Reviews
KICK OFF
A better style of soccer action
machine
Anco
PLAYER
nco's contribution to a relatively unexploited area of 16-bit gaming, Kick Off follows from their ice-hockey simulation, Face Off. To its fans, and despite recent overshadowing from hooliganism and tragedy, football remains a fiendishly deceptive sport, simple in concept complex in skills requirement and tactics. Computer football games fall broadly into two categories, management sims and arcade-style action games. It's to the latter that Anco have turned their attention, and their attempt offers a variety of features including a new and highly realistic ball-control system. Gone is the bizarre ability to keep the ball superglued to a player's toes, now it goes off in the direction last kicked and keeps on going. It's up to the player (of course) to direct it (hopefully) goalwards. It's this reworking of traditional computer football ideas that dramatically pushes Kick Off's realism to far greater heights than has been achieved before. Now you've REALLY got to work to get the ball in the net! All this is helped by the presence of a large number of moves including 8-way headers, ball chipping, dribbling and cannon shots literally flying half the length of the pitch. Four types of team formation and five skill levels provide game variety — the higher the team skill level the faster the team moves and the greater its accuracy. On International Level the speed of play is frighteningly fast — the independent skill levels mean an expert can be handicapped when playing against a novice so as to even things out. Fouls, player injuries, red and yellow cards, comers, penalties, throw-ins — they're all there, the only major omission (other than action replays) is a referee. One of 15 types of ref with differing levels
Untidy in places w i t h sprite flicker a n d basic in-game p r e s e n t a t i o n . Kick Off is otherwise technically i m p r e s s i v e w i t h very f a s t - m o v i n g a c t i o n c o u p l e d to full-screen s c r o l l i n g . At ten p o u n d s (which A n c o w o u l d have liked, but s o m e c h a i n s t o r e s preferred a higher price) It w o u l d have been s u p e r b value for money, but it's still a great buy.
32/108 TGM TX019:6-89
V
of
leniency keeps the match under control (the leniency level otherwise known as the blindness' factor). Whistleblowing. the booking of players, awarding of corners and the like is all done without the ref having to walk on. The great thing about Kick Off is that at ALL times you're in total control of your players' actions. The 'new' control method takes time to grasp but once learnt, the game is as rewarding to play as MicroProse Soccer, if not more. Like real life, goals are hard to come and
As usual with football games, the graphics aren't m u c h to write a b o u t a n d a still f r a m e d o e s n o justice, but new m o v e s and fancy f o o t w o r k i n A n c o ' s Kick Off m a k e this overhead football frenzy g a m e the best 16-bit s i m u l a t o r w e ' v e s e e n s o far both teams would have to work hard to gain them — uneven play is catered for with both sides having independently selected skill levels. The speed of Kick Off is remarkable, beating all before it easily, and with the true concept of ball skills adding a wealth of realism to the game Kick Ofi the best 16-bit soccer simulator yet
M u c h the s a m e as the ST g a m e but w i t h the s c o r e l i n e i n t r u d i n g into the p i t c h . S p e e d - w i s e Kick Off can't be beaten a n d is at t i m e s f r i g h t e n i n g l y fast m o v i n g — true f o o t b a l l skills are n e e d e d in every s e n s e of the w o r d .
OTHER FORMATS A m i g a o w n e r s c a n have a g a m e of c o m p u t e r footie for the same entrance fee of £19.95, o u t s o o n