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Stand by for an outbreak of tough matches in the football game stakes. The market is about to be blitzed by them. First we've got Jon Ritman's Match Day II, then Football Manager II, Gary Lineker's Super Star Soccer, a Peter Beardsley game on the way and, of course, the re-release of Peter Shilton's Handball Maradona.

So if you're out to score with a footie game there's plenty of choice.

Match Day II comes highly recommended. It has taken Match Day as a basis to build on, and the improvements are worthwhile.

So what do you get? It's a one or two player soccer simulation which allows you to volley, lob, backheel and kick ground shots with varying degrees of strength. You can also jump, head the ball and barge other players.

There is also a league championship and cup competition for good measure. And if you're running a league or cup competition up to seven people can take part.

Matches can last for 10, 20 or 30 minutes so you can fit quite a lot into a couple of hours' play.

Control of members of your team automatically switches to the person nearest the ball.

The kickometer shown at the top of the screen and above the player's head determines the kick pressure. III is very hard, II is medium, I is very soft and -I is a backheel.

You take corners, throws, corners, goalkicks and intercept a pass.

The game also includes something called the diamond deflection system. This adds realism to the way a ball deflects off a player.

In practice the ball responds not only to the angle the player is standing and the ball direction, but also to the direction he is moving, including if he is jumping, and also detects his forehead for extra control.