A Footballing Classic From Yesteryear (Kick Off)

Member Name: wampyrii

Product:	Kick Off
Date:	12/12/00 (47 review reads)
Rating:

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Kick-Off was highly acclaimed as being the best football game ever made when it first made its appearance on the Amiga, spawning numerous sequels and upgrades which somehow never really stood up to the simplicity of the original. Played in single player mode against the computer it was fun for a while but as soon as you learnt the tricks and little foibles of the opposition you were soon winning 10(or more) - 0 every game. Played against another human opponent this game could not be beaten for addictiveness and fun. Despite its dodgy graphics which basically consist of a flat green pitch, white lines and purple and cyan players to represent the two teams, and even dodgier sound - whistles and 'donk' sounds as the ball is passed about - Kick-off became a classic amongst football fanatical Amiga using gamers. There were none of the complicated controls which add depth but often spoil modern footballing games, just simply passing, shooting, heading and tackling. Admittedly the only opposition at the time came from the attrocious Matchday/MatchdayII, but Kick-Off still stood up well against the later offerings of the likes of 'Emlyn Hughes International Soccer', which was superior in all aspects but gameplay - although it too had a fair amount of that.

Due to its simplicity, Kick-Off was(and is) a game which appealed to all age ranges and it was a shame that the later versions never really improved upon the original game. The ball would stick to your star player's feet allowing you to run rings around the opposition, running from your goalmouth to theirs, turn, and set yourself up for the most stunning overhead kick into the top corner...Ok so much of this came down to imagination as the graphics were so poor but the ideas were there. Later versions improved upon the graphics and added International tournaments etc. to spice things up a little, but they also tweaked the gameplay and it became somewhat less enjoyable - the ball no longer stu
ck to your feet and became really difficult to control instead. The opposition became tougher - but only to to the fact that control of the ball was so difficult and I personally lost interest in favour of other games...Championship Manager had just made its first appearance onto the monitor screens at the time...

Overall, Kick-Off is an excellent game to be played with friends, or by yourself (until you begin thumping everyone 10-0) and should appeal to all ages. I would also recommend the aforementioned Emlyn Hughes game as a complementary footballing experience(which is also fun as you can score from the half-way line against the poorer opposition if you line it up right...shades of Nayim...). I would recommend it to any Amiga owner.

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