After creating excellent arcade adaptations like Moon Patrol, Dig Dug and the unreleased but still awesome Mario Bros., Atari seemed to take a step back with their Apple II version of Track and Field. It's not bad, exactly, but it feels like it came from the same era as Centipede and Donkey Kong, back before the Atari programmers really knew what the Apple hardware was capable of. Sound is minimal, graphics are rather abstract, and the game plays a little on the slow side.
Also frustrating is the way Atari handled support for their custom 3-button Track and Field controller. Rather than release a controller specifically designed for Apple computers, Atari instead used the same controller as for Atari and Commodore systems. The controller therefore won't actually fit into a standard Apple II controller port. Atari worked around this by including an extra adapter that enables the controller to plug into a hidden port inside Apple II, Apple II+ and Apple IIe computers. This was a novel approach that likely helped cut design and development costs, but it also required Apple players to crack open their computers just to play a game, and it deprived Apple IIc owners completely. Still, Atari's approach was better than no custom controller at all, and it may very well have saved the lives of some Apple II joysticks and keyboards!
Overall, Apple II Track and Field is competent, but still a disappointment. Given Atari's other games, it feels like they could have done much better.