MicroProse (surprise, surprise!)
Sensible Software (programmed by Smart Egg Software)
£9.95/£14.95

It's really quite a silly game, when you think about it, isn't it? Soccer, I mean, Kicking a hollow cow around and trying to get it between two sticks seems to appeal to an awful lot of us, though, so MicroProse's latest simulation might well be very popular. We all know what football's about, so no point explaining that, but MicroProse Soccer has lots of interesting features which make it addictive and playable, even to boring and unfootbally people like me!

The first, and most important, is that you don't have to wear studded cow skin thingies on your feet (oooooer!) and there's no hollow cow to kick around.

Then, of course, there's the indoor soccer option allowing you to choose between a six-a-side indoor league or championship or an outdoor game. The latter includes a brilliant rain feature (watch them players sliiide!).

Then there's the banana shot feature. This lets players kick the ball in a terrific curly manner. And to round off there are the World Cup and All Star Tournament competitions, not to mention the two-player modes.

In short, MicroProse Soccer is an excellent simulation of a game which I had previously found quite boring. The graphics are superb, instructions comprehensive, and gameplay and addictivity are brilliant.

MIKE

MicroProse Soccer is packed full of great overhead graphics, addictive gameplay and absolutely brilliant sound. The main screen is an aerial view of a football pitch and you control one of the excellently animated players and score goals (Yeh, let's state the obvious!). But that's not all there is in the game. You can select various options to make each game more interesting such as weather, replays and banana power (I prefer apples, they're much better for you). The weather's best, I just love playing football in the rain and thunder! MicroProse Soccer makes an excellent alternative to Match Day or 4 Soccer Simulators, check it out.
NICK

Microprose
£9.95/£14.95
Reviewer: David Wilson

Away the lads! Away the lads? Come on you monochromes! Yep! it's that footie time of year again! Whadd'ya mean the cricket season is about to start!?! Not on my Speccy it's not! This is Microprose Soccer, from Micropose (who else?).

Programmed by Smart Egg Software, Microprose Soccer follows hot on the heels of Gremlin's Gary Lineker's Hot Shot and is very much of the same ilk. Like Hot Shot, it features overhead viewpoints and arcade action with international sides to compete against. Unlike Hotshot, Microprose Soccer is monochrome. Then again where Hotshot has a large area at the bottom (devoted to the pitch represented in miniature, power levels and so on) this game does not. This leaves a larger part of the screen for the main area of play, and consequently larger sprites.

Furthermore, this game features much much more! There is a big control box which I've explained under Optional Extras, and the choice of playing against various international teams or even up to sixteen of your mates in your own league! In the international league the computer presents you with a league table and brings you the results as they happen for all the other fixtures. It should be pointed out that this game was unusually written especially for the 128K and then had bits chopped off to fit a 48K version. So what we have here is a much bigger game for the 128K, and conversely a smaller game for the 48K.

In the latter version you don't get all the international league tables and results, but you still get to take on the same sides. The teams are organised realistically to reflect the abilities of their real life counterparts, so Oman are a pushover and Brazil are well hard! If you do intend getting your mitts on the world cup, then a tip from Microprose's play tester Kevin, is to choose Brazil as your team. This means you don't have to play against them! (Cunning, eh?) Mind you, you still have to take on the mighty Italy. Ho hum!

So, how does it play? My answer is "Jolly well!" (Except that I don't really talk like that!). You can choose a realistic-ish version with medium banana shots or the 'really weird' high power banana game! Microprose tells me that four major league football teams were consulted on this matter and that all were in favour of high powered bananas! This means that if you actually perform a banana kick, then the ball boomerangs in a big curve and practically comes back to you! A trifle unrealistic but good fun! it can also be used tactically. There are back kicks to be performed, but Microprose really does believe in 'friendlies' 'cos there's no fouls in this game (Boo hiss! - Matt 'Bites Yer Legs' Bielby). There are throw ins, corners and goal kicks too. Here another plus over Hot Shot, is that you can control your goalie. I also like the balance of arcade type play, the background league info and computer generated results. It also bears out Microprose's dictum, "Easy to play, difficult to master." I know that we've seen a plethora of footie games of late but if you're in the market for another (or your first even!), then this is a gem. Over here son, on me Speccy!

