Crash


The Double

Author: Phil King
Publisher: Scanatron
Machine: Spectrum 48K

 
Published in Crash #55

The Double

Of course every football fan knows, the double' is when a club wins both the FA Cup and the League Championship in the same season. Scanitron have tried to create the year long battle against all odds, in their game of the same name. The game includes many menus which allow the player to manage all the aspects of any of 66 football teams.

One thousand players are on show, with a small amount available for transfer after the eighth week of the season. Notification of forthcoming transfers is given two weeks in advance, allowing the manager to send a scout to watch an interesting player. The scout (a very likable and useful chap) reports on that player's performance and estimates his value, allowing you to make a sensible bid when he comes up for sale.

The way transfers are handled is one of the strengths of The Double - allowing you to build a team excelling in all departments. The program uses real players' names; I was amused to see Ian Rush valued at only half a million pounds! Every week a very slow pseudo teleprinter scratches out ALL the league resultso and can become VERY irritating.

Sadly, there's no graphical display of the match. Being able to see how your players are getting on really stirs inner feelings (no matter how naff the graphics may be!). The Double contains many interesting features not used in other football strategy games, and also presents a reasonable challenge. It's not a bad game, but there's much room for improvement.

Phil King

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