This Is Football? ACTUA-lly, It's SOCCER! (Actua Soccer (PS))

Member Name: scream4bruce

Product:	Actua Soccer (PS)
Date:	29/10/08 (25 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Hilarious penalty shoot-out, decently animated, decent commentary

Disadvantages: Poor passing, shooting, goalkeeping

Sporting 32 national teams; Actua Soccer is said to be the first football title with a 3D graphics engine in full flow, so instead of sprites there are polygonal players on the pitch. Players were not detailed to differentiate, but Gremlin had the balls to use motion capture technology (see what I did there), as shown in the video in this game, and the animation turned out rather well. Screens are situated in the stadiums; pitches differed by their stripes. The crowd are inanimate though, and the ball does not always follow through as it should. Referee and linesmen are present; the restrictive replay feature can show that the latter do make wrong offside calls, so it's realistic in that aspect (as are the varying abilities of the referees)! At best, the camera view is passable, and though the angles can be changed, it's not that flexible and adjusting it is trickier than needs be.

The game was seen as a step forward with regards to match commentary, featuring Barry Davies and memorable lines such as, "He was already on the next page he read that so early".

Whilst it is a pain watching the players run onto and off the pitch for interval as well as getting back into positions for kick-off after the synchronised team celebrations, Actua Soccer has a penalty shootout that I actually like - it's hilarious watching all the players run from end-to-end to take part in penalties which were as if they had been awarded back-to-back in match time.

Players are made to work hard to retain possession, and are sure to be put under pressure as players off the ball run faster. Show a bit much of the ball, and the computer AI will have it. True to the game, breathing space is required for passing and shooting, but I find releasing a pass to be a touch too slow. Often, the passes are not to where I intended and there's not enough control of the player for me to dictate when to take a first time touch. When shooting, players do not automatically aim and adjust their shots towards the goal - instead, they shoot straight ahead, so that the simplest of chances are never straightforward finishes. But the computer AI can make it look easy with flashes of one-touch football and goals from angles tighter than that of Marco Van Basten's voluptuous volley against the Soviet Union in Euro 88. Players go down easy like in real-life, but the computer opponents are no walkover, and the lack of difficulty settings means Actua Soccer is initially a hard game to get to grips with.

Defending is tricky, and the tackling is terrible. To tackle whilst staying on your feet is sluggish, and it's not as if it avoids being a bookable offense; whereas with the sliding tackle it runs the risk of the red card and can have you lose the ball as quick as you can win it. Thankfully, possession can be won from a player without committing to a tackle. Goalkeepers are lazy yet fairly capable shot-stoppers; but the last line of defense can also be the first line of offense for both sides with his throwing the ball to an opposition player.

When setting up, selecting 'Simulation' instead of 'Arcade' shows who scored in each match, which results in much skipping of screens. In Setup, the match time affects all modes: Friendly, League, Cup and Practice - which seems silly.

Back then, good graphics and commentary may have helped promote Actua Soccer into the Platinum range, but it's poor play means it's relegated to the rank of rubbish football titles.

(Curiously, the chocolate bars, 'Time Out' and 'Crunchie', along with the blood-splattered logo of other Gremlin game 'Loaded' make the advertising hoardings.)

Summary: Actua Soccer for PS