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Sport Top 10 |
Copyright/Publisher: Zeppelin Games, Release Year: 1992,
Genre: Various, Number Of Players: 1 or 2
Sports. Either you've got it or you haven't - and the COMMODORE FORCE crew fall into the
latter category. We do manage to do the odd bit of exercise - James does some weightliftning
('guys, guys - I've got three pints in one hand'), Lloyd carries the letters bag into his
office, and MILES 'OLYMPING OFF THE COURT' GUTTERY plays squash. As he's the sportiest,
we reckoned Zeppelin's latest compilation was his kind of thing.
Cripes - what a lot of sports sims in one easy-to-swallow package. Now that's what I call
VFM - or is it? With only two games remotely worth playing (Tennis and Truck Racing) I
can't recommend you part with the cash for this flock of turkeys. Sad, but true.
MILES! 48%
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INTERNATIONAL TRUCK RACING |
Thundering around tortuous racing circuits in a huge super-charged atriculated lorry may
sound jolly exciting, but Zeppelin's interpretation of this obscure sport really isn't.
Having totally failed to give any feeling of weight to these monster machines, the racing's
nonetheless quit fun.
Building up various aspects of your truck's performance with prize money from previous
races requires tactical thought, as does deciding whether or not to head into the pits
for extra fuel and damage repairs during a tight race.
If you've got half an hour to spare, here's a harmlessly merry way to fill the time.
68%
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AMERICAN TAG TEAM WRESTLING |
Bleurgh! Minimal moves, dire graphics, need I say more... okey then - appalling sound,
befuddling collision detection and animation of low quality. It's very bad, It's very bad
It's very bad, very very bad...
23%
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INTERNATIONAL ICE HOCKEY |
Ugh! Surely I can't be expected to sit down and actually attempt to plat this dungy little
effor. Control over your particularly bady-drawn players is utterly frustrating. Unresponsive
in the extreme and the highly erratic inertia just compounds annoyance.
You can be toodling along at a sedate pace one second and then, before you know it, you
find yourself hurtlinf towards the wall completely out of control. Tackling is near impossible
with any accuracy - even with two players any competitive element is dwarfed by mountainous
boredom. Farcical
18%
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WORLD RUGBY |
I must say the most enjoyment I ever derived from this most violent of sports was the
hilarious 'odd shaped ball' jokes - and they weren't very funny. So could World Rugby be
the game that opens my mind to the sport of heavy tackles and heavier drinking?
Ahem - no! A management game in which all you do is choose the best fifteen players fom
your limited squad and... hang on, there isn't any more to it! It looks nice enpugh, but
actually calling this a 'game' is to stretch the term. Not even the most fanatical of fans
will get anything out of it.
30%
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WORLD CRICKET |
Cricket management - now there's something you don't see very often in a computer game. Well
there's quite a simple reason for that actually, there's not very much to do. Once you've
set the options (one day match, test, tour, etc) all that's left is to chooose the batting/fielding
order then let the game play itself, and that's what it does for the most part.
It's nicely presented and everything but you just don't get much feeling of involvement.
What's more, I'm not convinced it actually follows the rules of the game all that closely.
Couple this with some dodgy tactical decisions by the computer - during one test match I
played it declated at 147 in the first innings - you're left with a rather unsatisfactory effort.
52%
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CARNAGE |
Overhead viewed single-screen tracks are the Supersprintesque order of the day with Carnage.
In a similar vein to International Truck Racing (elsewhere on this comp'), you get to soup
up your vehicel between races with prize money won.
In one player mode Carnage features one of the most pointless league systems even seen
in a computer game. The player competes in a championship alongside three other drivers
with points awarded after each race, four for first place, three for second and so on.
'Fair enough' you cry but here's the really stupid part - you have to finish first to
qualify for the next track. In one game I was five points clear in the championship when
one small hiccup meant I finished third in the next race, only to be greeted by an infernal
'game over' message.
Thing improve a little in two-player mode as only one needs to qualify, but it's still
annoying. I seem to recall this was received pretty well as stand-alone release some months
back. All I can say is we must have been in a pretty benevolent mood at the time.
64%
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INTERNATIONAL TENNIS |
All the important for a tennis simulation are incorporated into International Tennis.
There's a tournament, one- and two-player friendlies - there's even an enjoyable little
game to match.
Its controls are as instinctive as you could wish for, with a variety of shots that
you'll be playing like a professional after a couploe of goes. Of course it's at its best
if you get a frined in to play against; even so, the computer provides more than satisfactory
opposition for the lonesome among you. Good, easily accessible strawberries 'n' cream fun.
84%
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WORLD SOCCER |
There are three footy management games in the pack - namely World Soccer, Kenny Dalglish
and Graeme Souness - but as they're all pretty similar (read: almost identical) I'll talk
about the 'best' one.
It's an odd little chap. A soccer game in which you compete as part of a three division
league against sixty top sides from around Europe. A laughable 'match' sequence does little
to hide the painfully shallow gameplay - basically all you do is buy the odd player and
replace team members when they get injuried.
Watching the match commentary is good for a cringe at first. Seven or eight near-illiterate
statements pop up when there's a goal or near miss - Brian Moore would turn in his sweater.
Been there, loaded that, won't be playing it tomorrow...
42%
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