Previous Next

When Footballer Of The Year 2 dropped through the letter box groans of depression swept through the office like an Intercity 125 out of Hell (or maybe Doncaster). Even the doormat raised its bristles for an exasperated sigh of disbelief. Another computer footy game? I'd rather watch repeats of Highway! So wearily I plugged it in, praying for something different and to my surprise it was.

It takes many qualities to be named footballer of the year so, be prepared, that's what your out to achieve here in a quest for cash and mastery of the football world. Not only do you have to win the matches, but you have to finance your progression too. After all footballers today have to know almost as much about investments as they do about selling a dummy on the pitch.

The football game element takes a noticeable back seat and is only represented in the form of free kick type set pieces shooting for goal whilst most of the time you juggle your cash. Funds are raised by embarking on a Give Us A Break type quiz game. You can bet anything up to 500 pounds on answering the footy-orientated questions correctly. If you succeed you have the opportunity to double your cash up to four times, but if you fail it's on the cards that you'll have less dosh than Tottenham Hotspur!

Eventually acquiring the readies, you can either spend them on a Transfer Card to buy one of those lucrative star players or Goal Cards which have to be purchased for you to get a taste of putting the leather in the net. All rests on you scoring goals. Every now and again the game will be interrupted with a message telling you of the tally you have to reach and your reward if the total is achieved. A two-goal win might get you selected to play for England or advance you to one of the five league and Super World Cup tables. This is where the Goal Cards come in as they are used to select up to three set pieces at random from a directory.

Every set piece is shown to you on a blackboard and the formation and path of your players indicated by white lines. You have to follow these in order to hopefully intercept the ball and send it home.

Statistics are monitored at all times as well as your placing in the endless tables you find yourself flicking carelessly through. In fact the whole thing is pretty uninspiring. It's almost impossible to remember your player formations when tying to score more than one goal and the graphics, considering the style of the game, are appalling. I can appreciate what has been attempted here, but it's all so tedious. Only the small quiz section held any interest for me and there are much better quizzes dedicated to that type of gaming. One I would want to avoid.

Oh dear, there really is a problem with footy games on the Speccy and this game actually strengthens the argument. Although not a bad attempt, it's not worth shelling out for.