Martin Smith @NwodafoMetsys
Reviews
Keith Van Eron's Pro Soccer (DOS)
Unintentionally hilarious, but lacking as a serious football game
The Good
Offering both indoor and outdoor soccer makes for something unique, with distinct differences between the two.
The variety of different competitions is great, making for something ideal whether you want a progressive challenge, a real-life tournament, or a simple two-player kick-about.
The way the players slide around when it's raining is hysterical, although hardly realistic, and the maximum banana power option produces amusing swerving shots.
The in-game music is curiously catchy too.
The Bad
The fact that it originated on the C64 is obvious when compared to games such as Kick Off and Sensible Soccer, which are both much more sophisticated. Set pieces suffer the most - there are no fouls, the corners and goal-kicks are rudimentary one-directional affairs, and the throw-ins are hard to do much with.
Controlling the goalkeepers is very awkward - its not easy to save shots that are aimed well away from the keeper (that said, it's not too easy to direct a shot in a surprising way either). Maybe fully automatic keeper control would've been better.
Making use of the ball in or around the penalty box is unnaturally awkward due to the ever-present goalkeepers and their excessive reach. A few set methods of scoring seem to dominate, and against the easiest teams you can run up basketball scores
The Bottom Line
A relatively straightforward football game, with a few unique features setting it apart from the crowd, perhaps as an attempt to disguise the fact that it didn't play like real football, or especially well as a game when compared to things like Speedball.
By Martin Smith on October 29, 2003