'Ere we go, 'ere we go, 'ere we go again with more football. If you still haven't had enough of our national sport, you should seek immediate psychiatric attention. You also might like to play World Soccer. This is a management game, with no on-pitch action at all. You choose a European team languishing in the Third Division of an imaginary Euro-league, (post-1992, perhaps).
You have wads of cash and a rather rubbish squad. You must negotiate the buying and selling of players, and change the line-up and formation until you aren't quite as rubbish as the other teams. You should then start to progress up the league, also qualifying for the "Zep Cup" which - if you do well - earns you loads of dosh to buy better players. Each player has a name (such as J. Pertwee, W. Hartnell, S. Kubrick or even T. Webb) and fitness, speed and ability ratings as well as player position, so you have lots of information to help you decide who to select.
You can get a commentary of your game while it's in progress, or you can just wait for the results; either way you see nothing of the match. It can get quite nail-biting as the commentary progresses, and your team gets thrashed soundly. Actually, your team does get better as it acquires skilled players, with promotional possibilities and cup-winning chances looking increasingly likely.
Hazards such as bookings and injuries require you to have a few good reserves on the bench, too. There are many details such as this which make the game that bit more enjoyable. Another is your scout, who provides clandestine gen on your opponents, as well as being scathing about your own squad.
Graphics are good, with large, clear icons for each option. The whole game is joystick-driven, with no keyboard inputting necessary, and it works well. There is no sound, but this doesn't detract any. The gameplay is fine, with options to save and load from tape. Very necessary, because it takes many hours of play to get to the top of Division One and win the Cup.
Ultimately, the repetition of the selections does become tedious, but, depending on how involved you get and how much you want to win, it provides hours of fascinating Bobby Robson emulation.
Overall, World Soccer is a great quality budget game, with enough incentive to keep you playing well into the night, desperately trying to break into Division One. Déjà vu for Swindon Town fans, perhaps?
Second Opinion
Text-only football? About as interesting as watching Luton away.