Previous Next

Sounds like a winner doesn't it? Unfortunately, while the title promises so much, the game doesn't really deliver.

For a start, the game doesn't include any fighting. Dodgy translation from the Japanese, apparently. This, I have to say is a bit of a let down.

I was fully expecting a lot of "Climb player", "punch ref" options, or at the very least the ability to determine how high your tackles are. Alas, there's none of it. Fighting Soccer is simply a reasonable conversion of a pretty average footy game.

You're given a top down view of the pitch and all the players. There's not much colour (green pitch and shaded black players). The screen scrolls poorly, and the animation of the players is slow and jerky.

Obviously, the aim of the game is to stuff the ball into the opposition's onion bag as many times as possible before the end of the game.

In a sort of World Cup scenario, you play teams from around the globe, each with different strengths and weaknesses.

Since you can't control more than one player at time, you are forced to rely on the computer to guide the remaining men in your team into sensible pass-opportunity places. This is all very well, but the naff nature of the animation and action makes any really plans of strategy a little bit pie-in the sky, Brian.

The opposing team seems to have a shooting advantage that I simply can't put down to my big match nerves, Saint. Once one of the other team has the ball at his feet, he pummels the goalie with the ball until the poor lad is so dazed he just lets the ball through.

An off-the-line clearance is a rare event. In fact, scoring goals isn't that tough. I found that the effort involved getting the ball and my players up the pitch far tougher than actually banging one in, John.

Probably the nicest programming touch crops up when you're jumping for a header. The players rise up from the pitch as they scramble for the ball.

The only reason people play sports games in the arcades - and indeed at home - whether it's a soccer game or a bowling simulation, is the playability. On a home machine, you have to make a careful decision whether to concentrate on the pics or the action. Fighting Soccer falls resolutely between both stools, and smashes its teeth out in the process.

Fairly wonky soccer sim. Nice name, nothing to back it up.