Kick Off 97 was probably one of the first football games I owned and was played a lot throughout my youth. Before the likes of Pro Evolution Soccer and Fifa were as mainstream, this was one of the best football games to have. In comparisons to today's standards, it remains a great and strangely addictive game to have in your collection, and for its time, the graphics and game play speed are very good and the game itself is very easy to control. Still, to actually master it takes a lot more practise.
It uses the same techniques as today's games, and by that I mean that the longer you hold the button down, the harder you will hit the ball. The joystick / joypad direction controls where the ball goes before and after you have hit it. You also get the opportiunity to train individual players - this wasn't common back then as most games only catered for team training which basically meant you had half of a pitch and you just seemed to kick the ball around randomly, without opposition; this seems rather pointless so individual training was at least a step in the right direction on that subject.
The best part of the game though was the flexibilty - you were able to
set up your own team and then enter it into a totally man made cup or tournament meaning the game wasnt structured around the real life tournaments so many football games of that era were made to mirror. I had the original Kick Off on the Amiga and it was refreshing to see this updated version coming out - although they have kept things simple, they have enhanced the experience somewhat. For a game that is now over ten years old, it is difficult to find too many faults with it.
Yes it is extremely basic and Yes you will not struggle to find more up-to-date games that offer you a lot more but taken into the context of when this game came out and the game's background before this version, you would find it hard to think of too many negative points and I would recommend that if you have a bit of free time to dedicate to a classic football sim then this should defintely be up there on the download list. It iss almost guaranteed to entertain and have you hooked from the moment you start playing and mastering those "ever so simple" controls.
