REVIEWS COURTESY OF ZXSR

On the Bench
by Mark Harding, Shaun G. McClure
Cult Games
1988
Crash Issue 55, Aug 1988   page(s) 76

Armchair sports fans or strategy freaks. Call them what you will. One of the most prosperous products a mail order company could ever produce is a sports strategy game. Most of the majors have kept out of this genre (only Addictive Games continue), but what they're missing is one of the most dedicated and loyal computer gaming groups in the UK. Some of us dream of managing our own favourite soccer, American football or cricket team and with the aid of your Spectrum it's possible for your dreams to come true - well, almost. Ace sportsman and all round sports fan PHIL KING takes a look at the top sports strategy games around at the moment.

ON THE BENCH
Producer: Cult
Price: £1.99

On The Bench is a text-only soccer management game featuring four divisions and is very up-to-date - even the newly-introduced promotion playoffs are featured. The player can choose to manage any one of 22 teams, though he always starts in the depths of Division 4. The game can be customised to your own requirements with a useful option allowing you to change the names of the players as well as teams.

Players in the same division may be bought directly at a price set by the selling team - they may also be sold to raise extra cash. The team is initially given an overdraft limit of £250000. If this is exceeded, the bank will automatically sell off some of the team's players.

Before each match, training may be given to strengthen any part of the team, or the whole lot if it needs it. The players are selected for the match along with one substitute. During the match, a clock counts the minutes played. A screen display gives a current match rundown of players, scorers and anyone that's been booked or sent off.

After the match, the results of the team's division are shown. They appear very slowly, followed by an even longer wait for the new league positions.

The program suffers from slowness and a general lack of control over the team's performance. Due to little involvement there is a clear lack of atmosphere. Only two pounds, though.


REVIEW BY: Phil King

Overall50%
Transcript by Chris Bourne

Your Sinclair Issue 33, Sep 1988   page(s) 51

BARGAIN BASEMENT

Come on down! The Pryce is right! (Groan - Ed) Once again Nat Pryce single-handedly guides us through the treacherous world of the budget game.

Cult Games
£2.99
Reviewer: Nat Pryce

There have been soccer management games around ever since the Speccy was just a flicker in Uncle Clive's fevered imagination, and they've all sold squillions of copies ever since. Now Cult has brought out On The Bench in the hope that people will not be put off by the dire title and actually buy the game.

On The Bench is absolutely packed with features - crowd violence, police bills, tea profit, weeks out - the list takes up almost the whole cassette inlay, to the detriment of any useful instructions unfortunately. In fact the list is so long it's almost impossible to decipher the vast quantities of numbers and statistics which flood out all over the screen.

I must admit that I'm not a great expert on footie management games - this is the first I've ever played seriously - so I can't compare On The Bench with any others on the market, but I can say that I enjoyed playing it quite a lot. If you've already got a similar game then try before you buy (yuk, wot a cliche) otherwise OTB is a good game of this type at budget price so why not give it ago?


REVIEW BY: Nat Pryce

Overall7/10
Transcript by Chris Bourne

Sinclair User Issue 77, Aug 1988   page(s) 46

Label: Cult
Author: Mark Harding
Price: £1.99
Memory: 48K/128K
Joystick: N/A
Reviewer: Rickard Jones

On the Bench is a football manager simulation with all the standard football manager simulation features. Buying players, selling them back. Four leagues. Twenty two teams. Not to mention playing the game as well.

Not wishing to upset anyone, but in my considered opinion, this game is Rubbish with a capital R. And why is this game Rubbish with a capital R, I hear you cry? Well, consider this. Most of the ideas within the game are old hat. In fact, nearly all of them have come from Football Director by D&H Games. Not only are they unoriginal, but they're poorly executed too, take the Scout's reports, for example. The instructions tell you that these are always inaccurate. Well what's the point of having them then? And why do you have to wait for 90 seconds just for the score to come up? Hey?

If I were you, I'd leave On the Bench just there. It's certainly no substitute for superior products like Football Manager II.


REVIEW BY: Rickard Jones

Overall23%
Summary: Sub-standard football sim. Leave well alone.

Transcript by Chris Bourne

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