A while ago I spoke to Jon Hare, founder of cult Amiga developer, Sensible Software, about his plans to convert Sensible Soccer to Java handsets. He said he wanted to make the best mobile footie game yet – and judging by the code I've been playing over the last couple of days he's achieved it...
Sensi fans will immediately recognise the visuals – a top-down view of the pitch, and teeny, stylised players. They'll also recognise the range of custom play modes taking in both cup and league options. There's a huge range of international sides but no player names, instead each of your men is referred to by their particular skill: poacher, winger, anchorman, striker, etc. Any of these can be exchanged for differently-skilled subs, and you can fiddle with the formation to crudely craft defensive or attacking set-ups.
All well and good, but it's the match engine that really impresses. The passing play is relatively smooth, while heading and tackling are brilliantly effective so you can easily break down attacks by leaping in with a well-timed nod or sliding through the opposition striker with sickening force. It's great to be able to intercept lofted passes, neatly knocking the ball forward for a bit of a counter attack – never before has a mobile title offered such glimpses of modern sim sophistication. Most impressive is the fact that Jon and his team at Tower Studios have managed to tease diagonal movement out of the Nokia 6600 'joystick' controller, so you don't have to resort to the keypad as in all other mobile football titles. It's an absolute revelation, at last making handheld footie an intuitive proposition.
Next up, a conversion of fab point n' click shooter Cannon Fodder. I genuinely can't wait.
Sensible Soccer is published by Kuju Wireless and should be on a major network portal near you soon.
