{"id":504,"date":"2015-08-23T17:19:57","date_gmt":"2015-08-23T21:19:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gaminginsurrection.com\/stories\/?p=504"},"modified":"2022-07-17T18:34:10","modified_gmt":"2022-07-17T22:34:10","slug":"track-field-ii-3q2015","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/gaminginsurrection.com\/reviews\/index.php\/2015\/08\/23\/track-field-ii-3q2015\/","title":{"rendered":"Track &<\/span> Field II<\/span> \u2014 3Q2015<\/span> issue"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

Spir\u00adit of an Olympic champion<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Hear\u00ading the name Track &<\/span> Field II<\/span> eas\u00adi\u00adly cre\u00adates pow\u00ader\u00adful nos\u00adtal\u00adgia in me. I was a young girl learn\u00ading the ins and outs of an NES<\/span> in 1989 when my old\u00ader broth\u00ader, Tony, brought home the Olympic con\u00adtest title. It was the last year that we lived in the same house and had time to sit down and play video games togeth\u00ader. That was the year that I learned what it meant to duel an old\u00ader sib\u00adling who had far bet\u00adter hand-and-eye coor\u00addi\u00adna\u00adtion and reflex\u00ades and why teenagers seem to do much bet\u00adter at games than lit\u00adtle kids.
\nI\u2019m no Olympic ath\u00adlete so I\u2019d rather try my hand at the dig\u00adi\u00adtal ver\u00adsions. Track &<\/span> Field II<\/span> offers a vir\u00adtu\u00adal boun\u00adty of events from which to choose, and all of them are pret\u00adty faith\u00adful\u00adly recre\u00adat\u00aded from their orig\u00adi\u00adnal coun\u00adter\u00adparts. There are 12 events to choose from, with three that can be cho\u00adsen in dif\u00adfer\u00adent modes or as spe\u00adcial events.
\nThe events, rang\u00ading from hur\u00addles to gym\u00adnas\u00adtics and swim\u00adming, are fun to try but frus\u00adtrat\u00ading to learn the nuances. It took con\u00adsul\u00adta\u00adtion with Tony, an NES<\/span> Max con\u00adtroller and many years to get the hang of cer\u00adtain events. This is most\u00adly because there wasn\u2019t a lot of info out there in the days before the Inter\u00adnet and because, again, I had ter\u00adri\u00adble untrained coor\u00addi\u00adna\u00adtion and reflex\u00ades. Even today, with a wealth of tips out there, it\u2019s still hard to get a bull\u2019s\u2011eye in the archery, and it\u2019s been near\u00adly 30 years. Graph\u00adi\u00adcal\u00adly, there\u2019s a few things to look at, espe\u00adcial\u00adly for an NES<\/span> title. It\u2019s not going to set the world on fire but the graph\u00adics are fine for the time peri\u00adod and don\u2019t detract from the over\u00adall experience.
\nThe music, while not espe\u00adcial\u00adly mem\u00ado\u00adrable, is still ser\u00advice\u00adable. It\u2019s not some\u00adthing you\u2019re going to be hum\u00adming well after you\u2019ve put down that tur\u00adbo con\u00adtroller, but it\u2019s not bad, either. A lot of the tracks are well done and fit the gen\u00ader\u00adal mood of the event you\u2019re par\u00adtic\u00adi\u00adpat\u00ading in. There are a lot of sound effects in the game and they are gen\u00ader\u00adal\u00adly what make the game what it is.
\nThe nos\u00adtal\u00adgic fac\u00adtor is what keeps me com\u00ading back to what is a gen\u00ader\u00adal\u00adly frus\u00adtrat\u00ading game. That nos\u00adtal\u00adgia is what turns a poten\u00adtial\u00adly con\u00adtroller-throw\u00ading hur\u00addles event into a first-place tri\u00adumph over a noto\u00adri\u00adous\u00adly hard A.I. that likes to pun\u00adish at every chance.
\nIt\u2019s my chance to feel like the Olympic cham\u00adpi\u00adon that I will nev\u00ader be.<\/p>\n