Retro-Special - Microprose Soccer: The nicest thing in the world

Retro-Special - Microprose Soccer

1. Extend both legs 2. The world championship title is close Update: Due to current events, Microprose Soccer was published on Steam, we have taken the article back from the archive for you.

Original message: There is no genre that I have grazed so consistently over the last few decades as lawn sports games. As soon as a new kick title was announced, it was high on my most wanted list. One of my first soccer games was Microprose Soccer from the developer Sensible Software. As a reminder: Four years later, the British bolted Sensible Soccer, my all-time favorite video game, to the Amiga - it was also my very first favorite classic in Games Aktuell (GA 11/2013).



Microprose Soccer did not yet have the brilliance of Sensible Soccer, but when it appeared in 1988 it still set standards for the Commodore C64. The pace of the game was fast, I was able to fight my way through the ball with a slide, and shots that were trimmed caused a lot more variance when closing the goal than I was used to from international soccer. I was even allowed to cut the ball after it left the foot, which of course was anything but realistic, but made for fun, goal-rich matches. Manni Kaltz brand banana flanks could also be hit and even overhead kicks were possible. The goals scored were repeated in slow motion - for the first time in a soccer game.

Extend both legs

At the end of 1988, football was a little different than it is today, slinging was a part of defensive behavior and was not yet as frowned upon as it was with the Guardiolas and Löws. The Microprose Soccer makers took this into account. They built a thoroughbred blood tackle into their game. At the push of a button, my actor slipped into the opponent with both legs and "open soles". And at a speed that my In der Winkel snipped: Trimmed shots were the most effective means of scoring goals - especially since the cut could still be changed after the shot. (C64) Source: Microprose let males slide 15 to 20 meters. When it rained - another innovation that Microprose Soccer brought to the genre - I even slid my player over half the lawn. Fortunately, the developers did not install a foul game mechanism, otherwise I would have been thrown off the field all the time. As it was, however, I always spit the ball away from my opponent when I hit him or I strutted into space.

I performed all of the mentioned actions with a single button. The longer I held the button, the further and higher the ball flew on a pass or shot. Nowadays everyone would shake their head at such a spartan control, as all buttons on a controller are now assigned more or less important actions. But at that time I didn't know any other way and was enthusiastic about the opportunities that Microprose Soccer offered me.

The World Cup title is close

The soccer game was not only groundbreaking on the green turf, The variety of modes was also exemplary. The title offered a full World Cup mode in which the team strength corresponded to the real events. At least if you proceeded from the level of performance at the time, because Chile belonged in the World Cup: even a full World Cup mode was included. As you can see from the tables, there was no three-point rule in 1988. FIFA only introduced this in 1994. (C64) Source: Microprose in 1988 to the weakest teams, while Brazil had the best team - 7: 1, höhöhö - and the Netherlands was only slightly weaker than the DFB team: "Without Holland we went to the EM .. . ", hihihi.

It was also great that you could create a league in which up to 16 human players could take part. Most of the time, however, Thomas was my only colleague, so we mostly had to compete against AI teams. We also regularly went to a World Cup together and took turns playing against the AI. But the hottest were the matches against each other, where we steadily increased our level. Since a lot has happened in the football genre over the past three decades, Microprose Soccer has not aged particularly well. Ball physics and player control in particular take a lot of getting used to these days. Thanks to the trimmed shots, a few goals can be scored quickly and they are known to be the icing on the cake.