MicroProse Soccer

An OK soccer sim, but it's all style with minimal substance. Being able to configure replays, weather, curved shots etc was brilliant, and of course any soundtrack by Martin Galway will never disappoint. Unfortunately, the game itself is let down by very rigid controls and a predictable opponent AI. Disappointing.

Impressive football game with great attention to detail. I find the wet playing conditions a bit silly though. The authors went on to create what is possibly the best of its kind on the Amiga, Sensible Soccer.

I can't get on with this game. From a technical standpoint its very hard to fault but I never had fun playing it. But, then, I don't like sensible soccer which puts me in Retro Jail.

Played this quite a bit 'back in the day' and found it relatively enjoyable but it is not without its flaws. The main game suffers from somewhat crude game mechanics which makes the experience against the computer somewhat boring overtime. In fact, I always preferred the indoor version which to me appeared more like a real kickabout. Of course, the two player mode is where these games come into their element but overall it lags behind Emlyn Hughes Soccer in my view.

I got this game (along with Red Storm Rising) for Christmas 88. At the time it was a great game and a blast to play with friends. Graphics were good and the action replay seemed amazing at the time. It was also the first football game I played where you could put "spin" on the ball. Looking back however I think Emlyn Hughes International Soccer was better.

I loved the graphics and the replay was a nice stylish touch; it was also one of the few football games that I didn't suck at completely, though the final levels were too hard for me. Never played it with a friend, but must have been fun. Probably a bit overrated, but certainly among the best football games on the system.

An unrealistic action game despite being from MicroProse, full of Americanisms ('play ball', 'unwanted baggage') despite being from Sensible. With great weather effects and the exaggerated banana power (playing with that on Hi definitely makes the game easier) it's the fun lighthearted yang to Emlyn's serious yin. It could do with better AI, and the 8-sprite limit definitely stilts it a bit compared to football games on later systems, but this is a fine C64 football game.

Despite the appealing graphics and wealth of options (choice of duration, replays, weather, curved shots, etc), MicroProse Soccer is let down by rigid AI, with the opposing teams playing so predictably and the methods of scoring being so stifled that the whole thing feels a bit stale.

At long last, at the end of 1988 after five years of waiting two truly great footy sims were eventually released: Emlyn Hughes International Soccer and this one. They are as different as can be. Whereas the former is more about tricks and tactic, the latter sets the focus on action - and it does so almost perfectly.

The reason why this one works so well is not so much due to the concept, which is rather simple, but because every detail is perfectly thought out and implemented. Scrolling is fast, AI is fine, tricks are a few but useful, the world cup mode works perfect with reasonably tough opponents, making it a good solo player game, too. Also the music is good and the game has a fine sense of typically British humour.

The American indoor mode is a welcome bonus which provides an alternative to the main European outdoor game. A classic in every respect; 10/10.

A few weeks before this one, Hewson released under the Rack-It label the similar Supercup Football. As the latter is one of the few relevant games absent from lemon64.com, I would like to provide a brief review here, as it is surprisingly similar to this one.

In 1985 Tehkan World Cup was released at the arcades and was quite popular for a sports game, but it was never converted to the Commie and it took no less than three years until software houses took up the idea of a footy sim with bird's eye view - until in 1988 three of them came. The first was European 5-a-Side by Silverbird, but not a very good one. The second one, the above mentioned Supercup Football, was a budget release, too, and much better.

And Supercup Football is indeed a fine game. As a typical budget release it is a game which you understand instantly and can have a lot of fun especially in two player mode, although the AI is also ok. Scrolling is fast, tackling is possible, passing sometimes necessary, scoring (a bit too) easy. The funny thing is that game-design is almost identical to Microprose Soccer, but extras such as a world cup mode or a save funtion are missing. Nevertheless, Supercup Football deserves 7/10.

It's amazing that this game still gets an 8. 6 despite having no AI and poor controls.
Graphics are fine, could be fun with 2 players but as a 1 player game it is totally rigged.

As football games go this wasn't too bad but I look back at some reviews online and you do suspect that they've been done through rose tinted glasses. Plenty of options, playability was good and not bad graphically either.

Technically this is a great piece of software but a poor simulator. If you like football in an arcade-ish style this game is for you, but if you like football try Emlyn Huges instead.

