Worldwide Soccer is a PC port of Sega's popular Saturn console game, a hybrid that attempts to be an accessible, easy to play game with enough options to make things interesting. Playing options include a range of modes, from Exhibition to World Cup tournaments. The tournament modes are implemented well and working through qualifiers to the World Cup tourney can be entertaining. The players are all fictional; Sega has, however, included an editor that allows you easily to change players' names. A variety of stadiums are available, and weather actually makes a difference: in rain, you can see the ball being slowed down by the soggy pitch. Also, Worldwide Soccer offers a surprisingly large number of strategic options on both offense and defense.
The graphics are adequate; player animations are fairly well done, with injured players clutching their knees and ball handlers stumbling when challenged hard (although the players all look identical). Game control, using a gamepad, is excellent, with all buttons utilized and configurable. The game's ebb and flow feels like real soccer, passing and shooting are solid, and (with one glaring exception) your teammates seem to play with a modicum of intelligence. So, what's not to like?
Unfortunately Worldwide Soccer has a few flaws that, depending upon what you are looking for in a PC soccer game, may be either minor irritants or fatal flaws. The crowd noise is an extremely repetitive loop, and the commentator has a limited range of phrases, which are often inaccurate. However, the most serious flaw is surprising, considering the game's generally fine AI: the goalies are often amazingly stupid. The goalie will go all the way to the top of the penalty box on a corner kick, leaving the opposition with simple shots into an undefended goal. The keeper will stop an easy lob into the box with his chest, then stand immobile beside the ball while an opposing striker takes it and scores the easy goal. Very frustrating.
Overall Worldwide Soccer is an entertaining soccer game that plays remarkably like real soccer; if they fixed the goalie AI, this one could be a winner.
Requirements:
- Windows 95
- 90MHz Pentium or higher
- 16 MB of RAM
- 2X CDROM
Multiplayer: 2-4 players, Internet, LAN, modem
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