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International Track & Field: My views...

 Hmmm, lot's of things to say on this one, where DO I start?
 Info on the game:
 Well, IT&F is a 90's version of that old Konami classic: Track & Field. 
 We're talking about 11 decathalon type events (100m sprint, hurdles,
 hammer throw, discus, 100 freestyle swimming, javelin, shot put, High
 Jump, triple jump, pole vault and long jump.  It stays true to the classic
 with the same arcadish gameplay as the original.  Yup, ya gotta pound the
 buttons to do everything.  However, it IS the sequel to Track & Field after
 all, so what would one expect?
 Graphics:
 This game has some of the best motion captured polygonal characters since
 Tekken!  Very fluid, very detailed and very spectacular!  The camera views
 are ... exciting (for a lack of better term).  The camera constantly
 weaves around your player and although that might sound distracting, it
 isn't.  The stadium graphics is wayyy above average as well, not anywhere
 near as 16bitish as BOTN from Konami.
 Sound:
 Quite good actually, with decent Dolby Surround for the crowd noise.  I
 noticed they kept the same sound effects from the original game (whistles,
 etc).  Music is okay with an awesome guitar solo during the credits when you
 win it all on the Hard leverl (perhaps on Normal as weel, not sure).
 Playability:
 Well, it's simple!  Keeping in mind, this IS a sequel, it stayed fateful
 to the original as far as gameplay is concerned.  Yup, you have to bash
 the buttons, but you also have to time the ACTION/JUMP button perfectly,
 so there is a tiny bit of strategy (real tiny).  Concerning the lifespan
 of your fingers, it's not as bad as it sounds, just read the following
 section for hints on saving your fingers!  On the subjext of playability,
 I have to add the PHENOMENAL load time!  After the initial load, that's
 it! There is NO LOADING TIME between events or menus, etc.
 Hints:
 Before you guys put your fingers through hell, let me give you a
 hint:  re-configure your buttons so that X and O are the run buttons and
 instead of bashing, think rubbing :)  I hope this helps, it's gotten me 6
 World records and no swealing!
 Final Comment:
 A few people have stated this was more of a Multi-Player game (which it IS
 awesome at), but I disagree.  When I played the original T&F, I never
 played it solo with the sole goal to beat the crap out of the CPU player,
 but to beat the crap out of my best time.  It was an arcade game after all,
 this game is no different.  The playstation's memory cards are supported
 fully, so go out there and beat your times!  There are a few extras in
 there as well, like saving your World Record performances, being able to
 select ANY camera angles when viewing the said WR, funny animations (did
 anyone say UFO?  How about the Hammer throw?).  
 To finish this off, if your a fan of the original T&F, get to that store
 and buy the bloody thing!
 --
 Smile
 Rob C.