Play emlyn its better than this junk

Before there was Sensible Soccer for the Amiga, there was Microprose Soccer for the C64 and the lord saw it and it was GOOD!!!

One of the finest FOOTBALL games on the C64 (get the name right).

This is a very nice game to play alone or friends championship.
The games is much better play with background music.

Very funny, and good playability.

Pretty crap, just like soccer itself.

Best footy game in it's day.

Keith Van Eron's Soccer, AKA Microprose Soccer, is the best soccer game on the C64. It's not Kick Off or Sensible Soccer great, but it's still excellent.

Best soccer game on the C64

Absolutely amazing arcade soccer game. Pure perfection packed into single load! + additional indoor version! Microprose & Sensible rulez.

I discovered this in the US as Keith Van Eron's and was blown away. The World Cup Tournament mode was extremely exciting. One oddity was that the Fast Load cartridge seemed to damage this game...

It was never intended to be realistic. It's an arcade game and designed to simply be good fun to play.

I do not get all this hype about this game. Maybe the gameplay is fast and smooth but it is so bloody unrealistic that calling it "soccer" is an exaggeration.

Not as good as EHIS but a worthy opponent playing a faster more direct game.
Much tougher on the joystick too.
I remember the bizarre overhead kicks, banana kicks and power dribbles (hold down fire and hold on). Also auto-fire created havoc if you had the right joystick.
Not great on longevity once you mastered a few easy goal moves but overall hard to beat on C64.

Simply the best soccer game on the 64!! Nuff said

I have this on Cartridge... Played this for hours back in the day... Tbh it was a bit boring and too easy for me.. After winning the world cup with Oman (the worst team) over & over again... Anyway, played it again for the first time this evening and again won the cup with Oman after the 3rd Tournament... So probably won't be played again by me!! Funny though as I had the old C64 claw back afterwards!!

This is a true masterpiece in terms of playability. Those talented guys from Sensible Software followed the Golden Rule here: Keep it as simple as possible.

Played this game a lot back in the day, but the best I could do was reach the Grand Final with the Netherlands. I've always loved the playback feature in this game. Simply gives it some character.

Not the most realistic football game on the C64, but easily the most fun. Unequalled until the arrival of Sensible Soccer.

MS is one of the best, if not THE best, old-style footie game ever made IMO, that goes both for the C64 and Amiga version. The banana shots did it for me, that and the weather simulation and overall smooth gameplay. Played it again not too long ago and was surprised about the still very high playability. Classic soccer action for one and two players with high replay value and attention-to-detail design by the one and only MicroProse, highly recommended stuff. 9/10.

This was the first really really good football game on the Commie. Although largely ioverlooked, "Italy 1990" (US Gold) is even better.

Great soccergame, brings back a lot of memories!

Classic game with great music! The best soccer game on the sixtyfour!

I'm not a fun of soccer games, but I love just 3 of them: SWOS, the manager, and Microprose soccer.. 8!

I hate football and ALL football's game... But this one is a pearl! Maniability is near perfection, animation is smooth, and the computer worth the challenge...

10/10 for a classic

One of the best for the 64!

The best soccer game on the C64 together with Emlyn Hughes International Soccer. The rest of them was unplayable.

This soccer game is funny Maybe the only funny soccer game ever made? Anyway, 2 player mode is the way to play!

Im not a big fan of sports sims but I just loved this one... The banana kick, instant replays, great graphics and playability all came together to make the best footy game I played the C64.

Its like this, everyone that says this game is dated or is too easy or ... Bore me with the rest! This is the best soccer game on any computer or console, and I say that after playing every machine and soccer game since 88'... And to no avail, so I got micro soccer on e-bay recently and I aint looked back since, I fuckin love it baby! So don't contradict me and do as I say!! Rock on with da panse down!! .

Very playable and exciting... Rain

I'm not a big fan of soccer games, but this one is really a C64 jewel, graphics, sound and playability are awesome, super fun and addictive. And the Replay feature made the game seem like a real football broadcasting

Great fun! Especially in the rain, hehe. I see some of you mentioned some kind of banana kick, but I don't remember seeing that. But I haven't played it in 13 years, so maybe I forgot...

Great footy game. Never really liked the indoor one though.

Loved to play the game with friends. However there was an angle at which you woul always score. No way the goal keeper would catch it. This made the game flawed in my opinion.
Nevertheless for its day it was very fun to play.

A great football game. A friend introduced me to this and I got hooked.

This is teh footy game. Besides sensible soccer on amiga. No new footy games for kthnks.

This may be the best footie game on the 64 but its still not very good, I tired to like it but it just feels tooo slow and sluggish

THis should be higher up the list. A truly great game. The forerunner to the greatest computer game of all time, Sensible Soccer.

One of the best C64 gammes I ever played. I whish all C64 games were programmed in that way. Graphics, sound, interface were excellent.

One of the best soccer game I ever played, I'd take this one over anything else. This and maybe Fifa RTWC.

The 2nd soccer game ever for C64. No dubt 8/10

One of the best computergame ever. In-door mode is much better because it's challenging unlike the outdoor mode which is too easy even against Brazil.

I used to beat my brother greg all the time something like 17 world cups to 5, he was rubbish. Then my friend michael would come round and I would beat him too. My brothers girlfriend used to come round and she had to sit and watch us play it coz after all micropose soccer is more important than anything in the world lol

I love the empty black screen with just the little footie player in the middle - for no reason at all! Cracks me up.

Is there a way to play it on my computer ? Can I buy it somewhere or are there any downloads available ? I still really miss this game, what about the 14-o to oman ?

Nicolas, you're being too picky. The game was, after all, created in 1988 and it can still kick FIFA's butt when it comes to different weather conditions! I remember thrashing Oman 25-0 once, with 2 one minute halves. Also remember walking the ball into the net as England against Argentina in Sudden Death to win the World Cup. And the banana shot... Well, a classic and I still play this one at home today 9/10

Great graphics & gameplay. So much more playable than Emlyn Hughes (and the Replays had not been seen before). The best footy game on the c64

I really enjoyed this one when it was out. First game I played that featured replays, and climatic changes too! Just for that it was one of my favorites.
However it pales against Emilyn Hughes.
Only 3 ways to score (playing against the computer of course), no fouls, very hard to do a pass based kind of playing (either you threw the ball and hoped a team mate would be there, or you had to do individual plays and dribble the entire opponent team).
And the BANANA effect.. It was OK in the medium setting, gave you a little more ball control but in the above explained context, the banana effect doesn't shine (like in kick off II, the Amiga version).
Aside those things, this game is OK just for playing one championship/day, past that it gets boring, unlike Emilin Hughes, in which each match was different and presented a new possibility to discover new goals and things.
Speaking about simulation, MPS is very poor, it's OK as an arcade thing.
I'll give it a 6/10.

One of the best soccer games around. Microprose Soccer is still great to play, looks and sounds good. In these days it was THE sportsgame to get! And also remember the great indoor matches! 10/10

At the time it was my favourite footy game despite its flaws, and I played it a lot, alone or with a friend. The fact that it was worth to buy an Amiga just to play Kick Off 2 says it all, though. Looking at MPS now, it is nothing more than average: no fouls, few passing, too many sliding tackles... In one word: boring. And dated, too. Today I prefer Emlyn Hughes IS over it, even though I don't like that one much as well. I'd rate Microprose Soccer 5/10, but I'll give it a 6 in memory of the good time it gave me back then.

Brings back memorys...
bananapower really ruled those days... If it's still to get as an PC version... PLEASE let me know...
Please...
and if there's an online version I'll even battle yo ass... I'm unbeatable for shure..

One of the first football games I ever played and still one of the best ever. This game was so great! The unstoppable banana kicks, the hilarious thrashings of Oman, and the players doing 50 yard spinning slide tackles when it was raining! Classic.

The greatest football game ever done!! BANANA POWER FOREVER!!

Magic

It's no Emlyn Hughes, thank God! This is non stop arcade action. Looks great, sounds great, plays like a dream. The best football game on the C64.

The makers of this game owe me a good four years of my life. Insanely playable, threateningly addictive, monumentously fun and quite frankly millenia ahead of its time. I have NEVER played a better football game on any system, including the ps2, and I really cant invisage ever being introduced to one. I would gladly play this game until the end of time if I could find anybody to stay ten years old with me. BANANA BANANA BANANA BANANA.
worth its weight in brains.
glory be thy name.

I couldn't remember this until I read the " Banana Kick" comment from srrae, then it all came flooding back! I remember there being an inside 5-a-side game on the other side of the tape. Lots of fun. Apart from sensible soccer, my fave footy game

Hmmm... I realy do not understand what this guy from Poland is saying.
He must be pissed that his team is 2 goals behind.
(see screenshots)

All I will say is BANANA KICK. LOL

I used to spend hours playing this. I loved it in the rain as the sliding tackings would send players sliding off the screen often in a uncontrollable spin.

And the BANANA Kicks which would if kicked right would almost come back 180º on you

Much time has been spended behind the screens to develop this game that's for sure. The graphics are excellent, the sprites looks nice. The sound is also of high standard. The thing about the game-play is that no soccer or hockey game is playable on the 64. All of 'em gets only boooooring.

I never lost a game, but there is one guy who always kicked my ass.
That's right Chico... It was you... I'll be back

Great game!

My favourite teams were W. Germany, Uruguay and Oman. Great game with raining, goalkeeper controling and golden goal

I used to like the idea as it starts raining as your in the middle of a game.

I loved this game, but my friend Tim always used to beat me. Then we used to bang on Gregs door and run away.

This was the best game you can ever get for the C64. The hours of gun I have had make this the best game of all time. 10/10. This game kicks ass

This was really a fantastic football game, I have played it so many times, I even have a tape recorded with me and a friend commentating the matches during the World Cup, I won the WC with a 2-1 victory against Brazil, it was my first victory against Brazil ever. It is one of my good childhood memories! - The game deserves 10/10.

Great game... Only my ass was always kicked by my friend Francisco Soares.
I put on the rain so he could't play normal anymore.
Score 10!!!

Indeed, the best soccer game for the C64. Great graphics and gameplay. I played it days and nights.

The best football game created on the C64. Easy to get into and great playing a real opponent. The indoor gave it another slant but full size pitch was the better of the two options

The best football game ever made!

Nice, but too limited..
Should keep you happy for a week though..

This was my favourite soccer game for the C64. It got indoor, outdoor, weather, and stuff. The best soccer game the Commodore 64 has to offer

This is pure arcade football, nothing really for simulation-freaks. Lovely idea to put an indoor version in it (what do you think of those tough goalkeepers wearing helmets??).
A typical 2-player winner.

Well, if you're looking for a realistic football game forget about it. What's realistic anyway in a computer game!
If you're looking for pure fun that's the game.

Have you EVER seen such a perfect ball-sphere in ANY football-game?
Well, not in a thousand X-Boxes!!!

It's no Emlyn Hughes, and there's just 2/3 ways of scoring (corner kick, angled shot and banana shot). Yet, fast gameplay, weather & replay options and World Cup feature make it enjoyable enough. 6/10

A very good game!! But the best game for C64 of soccer was Emlyn Hughes International Soccer.

A very good Footy game with good graphics and options along with pumping Galway music. Played this game very much but in the long term it lost its appeal because of a lack of variety. I the long term I found Emlyn Hughes International Soccer to be much more absorbing and challenging.

A brill game indeed. Two games for one infact and both very good too. Not as good as emlyn still, but a lot of my time was wasted trying to beat brazil in the world cup final with Oman - who incidentally, don't have a FIFA representative board, which of course should mean that they don't appear in the game, so I call you, owners of this game, to send back your copy and demand a refund or that the code be changed and a new team is used in the place of Oman. Sir Stanley Matthews would turn in his grave if Oman and not his beloved Malta were allowed into a computer game.

The best Football game on the C64 without a shadow of a doubt. Amazingly good playability and it keeps you hooked for ages. I love the little jingles by Martin Galway. This is one of my top 3 favourite Commodore games, and it's also one of my favourite Football games ever!

Sensible Software's first football game before they went on to write the great 'Sensible Soccer' on the Amiga! Not quite as good as sensi, but still good fun and IMHO the best top view footie game on the C64. The option of 11-a-side or indoor 6-a-side is also good!