[{"TitleName":"Footballer of the Year 2","Publisher":"Gremlin Graphics Software Ltd","Author":"Ben Daglish, Gary Priest","YearOfRelease":"1989","ZxDbId":"0001834","Reviews":[{"Issue":{"Name":"Crash Issue 90, Jul 1991","Price":"£2.99","ReleaseDate":"1991-06-20","Editor":"Richard Eddy","TotalPages":52,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"EDITORIAL\r\n[redacted]\r\n\r\nEditor: Richard Eddy\r\nSub Editor: Warren Lapworth\r\nStaff Writers: Mark Caswell, Nick Roberts, Lloyd Mangram\r\nArt Editor: Mark Kendrick\r\nPhotography: Michael Parkinson\r\nProduction and Circulation Director: Jonathan Rignall\r\nSystems Operator: Paul (Charlie) Chubb\r\nReprographics: Matthew Uffindell (Supervisor), Robert Millichamp, Robb Hamilton, Tim Morris, Jenny Reddard\r\nGroup Advertisement Manager: Judith Bamford\r\nAdvertisement Sales Executive: Christine Moore\r\nAdvertisement Production: Jackie Morris (Supervisor), Joanne Lewis\r\nMail Order: Carol Kinsey\r\nSubscriptions: Caroline Edwards [redacted]\r\n\r\nTypesetting Apple Macintosh Computers using Quark Express and Bitstream Fonts.\r\n\r\nSystems Manager: Ian Chubb\r\n\r\nColour origination Scan Studios [redacted]. Printed in England by BPCC Business Magazines (Carlisle) Ltd, [redacted].\r\n\r\nDistributor COMAG, [redacted]\r\n\r\nYearly subscription rates: UK £17.20 Europe £24.00, Air Mail overseas £37. US/Canada subscriptions and back issues enquiries Barry Hatcher, British Magazine Distributors Ltd [redacted]. Yearly subscription rates US$47.00, Canada CAN$57.00 Back Issues US$5.20, Canada CAN$6.20 (inclusive of postage). \r\n\r\nCOMPETITION RULES\r\nThe Editor's decision is final in all matters relating to adjudication and while we offer prizes in good faith, believing them to be available; If something untoward happens we reserve the right to substitute prizes of comparable value. We'll do our very best to despatch prizes as soon as possible after the published closing date. Winners names will appear in a later issue of CRASH. No correspondence can be entered into regarding the competitions (unless we've written to you stating that you have won a prize and it doesn't turn up, in which case drop us a line). No person who is related, no matter how remotely, to anyone who works for either Newsfield or any of the companies offering prizes, may enter one of our competitions.\r\n\r\nNo material may be reproduced whole or in part without the written consent of the copyright holders. We cannot undertake to return anything sent into CRASH - including written and photographic material, software and hardware - unless it is accompanied by a suitably stamped addressed envelope. Unsolicited written or photo material on 35mm transparencies is welcome, and if used in the magazine is paid for at our current rates. Copy published in CRASH will be edited as seen fit and payment will be calculated according to the current printed word rate. The views expressed in CRASH are not necessarily those of the publishers.\r\n\r\nCopyright CRASH Ltd 1991 A Newsfield Publication. ISSN 0954-8661. Cover design and illustration by Oliver Frey"},"MainText":"GBH\r\n£3.99 re-release\r\n\r\nFootballer Of The Year 2 is a strange game. It has elements of football management and some of a quiz but you new never actually get to play football at all. The questions usually only need a yes or no answer (controlled by pressing a direction on the joystick).\r\n\r\nMost of the game is controlled through menus, each with well-drawn and coloured graphics to represent the available options, which are Play, Double Or Nothing, State Of Affairs, Transfer and Career.\r\n\r\nPlay, for example, allows you to select the moves your players make when they play a match. The moves are shown as if on a blackboard and when you've selected which moves to use you just sit back and watch the action. The actual match is shown from above and the players are colourful. Most of the time while I was paying, my shots at goal missed pathetically!\r\n\r\nThe trouble with this type of game is that you can never get away from the screens of text that are needed and pop up endlessly. They may feature essential information but, to the normal gamesplayer, they're heading towards Dullesville, Arizona. Fans of football management games will find this a refreshing change from the usual boring text-only games and boffins on the world of football will especially like the quiz section, but don't expect soccer action.","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"42","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Nick Roberts","Score":"58","ScoreSuffix":"%"}],"ScreenshotText":[{"Text":"Plan J is very organised, isn't he? Can a win be in store for the CRASH team? Probably not."}],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Overall","Score":"58%","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"Crash Issue 72, Jan 1990","Price":"£1.95","ReleaseDate":"1989-11-14","Editor":"Oliver Frey","TotalPages":68,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"EDITORIAL\r\n[redacted]\r\n\r\nEditor: Oliver Frey\r\nFeatures Editor: Richard Eddy\r\nStaff Writer: Mark Caswell\r\nEditorial Assistant: Viv Vickress\r\nPhotography: Michael Parkinson\r\nContributors: Nick Roberts\r\nProduction Manager: Jonathan Rignall\r\nProduction Supervisor: Matthew Uffindell\r\nReprographics: Robert Millichamp, Tim Morris, Rob (the Rev) Hamilton, Jenny Reddard\r\nDesign: David Western, Mark Kendrick, Melvin Fisher\r\nSystems Operator: Ian Chubb\r\nGroup Advertisement Manager: Neil Dyson\r\nAdvertisement Sales Executives: Caroline Blake, Christian Testa\r\nAssistant: Jackie Morris [redacted]\r\nGroup Promotions Executive: Richard Eddy\r\n\r\nMail Order: Carol Kinsey\r\n\r\nSubscriptions\r\n[redacted].\r\n\r\nDesigned and typeset on Apple Macintosh II computers using Quark Express and Adobe Illustrator '88, output at MBI [redacted] with systems support from Digital Reprographics [redacted]. Colour origination by Scan Studios [redacted]. Printed in England by Carlisle Web Offset, [redacted] - member of the BPCC Group.