ESPN International Track & Field is a video game that was developed by Konami Computer Entertainment Osaka Co., Ltd. and published by Konami of America, Inc. The game was launched on the PlayStation 2 home console from Sony and on the Dreamcast console. The game has been officially launched in 2000 for all the above mentioned platforms.

The title can be classified as a simulation title that is played from a third or a first person perspective. The athletes and the venues that are presented in the game are licensed from the international federations that handle the particular sports events the game is simulating.

Ganbare! Nippon! Olympic 2000 is the Japanese Title for the game.

ESPN International Track & Field has been created as a companion video game experience to the 2000 Olympic Games. There has been a long tradition of creating sports simulations based on such world wide events that sought to represent the essence of the sporting spirit in video game form.

The game includes no less than twelve events from the track and field area of athletics. Players can try to beat the world record in the 100 meters dash or they can throw to smash the longer throw of the hammer..

Unfortunately the gameplay is not too complex, with most of the actions performed via repetitive button presses and via timed events. The system is pretty similar to the ones used in classic sports simulation from the NES era.

The game got pretty varied reviews, with some critics liking the variety while other were not swayed by the limited gameplay mechanics.

GAMEPLAY HINTS

Trap Shooting

Get a gold in all the events (Including High Jump, Triple Jump, and Vault) to unlock this event.

High Jump

Get a medal in all eight events in trial mode to unlock the High Jump. This event is almost identical to the Pole Vault. In this event, anything lower than a 43 degree angle will make your athlete jump with too much forward force, making him hit his head on the bar. Always start your jump before the middle of the jump zone and go for a 45 or 48 degree angle jump. It is fairly easy to get your power to glowing red in this event, so build it up.

Here's a short video that shows the 100 meters event in action: