========================================================================== Newsflash Product Review : KICK OFF 2 ========================================================================== Released By : Anco Software Price : £24.99 [Inc World Cup Data] Game Type : Arcade Style Soccer-Simulation ========================================================================== Just about any self respecting Amiga owner or football fan (or both) should have either seen, played or bought the fantastic Kick Off or Player Manager. Now comes Kick Off 2, with more options and enhancements than an old Mark 2 Escort with furry dice... It's now almost exactly a year since Kick Off was unleashed onto an unsuspecting Amiga public.. the effect was devastating! It had soccer fans drooling at the mouth and with the release of Extra Time and more recently Player Manager.. they made sure the drools didn't dry up. Now Kick Off 2 is here, totally revamped containing a blend of all 3 of the above releases plus many enhancements to boot. I'm going to discuss Kick Off yet again, this has been done by reviewing Player Manager, Extra Time and Kick Off itself.. I doubt if ANYONE is not familiar with the game, if not then I'd like to see where they've been hiding themselves! I'll run down the features and options offered... Kick Off 2 Features+Options Up to 4 players - 2 Player teams, control of 1 player or the team! Match Duration - 2x3m 2x5m 2x10m 2x20m Pitch Type - Normal, Soggy, Wet, Artificial. Different graphics for each pitch type. Wind - 4 Wind Types. Tactics - 8 Selectable tactics. Options to load PLAYERMANAGER designed tactics. Can be selected during the match. Extra Time - Choose whether a draw results in extra time. After this a penalty shoot-out takes place. Skill Level - 4 skill levels plus the option of loading a team from player manager to see how it would play against others. This means 2 players can match their Player-Manager squads head for head. League Options - Play at 3 Levels Game Speed - Choice of 3 Speeds, normal, 50% and 25% AfterTouch - Toggles the abilitiy to bend the ball on or off. Select Referee - Choice of 16 referees. Kit Design - Select the strip of all the teams, 32 colours and 6 different kit types enables you to accurately portray most teams.. this is a bit like subbuteo! League Option - A mini 8 team league, each team can be managed by one or two players. Each team has a unique squad of players who are named and have different skills according to Passing, Shooting and Tackling. Ruled by their Pace, Stamina, Aggression and resilience. Cup Option - Enter a team in an 8 team knock-out competition. Substitutions - 2 subs available at any time in the game. Injuries - Players can retire injured. :) Ball Control - As per Kick Off but including the option to bend with the Aftertouch mode and to do a sissors kick. Free Kicks - A free kick near goal results in 5 defensive players forming a wall and the attacking team has a chance to perform a set-piece freekick. You can dummy the ball, pass it, chip it, blast it, swerve it, dip it and with luck and practice, hit the back of the net by bending the ball around the wall. Different height can be put on the ball and strength is randomly set by the computer. This takes a while to get used to. Keeper Control - 9 Types of Goal Kick. Corner Control - 9 Types of Corner Kick including the option to set the strength at which the ball is kicked into the box. Throwin Control - 8 Throw in types, 5 short throws and 3 long throws. Action Replay - Get an action replay at any time by pressing R. Slow Motion - Toggle Slow motion action replay with S. Save Replay - You can also save the replay data along with appropriate data to disk, for replay later and editing to create GOLDEN GOALS DISKS ETC. Special Events - Options to load data for special cups etc. The initial release of Kick Off 2 includes the data for the '90 World Cup already included and after the fuss is all over it will be released without it. But it means up to 24 players can fight it out, in their own kits, in their own homes.. great fun! Criticisms & Room for improvement ? Well, the programmer Dino Dini seems to be one step ahead of us all on that basis, by including just about everything you could ask for. The only thing I could ask for is perhaps an offside rule... which was supposed to be in here but isn't and quieter crowd noises during the match for added atmosphere - again enhanced sound was supposed to be present on expanded machines but it isnt. Maybe an option to see the details of your squad, ie pace, ability etc would have been nice. Comment Kick Off 2 represents the most playable football game ever released, its a cut above any arcade soccer game and with the plethora of options is sure to please everyone. The added pitch graphics and kits makes sure for varying visuals and the action is every bit as good as before, maybe a little faster and smoother - the skill of the computer teams has improved considerably too. In short, if you like football and if you've got an Amiga then what are you waiting for.. go get it! On a personal note I might like to add that people wondering whether it's worth getting Kick Off 2 when they've already got Kick Off, Player Manager and Extra time.. Well I bought all of these and still bought Kick Off 2... don't miss out on this game. Ratings Graphics : 85% Much improved due to Kit designs, colours and Pitches Sound : 70% Remains the same as before. Simple & effective. Although the poor 'Penalty!' sample has gone. Gameplay : 95% Extremely playable, better against humans though. Overall : 94% Excellent value, will provide hours & hours of fun. Newsflash will be running it's own GOAL OF THE SEASON shortly, there should be an article elsewhere concerning this. Reviewed by the Leeds fan - Martyn and John, the rubber chicken. NOTE: There is an undocumented feature! As in Player-Manager you can centralize the screen on the ball or any one of the 22 players on the pitch by pressing `F` and then using the cursor keys to select... This is useful if you decide to play as one player and not the team. ========================================================================== Available NOW from good software dealers or direct from ANCO: Unit 10 Burnham Industrial Estate, Lawson Road, Dartford, Kent. Telephone No. 0322 92513 or 0322 92518. Fax 0322 93422. Retail Price £24.95. ==========================================================================