makes it to theaters. Instead, the movie gets relegated to video-store shelves, losing all hope of achieving fame or gaining financial success. The video game equivalent of that process seems to be at work with the Nintendo 64 version of International Track and Field 2000, which at the time of this review is available only via rental at Blockbuster Video.
After you've beaten the game several times, it's easy to see why Konami wanted this title to go straight to rental: Despite an excellent presentation, its limited button-jacking gameplay variety and lack of challenge or replay value make for a yawner of a title once the novelty wears off and fingers cramp up.
The game features 14 events, four of which are secrets that can't be unlocked until you win certain medals in all available events. You can choose to sample events in a trial mode or to compete as a country in eight random events in a championship mode. Like most track-and-field titles, the gameplay is composed of rapid button presses, timed button presses, or a combination of both. The control is totally responsive and never lags, which is essential for a game of this nature.
The events, best reviewed as a series of minigames, are a mixed bag at best:
100m Dash, 100m Freestyle: These pure button-mashing events can be beaten in less than five minutes apiece, and offer absolutely no challenge or replay value.
Javelin Throw, Long Jump, 110m Hurdles, Hammer Throw, Weightlifting: These button-mashing/analog stick-rotating events also require a timed button press. Except for the hurdles event, they offer little gameplay challenge once learned. The weightlifting requires serious button-mashing endurance, which makes this event slightly more unique than the others in this category.
Pole Vault, High Jump, Triple Jump: Similar to the category above, except these require two rather than one timed button press. These rather challenging events take roughly an hour or so to master, but they may prove frustrating for beginners.
Horizontal Bar, Vault: These are perhaps the two toughest (and most enjoyable) events in the game, primarily because they require matching specific D-pad sequences under a certain time limit - the closest comparison is to the dance moves in Bust-a-Groove.
100m Breaststroke: This is a pure "timing rhythm" event using the L and R buttons, in which players regulate a meter that swings left and right. It's a joke to beat.
Skeet: This pure-reflex target-shooting event gets unlocked after getting gold metals in the 13 other events. Sadly, the event proves too lame to merit that effort.
Overall, this gameplay potpourri is too thin and limited to sustain long-term gameplay enjoyment and is best enjoyed in small doses or as a multiplayer "party" aid.
The game's visual flair stands alone as its strong suit, even in low resolution. Despite a little flicker, the stadium backgrounds appear convincing and employ nice details, such as sideline judges and lighting effects on the athletes. However, it's the highly realistic athlete animations that'll catch your eye the first time around. The developers accurately captured the "Olympic athlete machismo," which runs the gamut from joy (pumped fists after breaking a world record) to disgust (a head hung in shame after failing to qualify in an event). In the high-resolution format (supported by Nintendo 64s with the Expansion Pak installed), the game seems to suffer from a slight touch of slowdown. This malady seems to be more a result of overheating systems rather than any game-design flaw. The sound effects do an adequate job of complementing the Olympic atmosphere, mainly by using echo effects for the announcers. The crowd noises seem rather vanilla, and the always blood-stirring "USA! USA!" chant (along with other countries' cries) is sorely missing.
Unfortunately, the graphical novelty wears thin fast. In fact, the animation sequences within events will undoubtedly become a nuisance as gamers retry events to get gold medals. Meanwhile, the game's biggest flaw accounts for its rental-only status: It's a joke to beat in a night or two - especially by veterans of earlier, similar button-mashing titles. At the risk of spoiling the surprise, the ending cinema is worthless except for those willing enough to find all of the game's secret name codes.
At this time, Konami hasn't ruled out selling this game on store shelves in the future. Don't bother: Only one rental is required to milk this meager title for all it's worth.
