Football strategy games have been going for a long time and until now Big League Soccer and Football Director have been the best. This one takes advantage of the extra memory of the 6128 and so it won't run on the 464 or 664.

All of the game options are accessed through a series of menus and sub menus. The options are accounts buy players, sell players, fixtures, help, league programme, match, opposition, playing staff, save game and table. Accounts gives you information on players' wages, gate incomes and other incomes and expenditures. The buy and sell player options speak for themselves, but this is one area where this game is different from previous ones because there are 2,000 players in all, divided between the 80 English clubs and 60 European.

Your side and the formation can be altered using the playing staff option and information on your opponent is gained from the opposition option. The league shows how well you're doing. Help provides you with instructions on how to play.

You then get an overhead view of the pitch with little crosses to represent the players. The ball is passed from player to player and time licks away at the top of the screen.

Graphics and sound are where this falls down very badly; the match highlights are hopeless and the sound is not much better. Colour is used well on the menus though.

The price of eight pounds on disk is due to the fact that there is little packaging and the instructions are on the game disk; they can however be printed out if you have a printer. The strategy element is fine, it's just a pity that more effort wasn't put into presentation.

Soccer 6128 is only available by mail order from: Graeme McQuoid, 32A Albert Street. Seaham. County Durham, SR7 7LJ.

The graphics and sound may be dreadful but the strategy and thoroughness of the game are excellent. It rivals Big League Soccer and Football Director in this department and will provide endless hours of football fun. It's a shame it's in Basic and therefore pretty easy to crash, but that's a minor criticism. It's even a cheap disk game - something of a rarity.

Come top of the division.

Looks ok in green and is easily readable.

Graphics 12%
N. Diabolical match highlights.
N. No other graphics at all.

Sonics 7%
N. A whistle and a beep is all that you get.

Grab Factor 52%
P. One of the most realistic football strategy games to date.
P. A choice of starting division.

Staying Power 63%
P. All league and European trophies.
N. Not very well error-trapped.

Overall 66%
A challenging management game that is let down a little by presentation.