Sensible Soccer on the Xbox Live Arcade is very similar to the original. The controls are the same, the menus are the same in places and the graphics are the same. But this title does have some extra depth and value that you might not notice at first.

Gameplay:

Like you would expect the basic rules of Soccer are here, although they are exactly that, basic. Even the controls are basic, consisting of the D-Pad & the A button. Yep that’s right you control the whole game with just one button. One button to shoot, pass, tackle & do pretty much anything else you would require on the field. This does take some getting used to but is surprisingly easy to use. The longer you hold it down decides how hard to kick it, Simple. You also get some slight off ball control after you launch a shot. Up and down determines height and left and right changes the direction. These after touch controls don’t influence the ball to a massive degree but more often than not they can make the difference from agonizingly close to a superbly crafted curling goal. If you are reading this after playing the demo or even if you have jumped straight into the full version, let me give you some advice. The game is difficult when you start off. This is due to the blindingly fast pace that the game runs at. One second you could be winning, the next second you could be getting thrashed. This might sound unfair but it makes every game different and it gives each match a unique excitement factor that’s really quite special for this genre of game.

Graphics:

As previously noted the graphics are the same, they look identical to the original. But like most retro games they have reworked graphics and normally these ‘enhanced’ graphics ruin the legacy of the old school classic and make it look like a badly programmed flash game. That said, Sensible World of Soccer actually gets this right. It doesn’t change it too much, but it changes them enough so they actually look presentable within the modern looking arcade games. I have to applaud Codemasters for this, they could have easily have taken a page out of the shoddy cartoon style presentation of ‘Sensible Soccer 2006’. Luckily they haven’t and it really pays off. As a fan of the series for many years, I’m surprised that I can actually stand the new graphics, but I can, actually they are my chosen output style at the moment. The one bad thing I have to say about the look and feel of the game is product placement. Codemasters have thrown their entire current range of IPs and games at the sponsor boards that litter the stadium with not one but two rows of boards. If it isn’t Codemasters products then it’s some kind of Xbox magazine or games website. Luckily the action is fast paced so you tend not to notice them after a while, but it is still unnecessary with double the amount that the game really needs.

Sound:

To sound like a broken record, this again is the like the original. The distinct lack of commentary in the game really shows when you just have to listen to crowd noises over and over again. Otherwise the game sounds are acceptable, nothing special, nothing really horrible, just par for the course.

Longevity:

Sensible World of Soccer is addictive, there is no denying this. Matches are very short so you will find yourself playing just one more, just one more, just one more and before you know it you have been playing the game for hours. To those with free time this is a great thing indeed. The game then puts that addictive quality and lets you play in tournaments, leagues & cups. It would take months to get through it all, although it has to be said you won’t find much of a reward apart from the basic ‘win a league’ achievement. You can also edit and create your own teams with your own player names. This alone can be entertainment in itself. The game also offers a very good online mode, but I couldn’t play much of it due to the problems on Xbox Live at the moment and the fact that not too many people are playing this with the masses of games left over from last year. But I really can’t allow that to affect the game as its still has a very competent online mode. It has to be said that when it did work, the online is very engaging.

Overall:

Most retro titles on the arcade are basically nostalgia trips with horribly updated graphics. Luckily this isn’t one of those games because they haven’t messed with the formula, and anything they have added only improves on it. This combined with the fact that Sensible Soccer has always been easily accessible, makes this game a great purchase for soccer game fans even for those who are unfamiliar with its roots.