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The name, the players, the history, the legend. As a team, you either hate Liverpool or you love them, depending, I suppose, on whether you support them. Whichever, it cannot be denied that they are a force to be reckoned with in British Football and, therefore, an ideal club to use as the basis of a computer footle game.

By the time you read this, you will almost definitely be sickened by the mere hint of the word football, after the constant barrage of World Cup Highlights on the box, and for those who are, turn the page, this is definitely not for you.

As an overall first impression of Liverpool - the game, it seems to be a case of nice music - shame about the game. Switch on, and you are greeted to the dulcet tone of 'You'll never walk alone', enough to bring tears to the eyes of ardent Anfield lovers. When it comes to actually playing the game, there may also be tears, but definitely not of joy.

Graphics off the pitch are excellent and scrolling through the menus of players, teams, fixtures and leagues is bright and colourful, but on pitch, movement is slow, stilted and very frustrating as your players amble about the pitch aimlessly.

The aim, of course, is to get the Reds to the top of the League and keep them there, whilst simultaneously crushing the hopes of the giant killing FA Cup hopefuls on the way to Wembley. Can you manage to do the double? If you've got a couple of weeks spare and an awful lot of saving space, then maybe. If not, it wil be a hard grind all the way.

During the games, which drag on realistically, controlling your players is easy enough, but kicking or heading the ball will take some getting used to. Holding down the fire button will vary the strength of the kick, but you need to press fire again to actually initiate that kick, using the joystick to put an angle on the ball at the same time - not easy.

Free kicks, throw-ins and corners are controlled in the same manner, and goalkeepers? Well, goalkeepers always did move in peculiar was anyway.

On the good points, each team in the League is comprehensively listed, with club history, records, and real players from the First Division. After each game, there is also a list of Hotshots, showing the top scorers in the League.

Before each game, you must pick which players to include in the side, some of whom may have been injured the week before. Pick wisely as some players may be better suited to cup matches than others.

When all is said and done though, what we want to do is play football. It's all very well having fancy music and a host of option menus. but if we can't get out onto the pitch, knock the ball around and stick a few in the back of the net without flickering about the screen for ages, there are a fair few alternatives out on the market for us to choose from, especially after the events of Italia. Sorry Grandslam, how about Tranmere Rovers next time?