THE COMPLETE AND UTTER YS GUIDE TO SOCCER ON THE SPECCY

Footie games, eh? Where'd we be without 'em? There've been hundreds of the blooming things, with more on the way each month, and they always (always! always!) sell like hot cakes (even the ones that are crap). So with the World Cup lining itself up on the horizon, let's join the slightly less-than-enthusiastic JONATHAN DAVIES, as we lead you by the hand into the past, present and future world of the Spectrum soccer game.

Oh dear. How can I start? Um, quite a few phrases spring to mind. Like "They're all the same!" and "No, please, not another one!" and, erm, "Let me out of here!" The problem, you see, is that for every MicroProse Soccer or Matchday 2 there are six or seven World Cup Carnivals (US Gold's tragic 1986 attempt at a footie sim) to wade through. And I should know - I've just waded through them all. Quite frankly I wouldn't care if the colour green never darkened my Speccy again. I'm sick as a parrot. So let's just forget all about them, eh?

What? No. You like them? Cripes. (Better get going on this giant mega-feature thingie then, hadn't you? Ed) Er, yes. Right. Football.

Well, there are certainly lots of games. And no, they're not all the same. There are in fact a few basic types, and within each of these categories dwell a hundred and one subtle variations. Um, what fun...

IT'S A GAME OF TWO HALVES

That's right, one half management, the other half actually booting the ball around a bit. To kick off with we have the straightforward arcade simulation. This you should all be familiar with - a big green pitch (seen from above, or sometimes from the side), the roar of the crowd (well, the 'beep' of the crowd), lots of little men running around kicking the ball, and you up in the air somewhere above it all, doing your best to keep one or two of them (plus the ball) under control. What you don't have to worry about though is what any of the blokes are called, how much they're worth, or any other boring managerial-type stuff. Good examples of this kind of game are Matchday 2 and Kick Off.

The second main sub-division, the management game, is a totally different kettle of fish. No footie here at all (as such), apart from the results of various games flashing up on your screen every so often to tell you how you're doing. It's business acumen we're worried about here, with all sorts of weird and wonderful information popping up to confuse you - what your men are called, how tall they are, how skilful they can be and all sorts. A good example of this variety of game is, surprise, surprise, Football Manager.

The third, and crappiest, type of footie game is the pools prediction program. Now you may get really excited by the prospect of these (I don't know) but I find them so brain-blendingly boring that this is the only mention they'll get here, so enjoy it while you can. (Sorry and all that.)

Actually there's a fourth subdivision I've just remembered too - those games that provide you with an often quite bizarre mixture of action game and management, usually consisting of lots of lists of numbers with slightly dodgy bolt-on arcade bits thrown in. Some of them work quite well, but there's always the odd game that's simply too weird for words - like Roy Of The Rovers for example, part arcade adventure of all things and with a badly drawn Roy searching for his kidnapped team!

If realism's your thing, MicroProse Soccer could well be the footie game for you. It opts for a novel bird's-eye view, and packs in more options than you've probably ever opted for in your life (the 'banana power' being one of my personal favourites). There are all kinds of different sorts of matches to choose from, ranging from American six-a-sides to entire international World Cup things.

The gameplay is pretty complicated too. You can do all sorts of different kicks, like swerves and 'overheads', plus throw-ins, corners and all sorts of other wonderfully fun things. But its real strength is its speed. Boy, does it go - there's none of your usual halfhearted plodding about here, matey. The scrolling's ultra-slick, and sometimes you have to really concentrate hard to keep up with what's going on.

In the 'best Speccy footie game ever' stakes its a toss-up between this and Match Day II really. The choice is yours.

Label: Microprose
Author: Smart Egg Software
Price: £9.99
Memory: 48K/128K
Joystick: Sinclair/Keys
Reviewer: Tony Dillon

Microprose Soccer was originally an uncommissioned game developed by Sensible Software, who then, after producing the Commodore 64 version and seeing what a hot product it was, looked around for a buyer. This came in the form of US sim giants Microprose who then released the game late last year to huge critical acclaim. (Well, me and Gary Whitta liked it). So. here's the Spectrum version at last, after only six months of waiting. How has it converted?

Not brilliantly. The original version relied prominently on the machine's hardware scrolling and sprites, along with the choice of colours. The Spectrum has none of these features available, and so you can't expect the game to be as good.

You get two games for your money, on a double sided cassette or disk. First is Microsoccer, the full blown soccer adventure and on the B-side you get six-a-side indoor soccer.

