Previous Next

As he runs the ball up the pitch towards the opposing goal, defenders tackle and slide in his path to try to stop the rampaging threat. Faster and faster, moving to one side, and then the kick - straight to the net. The crowd roar and cheer, the players jump on the scorer, hug and kiss him. The excitement dies and the ball is kicked into play again.

Football has become a dangerous sport in the last few years. With crowd violence, fires in the stands, collapsing walls and the Hillsborough disaster, avid supporters might prefer to stay at home and watch on television. If you like playing the game, take a few friends to the common and have a kickabout or, alternatively, buy Microprose Soccer.

This game, from the company which made its name producing simulations of aircraft and submarines, is abysmal. While the Commodore 64 version is the best of them all I would rate the CPC version one of the worst.

The game is played on a small area of the screen which scrolls rather pathetically. To add to the confusion the pitch has a mown look to it and, unless you are running at an angle or there are some pitch markings, you have no idea of which way you are running or how fast.

The players are not overburdened with detail and the game is dominated by the colour green; in fact, the only colour which is not green is black, which is used to outline the green players and the pitch markings.

The ball moves as if it is half-filled with stones and rolls about the screen as if it were drunk.

Kicking the ball in a straight line is incredibly difficult and it is likely to curve off at a 90-degree angle and miss the target.

Players run round the pitch at a speed which might make you think they were wading through cold custard. Microprose Soccer has various options to allow players to customise the game to suit their needs. There are two games which can be played.

Football can be played indoors or outdoors. Playing an indoor game results in there being no throw-ins or corners and the ball bounces off invisible, presumably black, walls. Two players can battle in a two-player friendly, or single players can attempt to beat the computer.

One pleasant feature is the ability to replay every goal scored, which results in a flashy 'rewind' sequence, the kind of thing you get when you review a video. The game then plays again with an 'R' in the top corner indicating an action replay.

Outside games are subject to weather conditions and you will often find the pitch soaking wet and the rain pelting down. Microprose Soccer is not my idea of a good game and is not much fun to play.