\r\n\r\nDistribution by COMAG, [redacted]\r\n\r\nCOMPETITION RULES\r\nThe Editor's decision is final in all matters relating to adjudication and while we offer prizes in good faith, believing them to be available, if something untoward happens (like a game that has been offered as a prize being scrapped) we reserve the right to substitute prizes of comparable value. We'll do our very best to despatch prizes as soon as possible after the published closing date. Winners names will appear in a later issue of CRASH. No correspondence can be entered into regarding the competitions (unless we've written to you stating that you have won a prize and it doesn't turn up, in which case drop the Viv Vickress a line at the [redacted] address). No person who has any relationship, no matter how remote, to anyone who works for either Newsfield or any of the companies offering prizes, may enter one of our competitions. No material may be reproduced whole or in part without the written consent of the copyright holders. We cannot undertake to return anything sent into CRASH - including written and photographic material, software and hardware - unless it is accompanied by a suitably stamped addressed envelope. We regret that readers' postal enquiries cannot always be answered. Unsolicited written or photo material is welcome, and if used in the magazine is paid for at our current rates. Colour photographic material should be 35mm transparencies wherever possible. The views expressed in CRASH are not necessarily those of the publishers.\r\n\r\nCopyright CRASH Ltd 1990 A Newsfield Publication. ISSN 0954-8661. Cover Design by Oliver Frey"},"MainText":"Gremlin/Gary Priest\r\n£9.99 cass, £14.99 disk\r\n\r\nFootballer Of The Year II is finally here. The aim is quite simple, to become the country's top striker. Not an easy task: you need dedication, patience and a copy of this game. Enter your name and choose a skill level (1-9), pick a league team for name one in editor mode) and a national team, just in case you are picked for an international side.\r\n\r\nYou are then offered seven icons - they are state of affairs (le how your team is doing), your career successes so far, whether to load or save a game, transfer cards, quit the game, double or nothing and play a match. Your team starts at the beginning of a brand new season and can play league matches, Gremlin Super Cup, UK Super Cup, European Super Cup and World Super Cup matches. You can also try for transfer to another side, or play Double or Nothing. You start the game with £10,000 and Double or Nothing is a good way to try and gain more. Choose how much to gamble, then answer correctly a question put to you. Do this and you're asked whether you wish to collect or gamble. You have three chances to gain money.\r\n\r\nA bid for transfer costs £5,000 for a transfer card. A team comes up with an offer, and if you accept you are given the terms of acceptance: either score three goals in the next game, or answer three trivia questions correctly.\r\n\r\nBut this game is all about scoring goals, so if your team is playing, click on the boot Icon which takes to the match. Goal cards are used to increase your chances of scoring and you start the game with ten (extra cost £600). Prior to the game you will be asked which cards you want to use (each one represents a different tactical skill).\r\n\r\nGive 'em hell, champ! This is the sort of game I like with plenty of chances to 'make a few bob. Footballer Of The Year II is a strategy footy game rather than a 'punt the ball around' type, and I quite enjoyed answering the trivia questions and manoeuvering around trying to transfer to different teams: worthy of consideration if you liked the original.\r\n\r\nMARK 76%","ReviewerComments":["Oh great. Just what I always wanted, yet another football game. Gremlin seem to be very fond of this type. So what has Footballer Of The Year II got that none of the others had? Not a lot really. It s more trivia, but the big excitement is that this time you have to answer questions for money. The more money you get the more famous you become. Some of the graphics are quite good and colourful, and musically there are some well written tunes and jingles. As in other games you will only like this if you are a big soccer fan and know all the questions that the game throws at you. Footballer Of The Year II has nothing ultra special to offer, except perhaps new questions for the football boffins. A bit fourth division quality if you ask me. Sorry.\r\nNick Roberts\r\n49%"],"OverallSummary":"A reasonable soccer management/trivia game - for afficionados of the sport.","Page":"54","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Mark Caswell","Score":"76","ScoreSuffix":"%"},{"Name":"Nick Roberts","Score":"49","ScoreSuffix":"%"}],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Presentation","Score":"68%","Text":""},{"Header":"Graphics","Score":"60%","Text":""},{"Header":"Sound","Score":"66%","Text":""},{"Header":"Playability","Score":"58%","Text":""},{"Header":"Addictivity","Score":"56%","Text":""},{"Header":"Overall","Score":"63%","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"Your Sinclair Issue 50, Feb 1990","Price":"£1.7","ReleaseDate":"1990-01-18","Editor":"Matt Bielby","TotalPages":100,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editor: Matt Bielby\r\nArt Editor: Catherine Peters\r\nDeputy Editor: David Wilson\r\nProduction Editor: Andy Ide\r\nDesigner: Martin Sharrocks\r\nTechnical Consultant: Jonathan Davies\r\nContributors: Robin Alway, Marcus Berkmann, Richard Blaine, Jonathan Davies, Mike Gerrard, Kati Hamza, Tim Harding, David McCandless, Richard Morris, Rich Pelley, Phil South, Wag\r\nGroup Advertisement Manager: Lynda Elliott\r\nAdvertisement Manager: Caroline Day\r\nClassified Advertisement Executive: Chris Skinner\r\nAdvertisement Director: Alistair Ramsay\r\nProduction Manager: Judith Middleton\r\nAdvertisement Production: Claire Baker\r\nNewstrade Circulation Manager: Stephen Ward\r\nSubscription Manager: June Smith\r\nPublisher: Teresa Maughan\r\nFinance Director: Colin Crawford\r\nManaging Director: Stephen England\r\nChairman: Felix Dennis\r\n\r\nPublished by Dennis Publishing Ltd, [redacted] Company registered in England.