Previous Next

During the World Cup finals, Diego Maradona allegedly used his hands when scoring a goal in a crucial match against England (an incident which resulted in England being knocked out of the Cup). ICON DESIGN have written a slightly tongue-in-cheek program based on this memorable incident.

Peter Shilton's Handball Maradona puts the player in goal for a change. Playing for a team of your choice you must stop the opposition from scoring. The screen shows half of a football pitch looking towards the home team's goal. The opposing team position themselves and shoot from random angles. Using the joystick or keyboard, the player move the goalie so he saves the shot. If a shot is stopped from going into the net the scoreboard (to one side of the goal mouth) displays 'Save ' , otherwise it announces 'Goal'.

The goalkeeper has a variety of moves he can make in order to save shots. These include the standard left, right, up and down, as well as some more complicated manoeuvres, such as diving upwards, up left, up right, centre left, centre right, down right and down left. By using these moves to their full potential it is theoretically possible to save anything the opposition cares to kick at you.

The game provides 16 skill level and three modes of play. The practice session allows goalie-control to be perfected before the real hard work begins. In the basic game, which may be played against the computer or another human, each side gets four shots at goal, and your opponent's shooting prowess is related to the skill level he has attained. Your skill level is allocated by the computer according to a code, and entering the skill-building mode allows the skill code to be upgraded -if you're good enough. Four shots have to be saved before moving up a skill level, whereupon a new code is provided.

Control keys: definable - up, down, left, right, dive
Joystick: Kempston, Cursor, Interface 2
Use of colour: unimaginative
Graphics: small and undetailed
Sound: a few spot effects; no tunes
Skill levels: 16
Screens: a few variations on the goalmouth

'Goalkeeping simulations don't really rate that highly in my list of ideal computer games; there have been a few and none of them have made the grade. This continues that trend. The gameplay in Handball Maradona is non-existent. Graphically there isn't anything here which is remotely interesting -a horrid green pitch and some 'orrible white characters doing some kind of Irish jig (not a dig at Ciaran - honest). The sound is a complete cop out, with about three effects and no tune. I wouldn't buy this, I'd rather spend the money seeing Hereford United thrashing Ludlow Rangers!'

'This game must have one of the tackiest titles ever. After all the game has nothing at all to do with the World Cup 86 - in fact the game has little to do with anything, least of all football! Peter Shilton's Handball Maradona is good if you like lots of flashy presentation and options, but there's no game to speak about. The graphics give a poor impression of perspective, so it is hard to judge when to attempt your save. As far as content goes, the game is little more than a repetition of the same old moves, over and over again. Graphics are the basic monochromatic type and the screen display is very sparse, containing just two ad boards. This is nothing like real goalkeeping, so it doesn't really achieve anything.'

'To be honest there is not much to this game. Alright, there's a practice mode, and the, skill development facility, but it's still the same boring game. Running around after a football never appealed to me at school, and I don't like watching football - except for World Cup games. Peter Shilton's Handball Maradona is very boring, holding interest for no more than a few minutes. The graphics are passable, but the men don't seem to follow any set patterns. It just doesn't appeal to me and it isn't a game I would recommend.'