Have you ever heard of the game floorball? If you live in Europe, most notably Sweden, you probably have not only heard of it but love to play it. Other nations have small areas where it seems to have caught on as a fun sport, but for the most part, is has a very narrow fan base. So what are the chances that someone would actually make a video game out of such a little known sport? Apparently pretty good, if one takes a look at MER Innebandy.
This is a great title that has the distinction of being the only video game ever made that is based on the Swedish game of floorball. It is an awesome opportunity for current floorball players to pick up a video game of their favorite sport, and also a great chance for people unfamiliar with the game to learn a little bit about it. In the middle nineties UDS created this freeware title to reflect how popular floorball was in Finland, Sweden and other northern European countries. It is actually a fully licensed title and offers numerous players and teams from the Svenska Elitersien…the national floorball league of Sweden.
Floorball is a pretty easy game to learn,
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making this an easy game to learn and play as well, even if you are unfamiliar with the rules and game play. The game is similar to hockey, except each team starts five players and a goalie. The sticks carried by the players is a long pole with a flat end that is also very similar to a hockey stick. The puck, however, has been replaced by a ball. The gamer will control one player at a time, and while the player has the ball, he has to perform one of two options: he can either pass the ball to one of his teammates, or he can shoot at the goal and try to score. In real life, the game is very physical and almost acrobatic. This is a very basic game and does not offer any of the high flying entertainment in jumps and jukes that a real game would have, but does provide a very solid playing experience from an offensive stand. Defensively, life is a little bit more exciting. Defenders can actually smack opponents with a stick and get fairly rough and physical.
Rules and fouls are also rudimentary, but gamers have to remember that this was the first, and apparently the last, shot at making a game of this nature. It is valuable in that it is truly unique and that it also features some fast action.
