Screenshots :.
Sensible World of Soccer
360
Matt
08-01-2008
"Dangerous situation, here."
"Score a goal, watch the screen warp to mess your mind up."
"Spot the ball"
What with the Bomberman craze that’s currently sweeping those who are ‘down with the kids’ in this office, it’s surprising anything is getting a look-in at all. In fact, it’s Sensible World of Soccer’s fault that the whole Bomberman thing started in the first place – a rather confusing episode with what seemed to be the wrong, much-broken version being uploaded to Xbox Live and subsequently being taken down again, leading to a rather awkward review hole that needed to be filled. Never mind, folks – Sensi is now here in correct form for us to munch football pie with.
This is, of course, a slightly tweaked version of the 1996 original, a game that most (including me) spent far too much time with in the decade following release. Obviously in that decade much has changed in the world of football, from Chelsea becoming largely Russian to Michael Owen’s meteoric rise and subsequent tendency to snap in half. David Beckham! Remember him? England failed to win a single thing. Liverpool still didn’t win the Premier League. Division One was renamed ‘The Championship’. Back in those days, the name Ronaldo didn’t conjure images of a goofy-toothed slickback ballerina of a winger; it was a name that bought thoughts of a goofy-toothed Brazilian baldy who made defences look utterly inept. Heck, so much has changed that dipping back into SWOS now is like being teleported back in time in more ways than one.
One thing that hasn’t changed, thankfully, is the core gameplay at the heart of the reams of players, teams and leagues. Simple and easy to learn, the whole thing relies on you pelting around the pitch using just the A button to pass, shoot, head and tackle at breakneck speed. Shorn of the need to carefully judge what foot your player is strongest with, what angle the ball is travelling in accordance to your striker or how to spring a tricky offside system, SWOS today provides something of a pleasant diversion away from the big two football series and an ideal kick-around for those with not much time on their hands. What’s even better is that the game has transferred beautifully to the 360 control pad, although using the analogue stick is the method of choice due to the controller’s rather todge D-pad.
It’s the unapologetic silliness of the whole thing that still charms as much as ever, too. Particularly epic dive-headers can carry your player well over quarter of the length of the pitch, whilst adding after-touch to your shots and passes can see them practically bending at right angles. This is all played out at a pace that’d have Frank Lampard breaking into a sweat from just watching, and most of the world’s playing population screaming into their TV’s with a mixture of excitement and agony. If there’s anything you’ll need to live by when playing SWOS, it’s your reflexes.
This is all presented in a new hi-definition skin, although to be honest it’s not too much of a leap from the original visuals (included too, in case you fancy comparing for yourself). Also undergoing a makeover are the names of the various players involved due to license issues, so you’ll have to make do with superstar Scouse forward B. Fiwlar playing in front of Z. Bargar, T. Bernes and C. McMenemen, whilst some of the more uncouth custom teams have fallen foul of the political correctness bandwagon. Still, at least you can edit the custom teams to suit your humour.
Of course, it’d be remiss of me not to mention the sheer depth of the game in terms of leagues, players, cups and customisability. If you’ve ever fancied managing or playing as a Faroe Islands league team then SWOS is the place to scratch your itch, as it is if you’ve ever wondered what would happen if you put Manchester United up against the entire New Zealand league in the Arse Cup. There’s the career mode to work through should you like a little structure to your small portions of footy madness, and the ability to save any match highlights that you wish.
One major thorn in SWOS’s ball, however, is the online side of things. Sadly limited to friendlies rather than allowing for any sort of league or cup action, the matches themselves flit between being reasonably smooth on occasion to utterly unplayable and laggy at the majority of others. It’s a shame and you have to hope that at some point in the future something can be done, but for now multiplayer SWOS is best played as it was in the past, with a group of mates crowded around the screen. It may be a tad pricey at 800 Microsoft Points, but for a few hours of fun after a hectic night out it’s well worth it for any nostalgic footy fan.
This is, of course, a slightly tweaked version of the 1996 original, a game that most (including me) spent far too much time with in the decade following release. Obviously in that decade much has changed in the world of football, from Chelsea becoming largely Russian to Michael Owen’s meteoric rise and subsequent tendency to snap in half. David Beckham! Remember him? England failed to win a single thing. Liverpool still didn’t win the Premier League. Division One was renamed ‘The Championship’. Back in those days, the name Ronaldo didn’t conjure images of a goofy-toothed slickback ballerina of a winger; it was a name that bought thoughts of a goofy-toothed Brazilian baldy who made defences look utterly inept. Heck, so much has changed that dipping back into SWOS now is like being teleported back in time in more ways than one.
One thing that hasn’t changed, thankfully, is the core gameplay at the heart of the reams of players, teams and leagues. Simple and easy to learn, the whole thing relies on you pelting around the pitch using just the A button to pass, shoot, head and tackle at breakneck speed. Shorn of the need to carefully judge what foot your player is strongest with, what angle the ball is travelling in accordance to your striker or how to spring a tricky offside system, SWOS today provides something of a pleasant diversion away from the big two football series and an ideal kick-around for those with not much time on their hands. What’s even better is that the game has transferred beautifully to the 360 control pad, although using the analogue stick is the method of choice due to the controller’s rather todge D-pad.
It’s the unapologetic silliness of the whole thing that still charms as much as ever, too. Particularly epic dive-headers can carry your player well over quarter of the length of the pitch, whilst adding after-touch to your shots and passes can see them practically bending at right angles. This is all played out at a pace that’d have Frank Lampard breaking into a sweat from just watching, and most of the world’s playing population screaming into their TV’s with a mixture of excitement and agony. If there’s anything you’ll need to live by when playing SWOS, it’s your reflexes.
This is all presented in a new hi-definition skin, although to be honest it’s not too much of a leap from the original visuals (included too, in case you fancy comparing for yourself). Also undergoing a makeover are the names of the various players involved due to license issues, so you’ll have to make do with superstar Scouse forward B. Fiwlar playing in front of Z. Bargar, T. Bernes and C. McMenemen, whilst some of the more uncouth custom teams have fallen foul of the political correctness bandwagon. Still, at least you can edit the custom teams to suit your humour.
Of course, it’d be remiss of me not to mention the sheer depth of the game in terms of leagues, players, cups and customisability. If you’ve ever fancied managing or playing as a Faroe Islands league team then SWOS is the place to scratch your itch, as it is if you’ve ever wondered what would happen if you put Manchester United up against the entire New Zealand league in the Arse Cup. There’s the career mode to work through should you like a little structure to your small portions of footy madness, and the ability to save any match highlights that you wish.
One major thorn in SWOS’s ball, however, is the online side of things. Sadly limited to friendlies rather than allowing for any sort of league or cup action, the matches themselves flit between being reasonably smooth on occasion to utterly unplayable and laggy at the majority of others. It’s a shame and you have to hope that at some point in the future something can be done, but for now multiplayer SWOS is best played as it was in the past, with a group of mates crowded around the screen. It may be a tad pricey at 800 Microsoft Points, but for a few hours of fun after a hectic night out it’s well worth it for any nostalgic footy fan.
8/10
