Straightforward, no nonsense, pure computer footie action, that's one way of looking at Graeme Souness International Soccer. Severely lacking in options or variety is another. It has to be admitted, Witchfinder General Matthew Hopkins gave witches more choice than you get here. The only pre-match decisions you have to make are what colour shirts you want the teams to have and whether you want to start playing up or down the pitch.
There are no league or championship competitions, no training or managementy bits and no tactical decisions, such as what formation you want your team to play in. But despite the absence of bells and whistles (apart from the referee's) Graeme Souness International Soccer is actually not all that bad.
The matches are played using the standard computer soccer routine. You only control one player at any time, and he's chosen by the computer. Which player is chosen depends on the direction and speed of the ball and the proximity of the player, though, with the amount of times it never seems to be the player you want, it might as well be the conjunction of stars in Taurus.
While this isn't a problem particular to this game, it does seem more of a nuisance than usual, as the player who was running towards the balls suddenly veers away and the new one doesn't seem to be anywhere on screen.
On the other hand the players are well-drawn, the action is fast and furious and it's dead easy to get into. Playing against the computer is a bit of a chore, but in two-player mode the game really takes off. As a computer kick-around that you can load and play with the minimum of fuss it does have a certain no-nonsense appeal. Kick Off 2 has nothing to worry about, but at £3.99 GSIS is worth checking out if you like this sort of thing.