Kick-off 96

It's a game of two halves, Brian - in this case five minutes a side. I have a confession to make - I really don't like football (soccer to those who know no better). I hated playing it at school; I still hate watching it. This might suggest that Kick-Off 96, a soccer simulation, is faced with a badly sloping pitch. Playing the game on a screen is a different matter, though. This is a richly implemented simulation taking up 50Mb of hard disk from the CD-ROM, with a wealth of teams, thousands of players and the ability to create your own dream team. Once into play, the sounds and 3D graphics are good, with beautifully smooth movement. I found it harder to pick up the ball than I expected, even in arcade mode, but the game play seems to work well.

I don't know if it will always be there, but my copy of Kick-Off came bundled with a free playing card version of the game - it didn't do a lot for me, but proved quite acceptable to a ten-year-old. Overall - A detailed, smooth soccer simulation, if you like that kind of thing. Priced around ú34.99 for the PC CD-ROM, ú24.99 on floppy. In the UK. Produced by Anco and distributed by Virgin Interactive Entertainment, web site: http://www.vie.co.uk/vie/