\r\nTypesetters: Point Five [redacted]\r\nReproduction: Graphic Ideas, London\r\nPrinted By: Riverside Press [redacted]\r\nDistribution: Seymour Press [redacted]\r\n\r\nAll material in Your Sinclair ©1989 Felden Productions, and may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the written consent of the publishers. Your Sinclair is a monthly publication."},"MainText":"Gremlin\r\n£9.99 cass/£14.99 disk\r\nReviewer: Marcus Berkmann\r\n\r\nFootball game? Call Or Berkmann!\" is the usual cry, based on my understandable fondness of this popular (if much derided) genre. Still, even I make mistakes sometimes. When I reviewed the first Footballer Of The Year a couple of years ago, I was none too impressed - although that didn't stop me playing it for an entire day in the office \"for research reasons\". In the end, of course, the game sold trillions, second only in fact to the evergreen Football Manager, Not surprisingly then, Gremlin has gone for another shot at goal, and, I can tell you, it's a 30-yard screamer and no mistake.\r\n\r\nThe main problems with the first FOTY were trivial, and therefore important. For instance, it's unlikely that any team who won only 10 games and lost 24 would be in the top six of their division, but mine was, twice. That's the sort of anomaly that really gets up your nose when you're playing a strategy game of this sort, and indeed eventually stops you playing a strategy game of this sort Cup games too were a little dodgy - Fourth Division teams regularly beat First Division teams and often went on to win the cup itself. FOTY2 dispenses with these niggles. The game is much the same - you're heading for fame and fortune as Footballer Of The Year, and as you're a striker it's the goals you score that matter. You still play Goal Cards to help you score these goals, but here things are a mite different. Before you just had to knock the ball past the goalie, which after a couple of hours was un morceau de gateau. This time you're given a choice of which card you want to play, and for each (lettered from A to T) there's a set-piece which your clever manager has worked out. You see the moves on a blackboard, you remember it, and if you stand in the right place at the right time you score a goal.\r\n\r\nNaturally enough, this is not as easy as it initially seems. If you choose to play two or three cards in a game, you can have problems recalling them in any detail - especially as you have to react so quickly. And sometimes you do need to play more than one card at a time - sometimes you'll be told that if you score a certain number of goals in the next game, you'll be picked or your country. Only a real clot would turn such a chance down.\r\n\r\nIncident cards have also gone by the board. There are still incidents, but not as many, and now if you want to gamble some money you must do it by answering trivia questions on the Double Or Nothing screen. These vary between the dead easy and the completely unguessable, but can provide a useful income if you get the hang of them. (There's also no limit on how many times you choose to play this section between games.) You're paid for appearances and goals, and your aim is to be transferred to a bigger and better club, which'll give you the opportunities you desire to win league and cup medals and possibly even a place in the World Cup team.\r\n\r\nYou see, internationals are another innovation in FOTY2. Overall, the new game is an enormous improvement - the successful parts of the original (such as the icon-driven control system) have been retained, while the dodgy bits have been polished up. Having started playing it, I found it hard to stop, and this review has, as a consequence, taken an awful long time to write. So far I have been capped by England three times, but my failure to score in their World Cup semi-final meant that I was dropped for the final (sassen frassen rassen). I've recently been transferred from Chelsea to Norwich, and seen the team's form plummet as a consequence. But if I haven't got the hang of it (and this is only on the lowest of nine skill levels), you can be sure that I will. Well, I hope so...","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"Hugely improved rejig of the first Footballer Of The Year. Don't expect the depth of strategy of, say, Football Director, but do expect to play and play and play...","Page":"16","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Marcus Berkmann","Score":"88","ScoreSuffix":"%"}],"ScreenshotText":[{"Text":"Righty-ho! I've purchased a goal-scoring card and opted for Plan G. First the Speccy showed me the moves on the blackboard, and here it is in practice."},{"Text":"This is the main menu screen. Short on spondoolicks? Move your cursor over the question mark and fire. There's a whole triv game here with cash prizes!"}],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Life Expectancy","Score":"90%","Text":""},{"Header":"Instant Appeal","Score":"76%","Text":""},{"Header":"Graphics","Score":"78%","Text":""},{"Header":"Addictiveness","Score":"93%","Text":""},{"Header":"Overall","Score":"88%","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"Your Sinclair Issue 68, Aug 1991","Price":"£1.95","ReleaseDate":"1991-07-08","Editor":"Andy Ide","TotalPages":68,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editor: Andy Ide\r\nMore Pregnant Art Editor: Sal Meddings\r\nNew Art Editor: Andy Ounsted\r\nGames Editor: James Leach\r\nStaff Writer: Linda Barker\r\nAdvertising Manager: Simon Moss\r\nDeputy Advertising Manager: Philip Davenport\r\nProduction Coordinator: Melissa Parkinson\r\nPublisher: Jane Richardson\r\nPromotions Manager: Michele Harris\r\nPublishing Assistant: Tamara Ward\r\nGroup Publisher: Greg Ingham\r\nCirculation Director: Sue Hartley\r\n\r\nYour Sinclair, Future Publishing [redacted]\r\n\r\nSubscriptions: Computer Posting [redacted]\r\nDistribution: MMC [redacted]\r\n\r\nCover Illustration: Paul Kidby\r\nISSN 0269 6983\r\nABC July-Dec 1990 60,368\r\n\r\nYS comes to you from the same thrusting company that publishes Commodore Format, ST Format, New Computer Express, Amstrad Action, Classic CD, PC Plus, 8000 Plus, Sega Power, Amiga Format/Power/Shopper, PC Answers & Needlecraft."