4th & Inches

Zzap! (90 out of 100) (90%)

The sprites are stocky and smoothly animated. The sound effects are merely adequate, contributing atmosphere without embelishment. Flexible gameplay and superb presentation unite to create a realistic and enjoyable simulation; whether or not you're a fan of the sport, 4th & Inches should provide a great deal of of long-term enjoyment.

Your Commodore (89 out of 100) (89%)

A great old game with enough violence to keep even turtle fans happy.

Zzap! (87 out of 100) (87%)

The title refers to the most dramatic of do-or-die situations, and this excellent sim certainly isn't lacking in excitement. Player sprites are small but nippy, with the screen flicking to follow the fast action. Sadly, there's no league option, just two teams, but the computer's tricky to beat - and you can have even more fun against a friend.

Info ( ) (80%)

Player control is smooth and intuitive, giving the best sense of actually playing the game I have seen yet. Coaching screen allows player selection and substitutions. Play the computer or a friend with a second joystick.

Computer and Video Games (CVG) (8 out of 10) (80%)

Within those limits 4th & Inches gives you an excellent game of football. I told you that you needed to know the game well, didn't I? But if you like the real game, you'll love this version.

Info ( ) (80%)

Kids and casual players will probably prefer 4th & Inches over TV Sports Football. It's challenging enough to test your skill without trying your patience. Gameplay is fun, and you can even choose to play five- or ten-minute quarters if your attention span is short.

ASM (Aktueller Software Markt) (8.8 out of 12) (73%)

Grafisch gesehen schneidet dieses Programm recht gut ab. Es ist sehr schnell und grafisch gut gestaltet. Auch die Motivation hinkt kein bißchen nach. Ich jedenfalls war war regelrecht begeistert von diesem Produkt. Eine gelungene Sportsimulation aus dem Hause ACCOLADE, die sicher ihre Käufer finden wird.

Amiga Computing (71 out of 100) (71%)

The computer opposition is utterly fallible and will gladly leave plays incomplete just to make you happy. They still tend to beat you 27-3, but you can't have everything. 4th & Inches makes you want to play it, even though the tunes make you want to join the Neighbours School of "Acting".

Zzap! (69 out of 100) (69%)

Whereas TV Sports Football uses the Amiga to produce some quite dazzling graphic effects, 4th and Inches doesn't show any improvements over the 64 version, released about a year ago. There's not much in the way of sound, either: just a couple of basic tunes and a second or two of sampled crowd roar. This is an accurate, if slightly easy, sim of American Football - but faced with a choice between this and the competition. I know which one I'd rather buy.

Your Amiga (68 out of 100) (68%)

The graphics are small and not particularly detailed but they serve their purpose well enough. As far as I can see, there has been no attempt to enhance the gameplay from the eight bit version which is perhaps something of a disappointment. Having said that though, this really is a fun game to play and I can't see any American football fan not getting considerable enjoyment out of this game.

Power Play (67 out of 100) (67%)

Trotz spielerischer Qualitäten kann 4th & Inches nicht überzeugen, denn mit dem brillanten “TV Sports Football“ gibt es einen Konkurrenten, der zwei Touchdowns besser ist.

Amiga User International (6 out of 10) (60%)

All the graphics are almost pixel-perfect copies of the 64's. Compared to those of Cinemaware's TV Sports Football the sprites look pretty feeble. Although the tunes are nothing to shout about there are a couple of good digitised effects. With all these faults, 4th & Inches remains a highly enjoyable game. American football enthusiasts will find plenty enough in it for some involved sessions, but it won't be long before you beat the computer opponent so a friend to play against will come in handy.

Video Game Critic, The (C+) (58%)

4th & Inches isn't a bad football game, but it plays a little slow and the limited options are glaring in hindsight. I didn't get a chance to check out the two-player action unfortunately, and that might bump up the grade by half a letter grade or so.

Commodore User (5 out of 10) (50%)

4th & Inches does stick fairly closely to the rules and tactics of American Football. The quarters tick away, you can call time outs, players do intercept passes and hand off tackles. But so much of the gameplay is automatic or predetermined that there's very little sense of playing the game yourself. You get all the frustrating interruptions of American Football with absolutely none of the thrills, skills and spills. A Long Pass? I think I would if I were you.

Computer Gaming World (CGW) N/A

The minus yardage involves the lack of league play. The game is not setup to accommodate different styles o play and continuity of league results. Also, the game loses some of its corn plexity due to the fact that one is essentially playing the same team every game. In spite of the variety in the playbook, this essentially reduces the over-all effect of the game to a "beer and pretzels" effort. Of course, some readers may consider that to be plus yardage. The other minor problem to be considered is that there is a disorienting screen shift on kicking and passing plays which slows up the flow, of play considerably. In spite of these two criticisms, this game is a welcome addition to the genre.