Club Football

"This years UEFA cup contender."

Introduction:
Club Football is the first attempt at the beautiful game from Codemasters. There are 17 different versions of the game, one each for Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Aston Villa, Leeds United, Rangers, Celtic, Ajax, Hamburg SV, Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Barcelona, AC Milan, Inter Milan and Juventus. On paper, the idea is a good one, as fans of the teams will be exceptionally happy, the flaw in the idea is that fans of teams who don't have a version are likely to be very disappointed.

Storyline:
Being a sports game, there isn't a storyline.

Graphics:
The games best point, the seventeen licensed clubs have photo realistic players, managers, stadiums and kits, attention to detail elsewhere is also a plus point, the pitch effects, referees and emotion on the players, officials, managers and fans faces. The menu screens are welcoming, with club players playing keep ups and the club kit sitting in the corner, stunning.

Sound:
A bit of a double edged knife, the main bad point is the commentary, it is very repetitive with not enough variation, whilst the other worst bad point is the menu music, enough to drive even the sanest person insane. On a better note, the spectators are lively, the whistle sounds good and the ball bounces to a matching sound. Whilst the good sound points are nice touches, they just don't do enough to counter the bad, leaving sound in the red zone.

Gameplay:
Another double edged knife, with the Pro Evolution Soccer series running away with the gameplay crown, Club Football enters the duel for second place along with the FIFA series and the This Is Football series, it slips into fourth spot with not enough variation in the gameplay compared to the other two. The control system is simple, possibly too simple, with no complicated combinations in order to perform nifty little tricks, probably because there are no nifty little tricks, which is one of the reasons why the game cannot contend with it's rivals. The other negatives that burden Club Football are the referees, who seem to send players off for the slightest challenge, and the ability to score, which is incredibly low, so low that you could have twenty shots from the six yard box and the keeper would catch them all. Good points? If you like a challenging game then is the football game for you, the difficulty surpasses 5 Star on Pro Evolution Soccer, the other point is that the game is easy to use and fairly user-friendly, meaning it's always a simple way from A to B. On this category, the bad again surpasses the good, pushing it further into the depths of the red zone.

Lifespan:
Not terrible, but not eternities either, probably about a week or so. There's plenty of club memorabilia to unlock, and when thats all unlocked there's always multiplayer, leagues and cups. If the custom teams had any good customisation features, they could have added a few weeks, but as it is, they're awful.

Extras:
Fans of the focused on teams will be happy with the bonus material Codemasters have thrown in. There are loads of photos, profiles, stats and honors about the club as well as playing back your favorite replays and the club video at the start.

Final Recommendation:
Worth buying? Possibly, if you are a die hard fan of the club, if you're just a football fan, or a normal person, then I suggest Pro Evolution Soccer 3, Club Football is David and Pro Evolution is Goliath. Don't waste your money.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 11/18/03, Updated 09/01/04