},"MainText":"FOOTBALLER OF THE YEAR 2\r\nGremlin\r\n£3.99\r\nReviewer: Rich Pelley\r\n\r\nThe year being 1990 of course, the year when more football games were released than I had hot dinners (I made it 20). The year, also, that you strove to become footballer of the, um, year by scoring enough goals, earning enough money, becoming an off-screen personality, hopefully being picked for the World Cup and on the whole being more of a good egg than anyone else. And now you can do it all again (at a third of the price).\r\n\r\nI gave a little whine of joy when I found out that, instead of the boring old Footie Manager-style long listings and text that I assumed would be the order of the day, all gameplay was via a rather stylish icon-driven system. And it was pretty original gameplay too. Spooky for a footy game or what?\r\n\r\nThere's a saying that goes \"Money can't buy everything\", which a bit of a crap saying actually because I've yet to find a shop which sells something that you can't buy, and in Footie Of The Year 2 there's certainly nothing you can't buy if you've got enough of the green stuff. You see, the whole of this game revolves around dosh. Goals are awarded by buying a chance to score and then successfully completing a little arcade sequence. Transfers can be arranged by waving a little bit of cash around, and a few readies can be earned by gambling any time you desire in a rather nice multiple-guess trivia subgame. In fact, there's far more to this game than I've got room/can be bothered to tell you about (check out issue 50, page 16 if you want a full review). However, I will mention that this is an extremely playable and well thought-out game, with a lot of depth and the added bonus of actually looking quite nice. Then I'll award it 88' and take a long, well deserved rest after all my hard work this month. Bye.","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"61","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Rich Pelley","Score":"88","ScoreSuffix":"%"}],"ScreenshotText":[{"Text":"Linda says these look like turtles swimming in a lake. (And we tend to agree with her.)"}],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Overall","Score":"88%","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"Your Sinclair Issue 54, Jun 1990","Price":"£1.7","ReleaseDate":"1990-05-10","Editor":"Matt Bielby","TotalPages":92,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editor: Matt Bielby\r\nArt Editor: Kevin Hibbert\r\nProduction Editor: Andy Ide\r\nDesign Assistant: Andy Ounsted\r\nContributors: Robin Alway, Marcus Berkmann, Joe Davies, Jonathan Davies, Cathy Fryett, Mike Gerrard, Duncan MacDonald, Paul Morgan, Jon North, Rich Pelley, David Wilson\r\nAdvertising Manager: Mark Salmon\r\nAdvertising Executive: Simon Moss\r\nPublisher: Greg Ingham\r\nAssistant Publisher: Jane Richardson\r\nManaging Director: Chris Anderson\r\nProduction Manager: Ian Seager\r\nProduction Coordinator: Melissa Parkinson\r\nSubscriptions: Computer Posting [redacted]\r\nMail Order: The Old Barn [redacted]\r\nPrinters: Riverside Press [redacted]\r\nDistributors: SM Distribution [redacted]\r\n\r\nYour Sinclair is published by Future Publishing Ltd [redacted]\r\n\r\n©Future Publishing 1990. No part of this magazine may be reproduced without written permission."},"MainText":"FOOTBALLER OF THE YEAR 2\r\nGremlin\r\n\r\nOne of Dr Marcus Berkmann's favourite games (and he should know - he's reviewed about 80% of the damn things ever covered by YS!). A bizarre set-up, half strategy/half arcade game, this second shot at goal from Gremlin dispensed with most of the annoying niggles of the first game (like fourth division teams regularly beating first division ones in the quest for the cup) and added such diversions as international games and nine skill levels to keep your interest going.\r\n\r\nSo how does it actually work? Well, you play an individual footballer on a quest to gain the coveted 'Footballer Of The Year' accolade, and since you're a striker it's the goals you score that count. In both versions of the game you play Goal Cards to help you score, which then take you into mini arcade sequences - fairly simple in the first game, but the second involves set plays and things which you've got to remember almost American-football style in order to succeed. What's more, it even includes a footie trivia section, with correct answers adding dosh to your coffers. It all sounds very strange, and takes some getting used to, but once you do get the hang of it it's as addictive as anything. Just ask the good doctor…","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"55","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Jonathan Davies","Score":"80","ScoreSuffix":"%"}],"ScreenshotText":[{"Text":"Giant-headed goalie from the original Footballer Of The Year - Billy The Fish, eat your heart out!"}],"BlurbText":[{"Text":"A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE ON THINGS\r\n\r\nThe Overhead View\r\n\r\nThis features in MicroProse Soccer, Kick Off and most of the Codies games, among others. It has the advantage that you don't actually get to see the players faces (only their bald patches) and generally avoids some of the confusion you get in side views when too many players get all tangled in together and you can't quite tell what's going on. You often get a nice 3D view of the ball too, as it flies up into the air and then plummets back down to earth again. And on the minus side? Well, timing headers can get very, very tricky, but more importantly it doesn't always 'feel' quite right somehow. After all, when you watch a game of soccer, you never see it from above, do you?\r\n\r\nThe Side View\r\n\r\nA bit common, you get this viewpoint all over the place, but generally it's the most reliable method. It gives a good 'as seen on telly' angle, although things have to be quite well animated for it to work (not always the case) and you do tend to get horrible sprite 'scrums' at key moments.\r\n\r\nA Bit Of Both Views\r\n\r\nOnly spotted occasionally, in things like Gazza's Super Soccer, this technique can get very confusing indeed. You get a side view when the ball's in the middle of the pitch, but when you get near to either goal the whole thing flips round to give a sort of overhead/into-the-goalmouth sort of perspective. All very well, but it gives you a godawful headache after a while."