You'll never walk alone (Sensible World of Soccer)

Member Name: kylecoare

Product:	Sensible World of Soccer
Date:	10/07/03 (321 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: management aspect, tons of options/ Upgradeable, good action game

Disadvantages: poor graphics, limited sound

Sensible World of Soccer (SWOS) was released in the early 1990's by Sensible software (Creaters of cannon fodder).
It was the latest version of the Sensible soccer range, that at the time was classed as one of the top football titles available.

Along with kick off and Dino Dini's Goal this game was one of the first to get rid of the ball glued to feet problem that most soccer games had. What this actually meant in terms of gameplay was that the ball wasnt stuck to your players feet thus meaning you had to slow down when turning etc, Making the game a bit more realistic.

What made this game such a big leap from the earlier games such as kick off and even the earlier sensible soccer games, was that not only could you play the games but you also had a very basic management aspect, You could Buy / Sell players, Check your finances you could change teams you could also get the sack. As I said this was a very basic management section, But to this day i havent played another action based soccer game with a better management mode.


GAMEPLAY AND GRAPHICS
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I will begin with the graphics, as this is the area where most new buyers would be put off.
Yeah the graphics are poor, They were poor even when the game was released.
The main view is a birds eye view where you see the pitch scrolling up and down, A lot like Dino Dini's GOAL and Kick off, It uses tiny sprites as the players other than that there arnt really any graphics to speak of.
But dont let this put you off, It actually makes the game faster and more action packed than some of todays 3d games.

The control is spot on, There is only one kick button that when combined with different combinations on the joypad cause different sorts of shots and passes.
Once you get used to the ball not sticking to the players feet you will learn ways to dribble up and down the field to your hearts content.
It takes a few minutes
to master the controls, but its very rewarding when you do.
As with all soccer games it all comes down to scoring goals, and with sensi you might find it quite difficult at first but when you score that first 30 yard screamer you will want to watch it over and over again.

As with all top down football games there is an advantage to shooting up field and this is one thing that could be improved on in the future.


LONGEVITY
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Well i still play this game now and i bought it when it was released, so it can be a fairly long term game!
Options wise it has the usual Single match, Cup and League, You also get the option to play a 20 year career, this is where the management side comes in.
In career mode you can choose from 1000's of teams from all over the world, most with correct player names (From the time!)
Once youve started with a team the chairman will welcome you to the club, From then its all down to you, Do you spend all the clubs money on a striker or do you play with the squad that youve got.
This is the most fun part of the game and you could play for hours.

Other than the usual options there are also the custom teams and leagues that all have silly names, Who said it all has to be sensible?!?



VALUE FOR MONEY?
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Well this game should be very cheap seeing as it is fairly old so yes its very good value for money.
Also if you dont like playing as players from the dinosoar ages then there are lots of Updated teams available if you search the web. Some of the teams are updated on every transfer. These updates really bring an aging game back to life.
All in all this is one great football game that a lot of moderner titles would benifit from looking at, Since this game i can think of no other action game that has the amount of options or the managerial side that this one possesed all those years ago.

Summary: