Sensible Soccer 2006 review

Welcome to 1992, a year England played Sweden in an international football competition, and Sensible Soccer ruled the computer gaming world. It was the definition of what a game should be - fast paced, fun, highly addictive and endlessly re-playable. Fourteen years on, England still do badly against the Swedes, but thankfully, after being absent since 1998, Sensi has returned to help lift our spirits a little.

Or has it? Unlike the England team, the computer game industry has changed dramatically since 1992, and the Sensible Soccer of 2006 faces a much tougher challenge than any of its predecessors in the forms of the well established FIFA and Pro Evolution series. Of course, comparing Sensi to either of these is rather like comparing 12 year-olds in a playground to the World Cup: sure, it’s the same sport, but at much more basic and frenzied level. Sensi keeps it simple - one button for kick, one for pass, one for sprint, directions to move and add swerve after a kick - just like in the old days.

The top-down view of the original Sensi has also been retained, although the graphics have obviously seen a major improvement, with cel-shading and overly large player heads creating a rather charming alternative to the endless pursuit of photo-realism exhibited in its competitors.

Nonsensical Soccer

This, however, is where the modernising appears to end. While it may be unfair to criticise Sensible Soccer for being, well, Sensible Soccer, in this day and age one might expect, say, a means of changing the selected player, or more than just the barest nod to the rule book on the issue of tackling. There are two ways of winning the ball, either a sliding challenge, or by running into the player in possession from any angle, usually knocking him over in the process. While the former is frequently penalised for a mere nanosecond’s miss-time, the latter is always deemed perfectly legal, regardless of angle of approach or the number of bones broken as a result of being violently shoved to the ground, making tackling ridiculously easy and risk free.

There is also the issue of camera motion. The view point naturally pans up and down the pitch, following the ball, but whenever a new player receives possession, be it from a pass or tackle, the camera performs an inexplicable circling motion. Imagine that repeated four or five times in quick succession and you could be forgiven for wanting a message on the back of the box saying “Warning: Sensible Soccer may cause disorientation and nausea”. In such a fast-paced adaptation of the beautiful game, a more stable camera is really required.

Jumpers for Goalposts

And yet, despite this, and numerous other eccentricities - the unnecessarily confusing position names (TGT? PCH? STP? Why?!), the Magic Sphere of Goalkeeping (you’ll know it when you see it), the un-customisable formations and forgetful squad selector - Sensible Soccer still manages to be charmingly enjoyable.

Its strength is its simplicity - that it has stayed true to its values of old. The joy of Sensi is that it can be learned in seconds. There’s no need to read through a 50 page manual detailing what every button or hand-fracturing combination of buttons achieves. There’s no need to spend hours practising free-kicks, corners, dribbling techniques or passing manoeuvres. With Sensi the only thing to learn is the wonderfully intuitive Aftertouch system. An arrow under your player’s feet indicates the direction of a kick, and once the ball is in flight the movement controls can be used to change its course - left or right will add swerve, backwards for a lob, or forwards for topspin. It’s easy to get the hang of, and in a no time at all you’ll be scoring more impressive goals than you ever did in FIFA or Pro Evo.

There’s no PC in Team

In terms of modes of play, Sensi offers pretty much what you would expect. There are friendlies, preset and DIY tournaments, with the presets offering a plethora of unlockable content in the form of kit colours, hair styles and the like. Due to licensing issues, some of the teams and all of the players are incorrectly named - in the case of the players by swapping vowels about - but there is a data editor to allow you to change this if you are that way inclined.

The most challenging mode, however is that of the custom team, where you create a team and attempt to ascend the rankings by winning preset tournaments. In this mode, tournament victories are rewarded by increasing one of your player’s stats, and thus as you progress the team will slowly improve from its humble beginnings into a world-beating force.

Of course, there’s multiplayer as well, which always offers the most entertaining possibilities, but this is where the PC version lets itself down. Unless you have a number of game pads, multiplayer isn’t going to be a possibility - it’s hard enough having two people using the same keyboard but three or four? Forget it. In fact, as with pretty much all sports games, a keyboard is hardly the best choice of controller in the first place, so the console versions of Sensi have a distinct advantage. PC games’ multiplayer activities are generally internet based, and as Sensi doesn’t include this it’s most likely you’d be missing out by getting this version.

So if you’re thinking about Sensible Soccer 2006, get it for a console. But do get it - it may be frustrating to begin with, it may cause occasional motion sickness, but once you get into it you’ll find it provides the most addictive, easily playable football game since...Sensible Soccer.