},{"Text":"ALMOST EVERY SOCCER GAME EVER RELEASED (DEPRESSING ISN'T IT?)\r\n\r\nBobby Charlton's Soccer - Dacc\r\nBrian Clough's Football Fortunes - CDS\r\nBryan Robson's Superleague - Paul Lamond\r\nEmlyn Hughes' Soccer - Audiogenic\r\nEuropean Five-A-Side Football - Silverbird\r\nFA Cup Football - Virgin\r\nFighting Soccer - Activision\r\nFootballer of the Year - Gremlin\r\nFootballer of the Year II - Gremlin\r\nFootball Director - D&H\r\nFootball Director II - D&H\r\nFootball Fever - Tanglewood\r\nFootball Manager - Addictive Games\r\nFootball Manager II - Addictive Games\r\nFour Soccer Sims - CodeMasters\r\nFootball Frenzy - Alternative\r\nGary Lineker's Superstar Soccer - Gremlin\r\nGary Lineker's Hotshot - Gremlin\r\nGary Lineker's Superskills - Gremlin\r\nGazza's Super Soccer - Empire\r\nInternational Manager - D&H\r\nInternational Match Day 128 - Ocean\r\nKenny Dalglish Soccer - Manager Cognito\r\nKick Off - Anco\r\nLeague Challenge - Atlantis\r\nManchester United - Krisalis\r\nMatch Day - Ocean\r\nMatch Day II - Ocean\r\nMexico '86 - Qual-soft\r\nMicroprose Soccer - Microprose\r\nPeter Beardsley's International Football - Granslam\r\nPeter Shilton's Handball Maradona - Grandslam\r\nPlayer Manager - Anco\r\nPremier II - E&J\r\nProfessional Soccer - CRL\r\nRoy Of The Rovers - Gremlin\r\nSaint And Greavsie - Grandslam\r\nSoccer Boss - Alternative\r\nSoccer 7 - Cult\r\nSoccer Star - Cult\r\nStreet Cred Football - Players\r\nStreet Gang Football - CodeMasters\r\nSuper Soccer - Imagine\r\nThe Double - Johnson Scanatron\r\nTracksuit Manager - Goliath Games\r\nTwo Player Super League - D&H\r\nWorld Cup Carnival - US Gold\r\nWorld Cup Soccer - Artic\r\nWorld Cup Soccer '90 - Virgin"},{"Text":"AND STILL TO COME\r\n\r\nThis is of course World Cup Year. And what happens in World Cup Year? Yes, hundreds and hundreds of new Speccy soccer games suddenly appear, that's what. There are going to be oodles of them - but how are you going to be able to tell them apart? What you need is a handy-dandy reference sheet to keep score on, isn't it? And - by Jingo! - what have we got here but the very thing! Simply keep reading YS, fill in the scores of all the new games in the spaces provided as we print them and 'Bob's your uncle' (as they say)! Now all you need do is take this copy of the mag down the shop with you whenever you intend to buy a footie game. You won't regret it! (Oh, and by the way, we've not included any budget games here - there'll be plenty of those around too. Check out Matchday or the Codies' World Cup offering for starters.)\r\n\r\nWORLD CUP '90 SCORE CARD\r\n\r\nGame: Adidas World Championship Football\r\nCompany/Release Date: Ocean - May/June\r\nNotes: Programmed by Smart Egg Software, this one has to have a good chance around World Cup time.\r\nScore: 85%\r\n\r\nGame: England - The Official Football Game\r\nCompany/Release Date: Grandslam - May/June\r\nNotes: Grandslam has secured the official England licence, meaning it can use the images of all the individual players (say John Barnes, or Bryan Robson). It's also planning a feature which modifies the team's performance if one of these is injured and can't play. Blimey!\r\nScore: Never released\r\n\r\nGame: European Superleague\r\nCompany/Release Date: CDS - June\r\nNotes: Another management game to add to the list.\r\nScore: 80%\r\n\r\nGame: Football Manager World Cup Edition\r\nCompany/Release Date: Addictive - any day now\r\nNotes: Apparently even better than Football Manager 2. It comes with its own World Cup wall chart and a competition with 'prizes' like getting your picture up alongside Kevin Toms on the packaging of the yet-to-come Football Manager 3!! Blimey!\r\nScore: 82%\r\n\r\nGame: Italy 1990\r\nCompany/Release Date: US Gold - April\r\nNotes: We await US Gold's entry with bated breath. The one thing we're certain of is that it won't be a replay of World Cup Carnival (surely?).\r\nScore: 81%\r\n\r\nGame: Golden Boot\r\nCompany/Release Date: Ocean - to be announced\r\nNotes: We don't know much about this (including a firm release date) but it's a wacky football game programmed by Ocean France (responsible for Beach Volley, which looks less and less likely to ever appear on the Speccy).\r\nScore: Never released\r\n\r\nGame: Kenny Dalglish Soccer Match\r\nCompany/Release Date: Impressions - April\r\nNotes: A pretty straight, eight-way scrolling side-view footie game with a Kenny Dalglish licence attached. Again, a full review next issue.\r\nScore: 46%\r\n\r\nGame: Kenny Dalglish Soccer Player\r\nCompany/Release Date: Impressions - end of next year\r\nNotes: More in the Footballer Of the Year mould (though more arcadey than that apparently), this new Kenny game follows the fortunes of an individual player trying to make it into a team and then on and upwards from there.\r\nScore: Never released\r\n\r\nGame: Kick Off 2\r\nCompany/Release Date: Anco - May\r\nNotes: Hopefully a souped-up, less scrappily presented version of the original Spectrum game (on compilation now, though it was only released a few months ago).\r\nScore: 80%\r\n\r\nGame: Liverpool - The Official Football Game\r\nCompany/Release Date: Grandslam - April\r\nNotes: The first of the two 'official' Liverpool games, this one gets to use the images of the various players...\r\nScore: Never released.\r\n\r\nGame: Liverpool FC\r\nCompany/Release Date: Ocean - September\r\nNotes: ... while this one uses the official team badge and colours.\r\nScore: Never released.\r\n\r\nGame: Manchester United\r\nCompany/Release Date: Krisalis - any day now\r\nNotes: Another game sponsored by a team as opposed to an individual player, we'll have a full review next issue.\r\nScore: 74%\r\n\r\nGame: Player Manager\r\nCompany/Release Date: Anco - July\r\nNotes: Like a sort of cross between Kick Off and a management game, this was a massive hit on the 16-bit machines recently and deservedly so. Will it do the same on the Speccy?\r\nScore: Never reviewed in YS\r\n\r\nGame: Subbuteo\r\nCompany/Release Date: Goliath - May/June\r\nNotes: Based not on football itself so much as the popular 'flick-to-kick' table-top game. Will we see giant fingers reach down onto the pitch? You'll have to wait and see! (Again.)\r\nScore: 81%\r\n\r\nGame: Super League Manager\r\nCompany/Release Date: Audiogenic - May\r\nNotes: Audiogenic's first Emlyn Hughes game got a critical drubbing from Marcus (and then went on to sell by the lorry-load of course). How will this management offering fare?\r\nScore: Never released.\r\n\r\nGame: Superleague Soccer\r\nCompany/Release Date: Impressions - out now\r\nNotes: A pretty basic management game by all accounts. Again we'll be having a look at it next month.\r\nScore: 52%\r\n\r\nGame: Vinnie Jones\r\nCompany/Release Date: Again Again - September\r\nNotes: Too late for the World Cup, this will in fact sell on the 'merits' of soccer hard-man Vinnie himself. We can hardly wait.\r\nScore: Never released.\r\n\r\nGame: World Cup Italia '90\r\nCompany/Release Date: Virgin - May\r\nNotes: And last, but by no means least, it's Virgin's game, the only one officially sponsored by the World Cup tournament itself. Hurrah!\r\nScore: 79%"},{"Text":"NAMING YOUR FOOTIE GAME\r\n\r\nThis is the trickiest part of writing any footie game. Although coming up with a name is fairly easy, the chances are that it's already been used seven times before. To assist with this problem we've designed the YS Footie Game Naming System™. Simply pick one word from each column and put them all together to come up with a convincing title.\r\n\r\nGary\t\tRobson's\t\tAdvanced\t\tFootball\t\tGame\r\nBrian\t\tThe Hamster's\tTen-a-Side\t\tSoccer\t\t\tSimulator\r\nKevin\t\tLineker's\t\tSuper Footie\tDirector\t\tPlus\r\nWayne\t\tOf The Rovers'\tBoring\t\t\tTracksuit\t\tManager '90\r\nDarren\t\tMonkhouse's\t\tQuite Good\t\tPickled Onion\tChallenge\r\nBernadette\tToms'\t\t\tStrip\t\t\tNinja\t\t\tFootie Quiz"},{"Text":"RATINGS\r\n\r\nBeing the tricky things they are, footie games don't quite fit into the usual way we rate our games, so for the purposes of this feature here's a one-off system we've devised that hopefully takes into account all their little (and dearly loved) idiosyncrasies.\r\n\r\nPlayerbility: Having forked out your dosh and loaded it up, will you be over the moon or sick as a parrot? In other words, is it any cop... or is it utter crap?\r\n\r\nAt The End Of The Day: ...will you still be playing it? Or will it have joined the potato peelings, used tea bags and missives from Readers Digest in the dustbin?\r\n\r\nKit: Aesthetic appeal, really. Lists of numbers are all very well, but are they decently presented? And if it's an arcade jobbie, are the graphics any good? Especially high marks go to those games with two or more colours used on the players, or a choice of team outfits.\r\n\r\nAtmosphere: Is it just like being in the stands at your local ground (apart from getting a bottle smashed across your cranium every ten minutes that is)? Or might you just as well be standing in a queue by the fish counter at Waitrose counting the dandruff on the back of the person in front of you? Here's where to find out!"},{"Text":"SO YOU WANNA WRITE A FOOTIE GAME?\r\n\r\nHere are a few features you may wish to incorporate when devising your own 'tuff turf' footie extravaganza...\r\n\r\nA celeb, preferably glistening and grinning, with his signature scrawled across the box.\r\n\r\nImportant-looking statistics, and screenloads of them. These should not only be wholly incomprehensible but, so as to thwart even the most dedicated of punters, boast no underlying logic whatsoever.\r\n\r\nMinimal player interaction. Keep him waiting for hours just to 'PRESS ANY KEY'.\r\n\r\nA big green box with lots of footballers on it. They all have one.\r\n\r\nTacky adverts round the pitch carrying plugs for your other games.\r\n\r\nDisastrous artwork all over the place. Muscles where you never knew they existed.\r\n\r\nFree poster and badge that you wouldn't particularly want to stick anywhere (see artwork).\r\n\r\nA 'STOP THE TAPE' message halfway through loading. Meanwhile, you've dozed off and the tape runs on to the end."},{"Text":"THE FIRST FOOTIE GAME IN HISTORY\r\n\r\nA bit of a tie (almost), but by checking out all my back issues of YS, getting hold of various release dates, dismissing the really early stuff that's virtually unrecognisable as Speccy games as we know them today, and consulting with all the experts I could find, it has to be... Football Manager from Addictive! That's right, it's the one with mugshots of that cheery bearded bloke all over it (Kevin Toms actually. Ed). Originating in the days of long shorts and over-the-knee footie boots, it sold squillions of copies, mainly because it was released on everything from the ZX81 to the Teefal HY9000 De Luxe Deep Fat Fryer. We didn't stand a chance really.\r\n\r\nIt was, of course, the first of those dreadful 'management' jobbies, in which you spend the whole time staring at lists of things. Written in 100% Basic, it featured some chronic 'action scenes' and a unique 'customising' feature. (In other words, you could break into the program and do all sorts of despicable things to it.) The punters loved it.\r\n\r\nAs for the first action game, that's a bit harder. It was probably Artic's World Cup Football, the first of the little-people-running-around variety. Unfortunately though it was, to be honest, utterly, utterly terrible. The graphics especially were complete rubbish. It was so bad, in fact, that US Gold decided to use it as the basis for its renowned World Cup Carnival game. (Hurrah!) Far better is Matchday, which appeared soon after - the first proper, enjoyable footie action game."}],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Kit","Score":"65%","Text":""},{"Header":"Atmosphere","Score":"82%","Text":""},{"Header":"Playerbility","Score":"79%","Text":""},{"Header":"At The End Of The Day","Score":"75%","Text":""},{"Header":"Overall","Score":"80%","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"Sinclair User Issue 94, Jan 1990","Price":"£1.6","ReleaseDate":"1989-12-18","Editor":"Jim Douglas","TotalPages":116,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"JIM \"Keyring\" DOUGLAS (Editor)\r\nLike all Editors, Jim's absolutely loaded with cash and his car is a luxury status symbol that goes with his high-flying ulcer-inducing job editing Sinclair User. You know you've hit it big when Jim asks if the keys to his Nissan Micra will fit in your handbag!