For a Sega game, Sega Soccer Slam has been curiously unheralded, save for our First Look last issue, of course. For those of you unfamiliar with its premise, this is a fast, slick and decidedly old-school dose of arcade action that plays a little like the NBA Jam of footy. Career-ending tackles are fair game, you can knock players off the ball with a flurry of fisticuffs and the goals fly in at a great rate.

To maintain a fast pace, there are no throw-ins, corners, or fouls, and each team has only four players - three on the pitch and one in goal.

The madness goes beyond the fast pace of the game. The real zanyness is reserved for a variety of special moves. Extended periods of possession, nifty passes and blistering shots all help to fill your combo meter, which you can use to power up players for a limited time in order to give you a better chance of scoring.

Better still, if you can save yourself from using the combo meter until it's completely full, you can use it to execute a 'killer kick', an outrageous Matrix-style slow-mo shot that, in the right hands, pretty much guarantees a goal. It also looks super cool.

In another nice touch, you'll occasionally see a spotlight with your team's logo moving around the pitch. If you can get a player with the ball into the spotlight before it disappears, you'll be able to execute a massive shot on goal that leaves your combo meter untouched.

These special moves add a layer of depth to what would otherwise be an extremely shallow game. With them, it's still only puddle-deep, but it's a riotous pool of liquid, the wacky moves providing a good incentive to play well and fill up the combo meter. Fast-paced two-player matches are where Sega Soccer Slam comes into its own, and blasting a killer kick past a hapless friend is properly entertaining.

Curiously, this game causes a little contention in the usually harmonious Official UK Xbox Magazine office. To some, the style of the in-game characters isn't particularly charming. They look nice and solid, but suffer from unappealing design; a bit of a shame in an instant-thrill game like this. What's more, chronically bad player voice-overs and an irritating Cockney commentator (who sounds like the idiot from the Iceland frozen food adverts) also make the game feel irritatingly and unnecessarily tacky to certain members of the team.

Others though, who shall remain nameless (but have long hair), find it all rather amusing, feeling that the style adds to the game, and that the characters are rather jolly. Everyone's entitled to an opinion, of course, but Ben is wrong.

Ultimately, the stylistic appeal of Sega Soccer Slam will come down to your own personal taste, but the game itself is simple, solid fun to play, especially with two or more players.

Worth 45 notes? Not really. But that's why you joined Blockbuster.

1. Fast, enjoyable and intense matches
2. Killer kicks are particularly good fun
3. Top entertainment in multiplayer

1. It wears a bit thin after a while.

Power
Nothing amazing to see here, but playing the game feels solid, slick and smooth.

Style
Either arcadey and funny, or has crass voice-overs and characters that look a bit Fuzion Frenzy.

Immersion
In the short term, the intense matches mean you'll want to master the special moves...

Lifespan
..but there's not an awful lot to it, despite a decent number of unlockable characters.

Summary
A decent, frantic sports game best played with a friend. The lack of long-term appeal means it's an ideal game to rent.