World Championship Games: A Track & Field Event Review for Nintendo DS

World Championship Games: A Track & Field Event box art

System: DS	Review Rating Legend
Dev: The Code Monkeys	1.0 - 1.9 = Avoid	4.0 - 4.4 = Great
Pub: The Game Factory	2.0 - 2.4 = Poor	4.5 - 4.9 = Must Buy
Release: Mar. 17, 2009	2.5 - 2.9 = Average	5.0 = The Best
Players: 1-4	3.0 - 3.4 = Fair
ESRB Rating: Everyone	3.5 - 3.9 = Good

The throwing and targeting events fare a bit better, and though all of the events feel quite sterile, the controls generally work well. Throwing events mostly call for you to spin your stylus in circles on the touch screen to build up momentum and then implement gauges to optimize your throws. Targeting offers archery and shooting, which are fairly accurate in terms of control; simply aim with the stylus and fire with a shoulder button.

World Championship Games: A Track & Field Event screenshot

And that’s it, really… that’s pretty much everything WCG has to offer. There are several multiplayer options, and a couple of them are actually quite viable ways to enjoy the game with friends. The first is Single DS, which offers an ad hoc option where you simply pass the DS around (up to four players). There’s also Single Card, Multi-card, and online play via the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. When giving the online option a go, we had absolutely no luck finding another human soul to play this game with. There is a trophy section, as well as stat tracking, but with gameplay that falls flat, these additional features feel fairly shallow.

Though the game’s official website boasts WCG to offer “Superior character, animation [modeling], and in-game A.I.,” nothing could be further from the truth. This game, on the whole, looks downright ugly – all but the menu screens, perhaps. When you first start playing, you’re given the option of creating a character – gender, hair, outfit, skin, and build. Hair comes in four colors – no different styles – and changing the build merely zooms the character closer into view. Regardless of how shallow the options are, everything just looks terrible. Character models are blocky with very little detail, and though you are given five different countries to sport in, each arena looks the same: bland and lifeless. There was no noticeable slowdown and the characters do animate smoothly, but there was constant screen-tearing, as well as textures popping in and out during events.

The audio does very little to add to the presentation, as there is no music during events. You’ll get some victory music at the end of competitions, as well as a bit of cheering here and there, but overall, WCG is a fairly bleak experience throughout.

World Championship Games: A Track & Field Event is less of an event and more of a chore. Some of the games are mildly entertaining, but extremely bad instruction, matched with poor design, make for an experience that is less than satisfying. Add to that a terrible presentation and an online component that’s sure to remain barren, and this $30 game is a total bust. If you’re a fan of these types of sporting events, try one of the other two aforementioned games – each offers better control, better production values, as well as genuine fun.

By Tony Capri
CCC Freelance Writer

RATING OUT OF 5

RATING DESCRIPTION

2.2

Graphics
This game is a very poor example of the 3D visuals that can be rendered on DS. Though animations are okay, there’s no art and no style.

2.5

Control
It’s all hit-and-miss, with a lot more miss than hit. Ultimately, though, the game stumbles far too often to be a champion… or even an amateur athlete.

2.9

Music / Sound FX / Voice Acting
The cheering from the audience doesn’t sound great, but at least it comes in shades that offer feedback about your performance. Music is sparse and uneventful, and panting sounds from your athlete do little to add to the sense of fatigue.

2.4

Play Value
There are some decent ideas here, as well as moments of mild entertainment. However, there’s very little variety on display. An exhaustive number of missteps, along with slapped-together production values, make this a fairly poor offering.

2.4

Overall Rating - Poor
Not an average. See Rating legend above for a final score breakdown.

Game Features:

Accurate representations of 14 events: 100m, Long Jump, Shot Put, High Jump, 400m, 110m Hurdles, Discus, Pole Vault, Javelin, 1500m, Hammer, Running Target Ri?e shooting, Rapid Fire Pistol shooting, and Archery.

Single-player Decathlon, Tournament, and Quick Event modes, and Multiplayer modes for 2-4 players.

Create your own customized male or female athlete with their own distinctive attributes.