\r\n\r\nALISON \"Toot Toot\" SKEAT (Production Editor)\r\nAl Drives the SU Bus! Every morning she honks the horn and collects the rest of the team and drives them off for another day at the office. Hera she is, bright and early on a Monday morning, ready to get 'on the case' (alright, so she's in the office on a Friday afternoon holding a plastic bin lid).\r\n\r\nOSMOND \"Brake, Brake!\" BROWNE (Designer)\r\nOz, our new design wizard is preparing for his test at the moment, and seems to be having trouble with reversing around corners, but he firmly believes that in no time he'll be behind the wheel of his vary own DeLorean Snowstorm.\r\n\r\nGARTH \"Firestone\" Sumpter (Staff Writer)\r\nAlways on hand to steady a sometimes rocky and panic-ridden ship, Garth soothes the worries of the team away with his stories of articulated lorry racing round Silverstone. \"Which reminds me of the time I hit the chicane at 90 with no steering...\"\r\n\r\nAdventure: The Sorceress\r\nI've Got This Problem: Rupert Goodwins\r\nAdvertisement Manager: James Owens\r\nSenior Sales: Martha Moloughney\r\nAd Production: Emma Ward\r\nMarketing Manager: Dean Barrett\r\nMarketing Assistant: Sarah Ewing\r\nPublisher: Terry Pratt\r\n\r\nOur Address: [redacted]\r\nOur Phone Number: [redacted]\r\nOur Fax No: [redacted]\r\n\r\nCover Illustration: Clive Goodyear\r\n\r\nPrinted by Nene River Press, [redacted]\r\nTypeset By Mr Douglas and Mr Sumpter at Jimmy's Setting Emporium\r\nDistributed by EMAP Frontline.\r\n\r\nSubscription Enquiries: [redacted]\r\n24 Hour Order Line: [redacted]\r\nBack Issues: Back Issues Department (SU), [redacted]\r\n\r\n©Copyright Sinclair User 1989/90 ISSN No 0262-5458\r\n\r\nNo part of this magazine may be reproduced/transcribed, stored in a data retrieval system etc etc, or you'll go to gaol forever. We will, however, be giving a special prize to anyone who can reproduce this issue in the smallest possible form. Send entries to the address above. Must be smaller than a cassette tape."},"MainText":"Label: Gremlin\r\nAuthor: In-house\r\nPrice: £8.95\r\nJoystick: various\r\nReviewer: Chris Jenkins\r\n\r\nYou'll either be over the parrot or as sick as the moon to hear that yet ANOTHER football management game has been released, or should that read 'has escaped'.\r\n\r\nMy opinion on football games has been recorded often enough; even if I was a mad keen footy fanatic, which I'm not. I wouldn't want to see another soccer management game as long as I live. How many more variations can there possibly be on the \"choose team, buy player, play match, sell player\" theme?\r\n\r\nSo you can imagine the enthusiasm with which I approached Footballer of the Year II - not only a soccer management game, but a SEQUEL to a football management game.\r\n\r\nAt first it's not altogether obvious that this is a new game at all. The aim's the same: you're playing for your own glory, scoring as many goals as possible to make yourself an attractive transfer prospect for teams higher up the league table. Move from one team to another, from one match to the next, until you're voted Player of the Year. The opening icon-driven menu is certainly familiar; the globe representing your team's league and international records, the player's head for your own performance, the tape save load icon, and the match-play boot. Two new options are the transfer page and the trivia option.\r\n\r\nThe trivia quiz allows you to boost your funds by gambling money on answering multiplechoice footy questions, within a time limit which depends on the difficulty level you choose. If you get the first one right you see a hypothetical football (that's like a real football, but flatter) zoom into a hypothetical net (more holes) and then you can choose double or quits. And why do you need all this money? It's not to get your hair permed or to open a boutique, no, it's to buy goals. HUH? I knew the football league was fixed, but I didn't realise it went this far.\r\n\r\nEach time you opt to play a match, to score a goal you must buy a \"goal card\", the cost of which depends on the level of the match. Even then you're not guaranteed to score; if you choose to play a goal card during a match, you see a blackboard drawing of the tactics chosen for that goal. You have to remember the position of the goalscorer, and use the keyboard or joystick to position him correctly in the action replay if you hope to see the leather slam into the back of the net. The top-down graphics here are minimal, and the whole business seems like a bit of a palaver. It hardly draws on all your hard-won footy skills and split-second timing: it's more a matter of whether you can remember the patterns. In any case, you aren't allowed to score more than three goals per match. Try telling that to Roy of the Rovers!!!\r\n\r\nMy idea of a football game is lots of little men running around a pitch kicking some pixels about. My idea of a football management game is the same thing, only you get to choose the players first. My idea of Footballer of the Year 2 is that you shouldn't bother with it, unless you're so addled by soccer mania that you'll buy anything with the word Football in the title.","ReviewerComments":["GARTH SEZ: 75%\r\r\n\"A limited improvement on a skill oldie, but a logical progression for any FOTY fanatics.\"\r\nGarth Sumpter\r\n75%"],"OverallSummary":"More a trivia/memory test that a footy game; kick it firmly into touch.","Page":"106","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Chris Jenkins","Score":"55","ScoreSuffix":"%"},{"Name":"Garth Sumpter","Score":"75","ScoreSuffix":"%"}],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Graphics","Score":"59%","Text":""},{"Header":"Sound","Score":"58%","Text":""},{"Header":"Playability","Score":"59%","Text":""},{"Header":"Lastability","Score":"50%","Text":""},{"Header":"Overall","Score":"55%","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"Sinclair User Issue 114, Aug 1991","Price":"£1.85","ReleaseDate":"1991-07-15","Editor":"Garth Sumpter","TotalPages":52,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editor: Garth 'Cuban Heels' Sumpter\r\nDesign Editor: Andrea 'Overtime' Walker\r\nDesign: Yvette 'Vegetable rights & peace' Nicholls\r\nStaff Writers: Steve 'Sub burn' Keen, Matt 'Yo babe!' Regan\r\nSU Crew: Alan 'Back to my place' Dykes, Graham 'Diamond' Mason\r\nAdvertisement Manager: Jerry 'Sun tan' Hall\r\nAd Production: Jo 'Trainee' Gleissner\r\nMarketing Dept: Marc 'Goodtimes' Swallow, Sarah '0898' Ewing, Sarah 'I've got a secret' Hillard\r\nPublisher: Graham 'No expense spared' Taylor\r\nManaging Director: Terry 'Organised' Pratt\r\n\r\n(c)1991 EMAP IMAGES\r\n[redacted]\r\n\r\nDISTRIBUTION: BBC FRONTLINE\r\nSU SUBSCRIPTIONS: [redacted]\r\n\r\nTypesetting by Garthtype.