Only Fingers Get Tired Out in These Races

By AARON CURTISS

Jan. 20, 2000 12 AM PT

Only in a video game will I ever run a 100-meter dash in less than 10 seconds. Without getting off the couch. Or spilling my soda.

“International Track & Field 2000” for Sony PlayStation delivers Olympic-style action as old as the modern video game era with a dozen events ranging from cycling to canoeing. True, neither of those sports falls under the traditional umbrella of track and field--in fact, a majority of the events don’t--but the result is nonetheless satisfying when played against a human opponent.

Played against a flesh-and-blood foe, “International Track & Field 2000” transforms from a monotonous wrist wrecker to a fairly exciting contest that measures the strength and coordination not of the entire body, but of two button-punching fingers. Despite all the advances in graphics and memory, play on most modern track and field games remain as punishing as in the early days in the arcades.

“International Track & Field 2000” is no exception. It’s simple. To run, players tap alternating buttons. The faster the buttons get tapped, the faster the character on the screen runs. Or swims. Or pedals. Or paddles.

Konami, the game’s publisher, boasts that “International Track & Field 2000” is the only track and field game available for PlayStation. It’s not hard to figure out why. Demand for the genre can’t be too high.

Even so, the game’s graphics are quite good. Not stellar, but better than most. Play itself is quick and tight. Each event begins with television-style introductions, and the realistic camera shots that follow the players look like they come right off “Wide World of Sports.” And the variety of events is impressive. Each has its own look and feel.

“International Track & Field 2000” is a great party game. It’s easy to learn, and it’s fast enough that others probably won’t mind watching and cheering. But it’s not the kind of game that commands or deserves hours of one-on-one attention.

“Armorines: Project SWARM”

They just don’t get any more predictable than “Armorines: Project SWARM” for Nintendo 64, a first-person shooter that rips off everything from “Starship Troopers” to just about every other first-person game that came before. Yet it retains a single novel virtue that is its salvation.

After centuries of conflict, Earth has finally gotten its act together as nations denounce warfare and establish a new era of optimism and peace. But because this is a first-person shooter and not a first-person hugger, the optimism and peace can’t last for long. It doesn’t. Humanity faces extinction from giant interstellar insects that decide that Earth looks like a nice place to destroy.

As the planet’s defenses are overwhelmed, the top-secret Armorines are called in. Basically, the Armorines are futuristic Marines with fancy mechanical suits and a high-tech arsenal designed to kill bugs.

Through snowcapped mountains, dense jungles, broiling volcanoes and sprawling desert bases, the Armorines chase the bugs. In an effort to make the story more interesting, each level has a mission objective. But most involve little more than blasting from start to finish.

The one redeeming feature of “Armorines” is the ability to play together with a friend. Sure, the game includes the standard death match mode for up to four players. But two players can strap on their gear and fight the invading bugs together. As a team, players follow the single-player adventure, but cooperate to complete each level.

For that alone, the game has promise.

“Psychic Force 2012”

A fighting game that features psychics as combatants has the potential to be about as exciting as watching paint dry. “Psychic Force 2012” for Sega Dreamcast is only marginally more interesting.

In the future, psychics are rounded up by the military and pitted against each other in an attempt to find a weapon even deadlier than nuclear warheads. The psychics rebel, but then split into their own factions and duel with their minds in gravity-free venues of the mind called Psy-Arenas.

“Psychic Force 2012” pits players against each other--or computerized opponents--in completely three-dimensional fighting environments. As combatants flit from corner to corner of the arena, they trade physical punches along with psychic blasts of everything from electricity and flames to gusts of wind and gushes of water.

Each character possesses the ability to channel an element as a weapon. That’s neat, but not nearly neat enough to hang an entire game on. The fact remains that much of the combat is standard punch-and-kick fare. That it all unfolds in a three-dimensional arena makes it trickier to traverse, and ultimately that becomes more of an annoyance than a feature.

To comment on a column or to suggest games for review, send e-mail to aaron.curtiss@latimes.com.

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Essentials

Armorines: Project SWARM

* Platform: Nintendo 64

* Publisher: Acclaim

* ESRB* rating: Teen

* Price: $59.99

* Bottom line: Play with a friend

International Track & Field 2000

* Platform: Sony PlayStation

* Publisher: Konami