A great game, Brian
Football, as they say, Brian, is a great game, and now the jockstrap's on, the boots are laced, embrocation glistens on muscular thighs, and Match Day II - the long-expected reworking of programmer Jon Ritman's Match Day (86% Overall in Issue 13, famous as the one we didn't Smash!) - is about to begin. So choose your teams and prepare to experience the full range of human emotions from 'over the moon' to 'as sick as a parrot'.
Your team can take part in a cup competition, a league championship, or one-off competitions against others or the computer. The match time can be set to 5, 10 or 15 minutes par half, a skill level established and a choice made between attacking and defending tactics.
Each team has seven players, and a player gains possession of the ball when it hits him below the knee. (You can control two players at the same time if the ball is passed from one to the other.)
The power of each player's kick is controllable, and can be locked on for shots at the goal mouth so you can use maximum force in an attempt to score.
Bouncing balls can be trapped if you carefully judge the height of the ball from the size of its shadow; dribbling and lofting are also possible, the latter done by kicking the ball while running.
And to create greater complexity and realism on the field, the Diamond Deflection System has been incorporated: when the ball strikes a player, its rebound takes into account not only the angle of the struck player, but also the direction in which he is moving and that of the ball.
If you decide to participate in a competition, fixtures are automatically decided and your opponents' skill increased as progress is made. But a code allows the competition to be saved and returned to later - so if your team isn't doing well you can have words with the manager.
Programmer Jon Ritman and graphics man Bernie Drummond have also worked together on the Ocean Smashes Batman and Head Over Heels (Issues 28 and 39 respectively).
Producer: Ocean
Price: £7.95
Author: Jon Ritman and Bernie Drummond
