Producer: Imagine
Retail Price: £7.95
Author: D J Anderson

Here's another way to play football without getting covered in mud and sweat. In fact you don't even have to leave the comfort of your armchair to enjoy a spot of soccer.

At the start the player has to select from a number of options presented in menu form. These comprise the numbers of players controlled in any one game, the skill level, the game mode (match or tournament) the duration of a match, team colours and team names. By pressing the appropriate key, these options can be selected and displayed on the screen.

Up to eight players can be controlled at once. There are three skill levels starting at quite simple and progressing to rather tricky. The number of people playing soccer partly determines the mode of the match - you can play a tournament or just have a single game. There is even a practice option so the player can perfect control of the team. Games can range from just ten minutes duration right up to half an hour.

The screen's starts off green, but if you find this a little rough on the eyes then the pitch colour can be changed at will, as can the colour of team strips to make sure the players show up properly on the screen in your new colour scheme.

The main screen shows the pitch which scrolls left and right with the action. At the top of the screen the speed, energy and force factors of the player you're currently controlling are shown. The player nearest the ball is the one you control and this is indicated by a halo appearing above his head. When free kicks or corners are to be taken the screen flips to an aerial view of the pitch and the players can be moved about using a cursor.

The footballers on screen are capable of performing a wide range of complicated manoeuvres accessed from keyboard or joystick, and effort spent mastering the controls will pay dividends once serious play begins. Like all serious footballers, you have to be in training!

COMMENTS

Control keys: definable - up, down, left, right, kick
Joystick: Kempston, Cursor, Interface 2
Use of colour: a little clash, but colour of pitch, strips and border definable
Graphics: poorly animated characters - tends to get messy
Sound: odd little tune and plenty of effects
Skill levels: three
Screens: scrolling pitch and place kick display

Ho hum it looks like IMAGINE have tried to better Match Day - and in theory this is superior, but unfortunately in practice the game is slow and unresponsive. Controlling your player uses a set of joystick waggles or key presses that would be better suited to a fighting simulator, and the game kept me foxed for some time. Graphically Super Soccer is disappointing. The characters are nicely animated but there is so much colour clash that the effect is spoiled. The sound is on the whole quite good, with a lovely tune on the title screen, but the effects during the game are a bit lame.
BEN

I'm really disappointed with this. The ideas that are set out in the inlay fooled me into thinking it was going to be Match Day but with more moves. Unfortunately the author seems to have spent too much time concentrating on incorporating loads and loads of moves and features, but sadly he forgot a computer game also needs playability. I found it quite unplayable. I also found loads of bugs which wreck play completely. For instance when you get fouled, if you choose the fouled player to take the kick (a reasonable request, I thought), everything locks up completely as the player will not get up off the floor when told to. To my mind, this is too slow to be any fun to play. Not really Super Soccer, more like Nearly Good Soccer.
PAUL

Why has somebody reprogrammed Match Day, taken out the good bits, and replaced them with bits that don't work properly, and then called it Super Soccer? The graphics are dated, and the way the game is obviously supposed to fit together hasn't worked. The speed, energy and force bars contribute little, and the sound is fairly poor - there's nothing more than whistles during the game. A good long time on, and I don't think there are any notable improvements. Give me Match Day, any day. At least that was playable.
MIKE

Imagine
£7.95

You'll ne-e-ever walk alone! Yes it's another soccer simulation on the Speccy, and I'm glad to say it's a winner.

We're in Match Day territory here, and bearing in mind that it was Ocean (Imagine's parent company) who produced that classic, you'd be forgiven for expecting the odd similarity between the two games.

In terms of sophistication, though, Super Soccer probably has the edge. There's much more variety of movement, with more ways of kicking the ball and all sorts of extra features like diving headers and chesting downhigh balls. The goalkeeper can move in virtually any direction, rather than just leaping to the left or right. Best of all, you can now foul people. Vicious sliding tackles recall the great days of Chopper Harris and Norman Hunter, though you can find yourself sent off at the slightest provocation - just like them.

Of course, with the Spectrum. you can't introduce new features without junking some old ones, and in this case it's the graphics that've suffered. Gone are the roly-poly figures we once saw, to be replaced by infinitely weedier speciments that clearly take up much less memory.

Control isn't as smooth, either. That, though, may just be me, 'cos with all the extra tricks your players can perform, Super Soccer is a hard game to get into. It'll take a while before you start a match expecting to score a goal f'rinstance! Realising this, Imagine has laid on a practice mode, and you'll need it. Copious hints and tips are also included to stop you cracking up completely.

So, while beginners may find it a little heavy going, old campaigners at this sort of game should lap up Super Soccer. Get seven of your mates around (you can play a tournament of up to eight players) and give it a long throw-in from the touchline!

There's enough soccer action on this page to keep John Motson in cliches for a month.

Whether you end up over lunar objects or as unwell as an exotic species of avian depends on which game you support this new year.

There's something for goalkeepers, award-hungry strikers or those old fashioned play-anywhere utility players.

But even if you love footie, remember, the spectre of World Cup Carnival still haunts the terraces.

SUPER SOCCER
Label: Imagine
Author: RCD/DJ Anderson
Price: £7.95
Joystick: Kempston, Cursor, Sinclair
Memory: 48K/128K
Reviewer: Jerry Muir

Well, Ron. It was like this... I was approached by the manager up at Manchester who says to me. "Imagine the most realistic computer soccer game ever. Would you transfer?" Naturally, I was interested...

Super Soccer can easily lay claim to comprehensiveness Pre-match there are all those managerial decisions to take - like the length of the game, its difficulty and whether you'll practice, play a single game or go for the cup in Tournament mode.

