Sure Olympic fever has already passed but that’s not going to stop us from checking out Konami’s newest Track and Field game.

It may be New International Track and Field but the idea is the same as the original; win the gold, try to break the world records, and unlock extra characters in the process. What make this one new are the stylus controls and an online community. So we have the basic idea of the original Track and Field coupled with newer controls and arguably one of the most important features for a sports game today… how is this not going to be a good thing?

Much like the original Track and Field the true fun of the game lies in playing with others, the single player modes (career, single events, and challenges) are mostly for unlocking the additional characters and costumes. Competing with players around the globe in a truly (well, almost truly) international competition is just as it should be; there are scoreboards and tournaments for global competitors to compete in, and the ability to form teams as well.

Of course, the single player modes are not without their merits, sure they are mainly for unlocking the stuff I mentioned earlier but the unlockable characters are characters you actually want to unlock. Simon Belmont of Castlevania fame, Solid Snake of Metal Gear Solid, Evil Rose from Rumble Roses, and Pentarou from Parodius. Unfortunately for Mystical Ninja fans, there is no Goemon but there is Pyramid Head! Yeah you read that right, the nightmare inducing Pyramid Head of Silent Hill 2 fame is a playable character. 

The bad thing is, while the character options are great, the actually look of the characters aren't. Forget the fact they are super-deformed, that's not the problem, it's that the 3D renders look bad compared to the 2D illustrations by UDON. Not only does this disjoint the experience a bit but the 3D renders look almost psychotic. Big eyes and smiles all around in 3D just comes off creepy. 

Besides the inclusion of the online community, the biggest change to the series is the fact that it’s on the DS and makes full use of stylus controls. Each event has some form of stylus movement be it quickly moving your stylus in circles to swim and bike or carefully dragging back and forth to create momentum on the high bar. Unfortunately, this also means the death of the Popsicle stick trick. You can opt to use the B and A buttons instead of the stylus, but it’s nowhere near as effective and unfortunately the buttons are in bad placements for Popsicle sticks.