\r\nColour work by Proprint.\r\n\r\nReproduction of any part of this magazine without the written consent of Garth, Andrew, Steve, Matt, Allan and Mr Ben will result in something really utterly nasty happening, I can jolly well tell you. Either that or Garth will file down your teeth with an electric cattle prod whilst Matt sings acoustic Des O'Connor numbers and tickles your particulars with a herring. If you want to reproduce our mag after all this then you're a very sick, sick person indeed and should seek medical attention immediately, that's what we do. Oh, just as we were going to press, Yvette, our design assistant, got very poorly and had to go to hospital. We'd all like to wish here a speedy recovery. If you want to send her a line or something to keep her amused while she gets better then cheer her up and write to her in her sick bed. Whoever sends the letter that cheers her up the most will receive £50s worth of games. Till then... byeee!"},"MainText":"Label: Gremlin\r\nMemory: 48K/128K\r\nPrice: £11.53 Tape, £14.99 Disk\r\nReviewer: Steve Keen\r\n\r\nWhen Footballer Of The Year 2 dropped through the letter box groans of depression swept through the office like an Intercity 125 out of Hell (or maybe Doncaster). Even the doormat raised its bristles for an exasperated sigh of disbelief. Another computer footy game? I'd rather watch repeats of Highway! So wearily I plugged it in, praying for something different and to my surprise it was.\r\n\r\nIt takes many qualities to be named footballer of the year so, be prepared, that's what your out to achieve here in a quest for cash and mastery of the football world. Not only do you have to win the matches, but you have to finance your progression too. After all footballers today have to know almost as much about investments as they do about selling a dummy on the pitch.\r\n\r\nThe football game element takes a noticeable back seat and is only represented in the form of free kick type set pieces shooting for goal whilst most of the time you juggle your cash. Funds are raised by embarking on a Give Us A Break type quiz game. You can bet anything up to 500 pounds on answering the footy-orientated questions correctly. If you succeed you have the opportunity to double your cash up to four times, but if you fail it's on the cards that you'll have less dosh than Tottenham Hotspur!\r\n\r\nEventually acquiring the readies, you can either spend them on a Transfer Card to buy one of those lucrative star players or Goal Cards which have to be purchased for you to get a taste of putting the leather in the net. All rests on you scoring goals. Every now and again the game will be interrupted with a message telling you of the tally you have to reach and your reward if the total is achieved. A two-goal win might get you selected to play for England or advance you to one of the five league and Super World Cup tables. This is where the Goal Cards come in as they are used to select up to three set pieces at random from a directory.\r\n\r\nEvery set piece is shown to you on a blackboard and the formation and path of your players indicated by white lines. You have to follow these in order to hopefully intercept the ball and send it home.\r\n\r\nStatistics are monitored at all times as well as your placing in the endless tables you find yourself flicking carelessly through. In fact the whole thing is pretty uninspiring. It's almost impossible to remember your player formations when tying to score more than one goal and the graphics, considering the style of the game, are appalling. I can appreciate what has been attempted here, but it's all so tedious. Only the small quiz section held any interest for me and there are much better quizzes dedicated to that type of gaming. One I would wart to avoid.","ReviewerComments":["Oh dear, there really is a problem with footy games on the Speccy and this game actually strengthens the argument. Although not a bad attempt, it's not worth shelling out for.\r\nGarth Sumpter"],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"22,23","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Steve Keen","Score":"60","ScoreSuffix":"%"},{"Name":"Garth Sumpter","Score":"","ScoreSuffix":""}],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[{"Text":"FOOTY FACTS!\r\n\r\nThe longest game ever played was between Santos and Penaro F.C. on August the 2nd/3rd 1962. The match lasted for 3 hours 30 minutes.\r\n\r\nThe longest ever British game was between Doncaster Rovers and Stockport County on the 30th March 1946. The game lasted 3 hours 23 minutes.\r\n\r\nThe longest unbeaten run was by Celtic who were undefeated in sixty two matches. Nottingham Forest managed to win and draw thirty two consecutive games in the first division.\r\n\r\nThe largest number of postponements was 29 due to bad weather conditions. The match was between Falkirk and Inverness Thistle in 1978-9. Eventually Falkirk won the match 4-0. Good 'un Falkirk!\r\n\r\nSoccer, or English football, is now the most popular sport in the world (not poxy old volley ball like most people think!)\r\n\r\nThe longest match in British football was between Stockport County and Doncaster Rover. It lasted an incredible 3 hrs 23 mins."}],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Graphics","Score":"60%","Text":""},{"Header":"Sound","Score":"60%","Text":""},{"Header":"Playability","Score":"55%","Text":""},{"Header":"Lastability","Score":"63%","Text":""},{"Header":"Overall","Score":"60%","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]}]}]