ESPN International Track & Field

ESPN International Track & Field

The first in a series of Konami games bearing the ESPN license, ESPN International Track & Field brings the classic gameplay of their traditional Track & Field arcade series to the PS2 and Dreamcast.

Overview

ESPN International Track & Field (known in Japan as Ganbare Nippon! Olympic 2000, not to be confused with the earlier game of the same name) is a multi-sport game developed by KCE Osaka and published by Konami for the PlayStation 2 and Dreamcast on August 31, 2000 (in Japan) and between September and December 2000 worldwide.

It is part of the Track & Field game series and is the first game released by Konami to bear the ESPN license. Although the Japanese version was licensed with the Japanese Olympic Committee, it is not an official game of the Games of the XXVII Olympiad event (which was instead granted to Eidos's Sydney 2000).

Events

  • 100M Dash
  • 110M Hurdles
  • Long Jump
  • Pole Vault
  • Javelin Throw
  • 100M Freestyle
  • Weight Lifting
  • Horizontal Bar
  • Trap Shooting
  • Rhythmic Gymnastics

Nations

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • United States of America
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • Great Britain
  • Italy
  • Kenya
  • Japan
  • Netherlands
  • Russia
  • Spain

Championship Mode

In Championship mode, the player has the option to play through all 10 events, or any event of their choice under the banner of their chosen nation. Entering any name is an option, otherwise the name will default to M. Greene, A. Boldon, or J. Hartwig (Maurice Greene, Ato Boldon, and Jeff Hartwig consulted on the game).

A tutorial plays before each event, demonstrating the controls. During the event, you can review the controls from the menu.

Every event can be played multiplayer. Up to four people can compete at the same time using the Multitap for PlayStation 2.

Trivia

In the manual for ESPN International Track and Field, their is a portion of the text that refers to the purchased game as "Gradius III & IV," which was a compilation collection released for the PlayStation 2 earlier in the year 2000. The Copyright information is also in regards to Gradius III & IV, not to ESPN International Track and Field itself.