2600 Track and Field was caught in the middle of Atari Inc.'s dissolution and the creation of Atari Corp. and Atari Games. Fortunately, unlike other games that were cancelled because of the split, Track and Field still got a release. Consequently it is one of the few games that was developed when Atari still called itself Atari Inc., but then released after Atari Inc. ceased to exist.
Whatever luck the game had in getting released was well deserved. Like Atari's other home versions of Track and Field, the 2600 version shipped with a special controller designed for the brutal button mashing the game requires. Also like Atari's other home versions, 2600 Track and Field is one of the best arcade ports for the system. Every event is here, along with all the action and just about all of the graphics and sound. Using the buttons to run and jump is as intuitive (and exhausting!) as it is in the arcade, and all the actions feels fluid and natural. Atari's programmers were in a rare zone when they created Track and Field and other 2600 games of the period, such as Stargate and Crystal Castles It's just a shame the company didn't survive around them.
Grade: A+.