The Lowdown: To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the release of the original arcade Track & Field in 1983, New International Track & Field is updating the experience for the Nintendo DS. Now you can play with one of 18 cute SD characters designed by UDON, and unlock bonus Konami guest characters. Use your stylus to guide your athlete through events, each with its own special rhythm and technique. Play individual events, compete online, or take on the challenge of career mode with more than 20 events to master. Share your game to let up to four players compete off of one cart. Customize your athlete's appearance with unlockable costumes, and shout words of encouragement into the microphone to give your athlete a boost.
The Hype: New International Track & Field is feature-rich to an absurd degree, and the UDON characters add a lot to the game. As long as the controls are solid, this one's a winner.
The Snark: The original Track & Field amounted to "hit buttons fast". Will New International Track & Field amount to "drag stylus fast"?
Anyway, some screens with action and the crazy stylus manipulation areas behind the cut.
