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Elite releasing a football game? Nah, it must be a dream. Hang on! It's true!! World Championship Soccer is here, many moons after the World Cup finished, but what the hell. And, after reviewing six billion footy games in the last few months, I've run out of soccer jokes. So, this is what the game's all about.

Choose from three options at the beginning: World Cup competition (one-player against computer, no team selection), a one-player (against computer and choose your team) or a two-player game. A world map pops up then and from here, using the pointer, you can pick, from 24 countries, which teams you want to play against. Having made a choice you continue by picking individual players for your team.

The individual attributes of each team member are shown: choose eleven players and hit the pitch. There are six groups of four countries all playing for a place in the final game. Only the top two teams in each group will quality for the next round, along with four of the remaining third placed teams. Unlike most other football games the time for each match isn't changeable: like real footy matches the game is played for 45 minutes (computer time). You view from above and the player under control is marked by a pointer.

All the usual features such as corner kicks, throw-ins and goal kicks are here, but despite some good options, the graphics leave a lot to be desired. Okay - lots of spritey guys running up and down a pitch are never particularly spectacular, but these look like deformed dwarves. Also, the loss of choice to change the game timer is a bad move: the game doesn't actually last for 90 minutes, but at times it seems like it!

MARK ... 58%

'The game takes ages to load. And then there are all the options to wade through! It's a pity that, after all that, the actual soccer sim isn't up to much. Large, awkward moving players jolt about the screen, and scoring goals is dead easy as opposing players don't appear too keen on tackling. What makes World Championship Soccer better than other soccer games about at the moment is its league system. You can work your way to the top in true World Cup style and have full control over the team you play and the players you put in it. The inclusion of a bit of humour in this was an excellent idea. When you make a player kick, his leg gets contorted into some strange positions. Yoga on the football field! World Championship Soccer is another football game to stick on top of the ever increasing pile. Nothing really new to offer at all.'