First released on cartridge in 1983 by Commodore, CRL have now made International Soccer available on cassette and and disk. Adopting a grandstand view of the action, the game incorporates many of soccer's rules and tactics.

Before the action begins one or two-player mode is chosen; opting for the former allows one of nine computer skills levels to be selected: the first plays like a dummy, but the ninth passes to pixel perfection. In addition, one of five different coloured strips is available for both players.

A match is played on a two-way horizontally scrolling pitch approximately three screens wide. The two halves are 200 seconds long, at the end of which the winning side is presented with a cup; if the result is a draw, neither side is awarded the trophy.

Seven players make up each team, including the goalkeeper, who's controlled with the fire button and automatically jumps in the direction the ball is kicked. One player is controlled by joystick at any given time, with eight-way movement possible according to the direction he is pushed. This player in possession turns to a lighter shade of his team's colour for easy recognition and moves at a slower rate than the sorrounding players.

The opposition player (usually) nearest to the ball also turns a lighter shade; the other players on both teams run in patterns in their appropriate zones, related to the ball's movement. Tackling is carried out simply by running into another player (no fouls are awarded).

Pressing the firebutton kicks the ball; additonally a footballer heads the ball if it's at the correct height. If the ball goes out of play, the computer selects a player to take a throw in, goal kick or corner kick, and the fire button continues the action.

They may look blocky and bland, but you should see them race up the park!

The graphics are blocky and the scrolling slightly jerky, but the player movement is surprisingly nifty, and some fairly complex moves can be strung together. You need a bit of practice to get properly coordinated, but it's worth it just to experience the satisfaction of tubbing the computer on level nine. It's not brilliant, but it's still the fastest footballing simulation on the 64.

Control is surprisingly crisp, and it's easy to put together some neat moves. The game isn't without its flaws, like the computer giving goals when a shot is clearly over the bar and the occasional odd player selection, but on the whole International Soccer provides a fast, challenging and thoroughly enjoyable footballsimulation that shouldn't be missed.

The player sprites are chunky, the goal detection routine lets in shots going over the cross-bar, and the player select is not without its faults. In spite of all this, though International Soccer remains a remarkably playable game, its nine skill levels and two-player option bringing hours of footballing fun. It may lack the sophistication of something like Matchday II bit it plays quite a bit faster and is much easier to get into. It's just a pity it isn't cheaper.