If you choose the latter, you'll find yourself drawn as one of the eight teams at the quarter finals stage of a knockout competition, which means that up to eight people can play - though if you're on your own the computer will still generate scores for the others.

Then there are problems that Cloughie never even dreamed of, such as choosing a new name for the team or altering the colour of the strip, the pitch and even its border.

When you've re-decorated the stadium to your satisfaction, it's out on to the astro-turf and into the game. And this is where it really gets complex because, as well as the usual features, such as running and tackling. Imagine has added a host of new refinements.

Even jogging around isn't quite the simple matter of point the joystick and go. Pushing it in any one direction accelerates you and to slow down you have to pull back on it. A sideways move turns you through a right-angle, bringing you to a skidding halt, while turning to one of the intermediate forward positions curves you through 45 degrees but you keep on running.

This gives you a sense of momentum as you swoop down the wing, and you have to make gentle turns rather than darting about like an angry wasp. Keep an eye on your speed as well, because not only does a fast run mean that you're in contact with the ball for less of the time, but you'll also tire yourself out. An energy meter, at the top of the screen, warns you when it's time to sit down and suck another orange.

Kicking is almost as complex. Another bar indicator shows how much welly you're giving the shot, and this is increased by holding down Fire You can also choose the type of kick.

Pulling straight back gives you a chip, while crosses are achieved with a backwards and sideways movement. Free kicks and throw ins give even more directional control, with low straight drives, lobs and three types of chip (straight, crinkle-cut and greasy?) That's the theory at any rate, but in practice... well, let's just say it takes a lot of practice. This is the first footie game on the Spectrum that allows for fouls, as far, as I know. Your players can be booked and even sent off for the odd sliding tackle that makes contact with opponent rather than ball.

When a free kick or a corner occurs you switch to an overhead plan of the pitch, and you have 30 seconds to manipulate your men. According to the instructions they can go anywhere, but I kept finding that my lazy team was limited in how far its members would walk.

Finally there's that vexed question of control. Even in a seven-a-side game, you can only guide one player at a time.

Imagine has hit on the unique method of indicating which one by giving your chosen man a halo, which adds a whole new meaning to The Saint, doesn't it, Greavsie?

It's a good clear system, and the rest of your team also behaves logically, running with the ball and trying to get into useful positions. There's even been an attempt to let you select which player is blessed with your attention. When nobody is in possession Fire transfers the celestial hula-hoop to the next man in line.

The system still isn't quite smooth enough for my liking though. It's annoying when two men are almost equal distances from the ball to find control switching from one to the other while your opponents swoop in.

Ball control is difficult, too, and the complexity of the program seems to have slowed down the on-screen action a little so that the teams appear to be running on treacle.

In the end I can only admire the ingenuity that's gone into Super Soccer, and praise its innovations. But I have to regret that for me, it just doesn't quite come off.

MACHINE: Spectrum 48/128
SUPPLIER: Imagine
PRICE: £7.95

Da-da - dada - da da da - dum-de - dum dum dum. Hello, and welcome to the Priory Court ground for the first round in the C+VG Challenge Cup. The two teams, captained by Paul "Do I have to wear these shorts" Boughton and Tim "I played in a charity match once" Metcalfe, are just kicking off the first game in this prestigious challenge series which will determine who'll get the sandwiches for lunch...

Yup, here's yet another soccer game to delight indoor football fans. It's a sort of enhanced Match Day - complete with bigger players, more complex control options and improved, more accurate, playability. Plus options galore.

Up to eight players can take part in the tournament game, and there are single game and practice options to choose from. You can select the colour of the border, pitch and team strip at will, define your own team names, and set the time for each game.

The practice mode allows you to try out the controls. Which is useful as the joystick combinations are pretty tricky.

When taking free kicks and corners a plan view of the pitch comes up on screen and you have thirty seconds to place your team in strategic positions. Use the joystick or keyboard to position your man for throwins.

You can perform all sorts of stunts - like 90 and 45 degree turns, chip shots, lobs and driving shots at goal.

The key to success is learning how to pass the ball among your team and getting used to the complex controls which allow you to duck and dive around the pitch at will.

The players are nicely animated - although they all look a bit like Charlie George, complete with flowing hair. Game action isn't that fast - but once you get into the game it doesn't seem to matter that much. Wrestling with the controls will make you glad of the relative slowness of the game.

The keeper is a bit limited in his actions in goal kick situations - but otherwise can behave like a normal player and can head shots away from goal if the ball is in the air.

If you decide to play a tournament - against the computer or other live players then the computer will make the draw for you and display a scorechart after each game. Any combination of computer controlled/player teams can take part in the tournament.

Super Soccer is probably the closest you'll get to the real thing in terms of player controls - the only thing that's missing from the pitch is the ref and linesmen!

If you're looking for an accurate and playable computer soccer game then you won't find better for the Spectrum than Super Soccer.

All that and really neat sliding tackles which help you win back the ball in tight situations. But you can foul the oppokition - so beware of giving away too many free kicks and penalties when you begin to play.

And watch the energy level of the player you are controlling - switching to a new player could give you a bit more speed in certain situations.

The player under your control is indicated by a little halo affair - but it's up to you whether your player is a saint or a sinner.

You can switch between your players by simply hitting the fire-button - otherwise the nearest member of your team to the ball will be the "active" player.

If you commit a foul your player notches up penalty pointsand yes, if you exceed the bounds of sportsmanship you'll get shown the red card and sent off for an early bath.