You can play either a two player friendly, a league with a few of your friends (up to 16 players in total) and start a world championship, with up to 16 human opponents and the rest of the 29 teams controlled by computer. Then you have all the finer options to choose from, such as controls action replays on/off, weather on/off (more later), banana shot power and match length.

So, what's the actual game like. Well, it's an overhead view eight-way scroller with large graphics. That's fine, nothing wrong with that. Now, let's start taking it apart. First point, the scrolling. It's not very smooth. It's actually downright jerky which is already a detraction from the action.

Then you have the size of the graphics. Well, they are very attractive and very well defined. The animation is fair enough, but because of the size in comparison to the size of the playing area, it means you can't see very much of the game. Also, because the graphics are large, detailed and monochrome, there are problems when it comes to telling which player is which. I found it difficult to discern which players belonged to my team and then to add insult to injury, I had to try and work out which player I was controlling.

The problem is that there is little distinction between the three, and that's what spoils a great game. It looks great, but it just doesn't play very well. In a fast moving match against the computer, it's just a little difficult to keep up with what's actually going on, and I must say, most of the time it seems like you don't actually have a player on screen. This isn't very good at all.

But it's not all bad. The game does feature a lot of things that are interesting, if not revolutionary. The action replays, for one. After a goal is scored, the screen turns white and whizzes back through the last ten seconds of the game, and shows the goal in slow motion. Also, you can choose banana power. This is the amount of curve you can give a ball, and when set to high, you can kick the ball through 180°. A handy trick indeed.

Microprose Soccer has become the standard by which all others are set on the 64, and fool that I am, I hoped for the same for the Z80, but alas it was not to be.

Label: Kixx
Memory: 48K/128K
Price: £3.99 Tape
Reviewer: Garth Sumpter

Here we are in the heart of the football season and whadaya know? The shelves are bristling with footy re-releases and that's just why Microprose Soccer shouldn't get into even the second round of the cup.

"That's a little harsh, Garfy" I may hear you say but just listen. When Microprose Soccer first stepped onto the pitch, it was set above all other available football games because of its wealth of options. You can play league, international or even World Cup games and you can play simultaneously against friends in leagues with the two player option.

There are variable strength banana shots, selectable lengths of halves and even an automatic action replay of all the goals. And just to make the realism complete, there's an option to turn the weather off or on, which, accurate to British weather, almost guarantees a quick downpour ever during the shortest of matches.

These are, without exception, excellent options and the banana shot has become a standard requisite of all football games since. So why does the game go offside as soon as you start to play?

Well call me a Saint, call me a Gunner, but the one, absolute necessity for football games just isn't there. There's no real playability. Whilst the graphics, seen from overhead, are clean, crisp and businesslike, the control just isn't. It's like controlling a player through a curtain of sludge; you press the fire button, wait for a bit and then the player hits the ball.

It's this overpowering sense of reluctance on behalf of the players that you're controlling that takes a match winning concept and just throws it all away before the final whistle. Despite all the options available this the game just doesn't get from a playability point of view. This is a pity, it does look so good at the beginning.

STEVE:
Unfortunately for Microprose soccer there are a lot of good footie sims available which show it up. It may have been the number one for original features when first launched but it's showing it's age now.

ST £24.95dk
Amiga £24.95dk
PC £24.95dk
Spectrum £9.95cs, £14.95dk
C64 £14.95cs, £19.95dk
CPC £9.95cs, £14.95dk

Concentrates on the fun and showmanship of soccer. This is the computer footy game that might be favoured by Rodney Marsh and George Best. All sorts of frills and spills have been added like Banana shots and action replays. Its league performance was slightly impaired by a lack of consistency in some of the versions (the Amiga version in particular didn't quite make the grade).

Spectrum 48/128 Cassette: £9.95, Diskette: £14.95
Amstrad CPC Cassette: £14.95, Diskette: £19.95
Atari ST £24.95

MicroProse Soccer is a bit more than most of its predecessors, and it proves very playable. Having both eleven-a-side and American rules soccer on one cassette/disk is a sensible idea bound to prolong lastability. The monochromatic Spectrum sprites (and the Amstrad game is virtually identical) thunder around the pitch in an amusing manner, and although the overhead view takes a while to get used to, control becomes second nature. The ball sprite works well too, with its shadow indicating height as well as position.

Things fall apart on the long-awaited ST version. Thin, colourless sprites lack the character of the C64 originals. They aren't as fleet-footed, and scrolling is slow and jerky. There's a clear ST tone to the tunes and jingles, though they're good copies of Martin Galway's compositions.